Introducing: Mavrik Wine Bar, a laid-back Queen West hangout run by two escapees from the corporate world
Mavrik Wine Bar, a cozy new place replacing the Korean spot San, quietly opened a couple weeks ago one door east of Queen West staple Czehoski. Following the lead of DeKefir, Prairie Girl Bakery and these guys, co-owners Joanne Park and Elizabeth Choi have done what so many cubicle-slaves only dream of. The childhood pals left high-paid corporate jobs to open their ideal hangout spot: a homey wine bar—hold the pretension. “We left our cares behind,” says Elizabeth, a former Wall Street trader whose love of wine was inspired by hip New York hubs like Terroir and Blue Ribbon.
Determined to make wine-tasting a little more accessible, the duo worked with sommelier Alex Hamilton to develop an international selection of small production wines and bubblies, mostly offered by the glass ($6–$15), like the Whitecap from Prince Edward County’s Hinterland Wine Company ($10). Wines are organized by key features—fruity for red or oaky for white—to demystify taste, and paired with cheeses and roasted beets from the Cheese Boutique. Novices can try one-ounce tastings before they commit to a glass, or ask the friendly staff for tips. A warm atmosphere matches the ambiance, with wood panelling, industrial accents and unobtrusive indie rock music.
The menu offers grazing-sized dishes ($6–$16), with pairing notes supplied by chef Mark Jarvis, who also happens to be a Juno-nominated trumpeter. Grilled calamari ($11) are served with a zippy pineapple citrus sauce, and a house-made sorbet trio ($8) brings lemon-basil, pineapple-rosemary and raspberry. The menu also features two poutines (each $10), one made with quail gravy and Ontario cheese curds, and the other with marinara sauce and apple wood–smoked cheddar.
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- Mavrik Wine Bar’s cozy room with an open kitchen in the back (Image: Davida Aronovich)
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- (Image: Davida Aronovitch)
- Outside the currently signless Mavrik Wine Bar
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- (Image: Davida Aronovitch)
- Inside Mavrik Wine Bar
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- The bar
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- Mavrik’s stemless glassware featuring a 2008 Organized Crime Viognier and a 2006 Lar de Barros Crianza from Ribero del Guadiana
- Introducing: Mavrik Wine Bar
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- Grilled calamari with an orange and grapefruit reduction ($11)
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- Homemade sorbet trio ($8): lemon-basil, pineapple rosemary and raspberry
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Mavrik Winebar, 676 Queen St. West, 416-214-9429, mavrikbar.com.
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[caption id="attachment_70008" align="aligncenter" width="624" caption="Mavrik Wine Bar’s cozy room with an open kitchen in the back (Image: Davida Aronovitch)"][/caption]
Mavrik Wine Bar, a cozy new place replacing the Korean spot San, quietly opened a couple weeks ago one door east of Queen West staple Czehoski. Following the lead of DeKefir, Prairie Girl Bakery and these guys, co-owners Joanne Park and Elizabeth Choi have done what so many cubicle-slaves only dream of. The childhood pals left high-paid corporate jobs to open their ideal hangout spot: a homey wine bar—hold the pretension. “We left our cares behind,” says Elizabeth, a former Wall Street trader whose love of wine was inspired by hip New York hubs like Terroir and Blue Ribbon.
Determined to make wine-tasting a little more accessible, the duo worked with sommelier Alex Hamilton to develop an international selection of small production wines and bubblies, mostly offered by the glass ($6–$15), like the Whitecap from Prince Edward County’s Hinterland Wine Company ($10). Wines are organized by key features—fruity for red or oaky for white—to demystify taste, and paired with cheeses and roasted beets from the Cheese Boutique. Novices can try one-ounce tastings before they commit to a glass, or ask the friendly staff for tips. A warm atmosphere matches the ambiance, with wood panelling, industrial accents and unobtrusive indie rock music.
The menu offers grazing-sized dishes ($6–$16), with pairing notes supplied by chef Mark Jarvis, who also happens to be a Juno-nominated trumpeter. Grilled calamari ($11) are served with a zippy pineapple citrus sauce, and a house-made sorbet trio ($8) brings lemon-basil, pineapple-rosemary and raspberry. The menu also features two poutines (each $10), one made with quail gravy and Ontario cheese curds, and the other with marinara sauce and apple wood–smoked cheddar.
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Mavrik Winebar, 676 Queen St. West, 416-214-9429, mavrikbar.com.){kind=link}
From the look of that calamari dish the chef should have stuck to trumpeting.
been in a few times, now worried TL is letting the city into my secret spot – mushroom bruschetta is the best and the shrimp amazing – love the attention to ontario wines on the list and the great prices, the pineapple rosemary sorbet has me wanting to start with dessert each time i go – congrats to mavrik for giving something to the hood much needed!
how can you call yourself a wine bar when you don’t have stems on the glasses? I would like to appreciate the wine not warm it with my hand and drink hot juice.
the dishes look horrific. sorry to say. if that is your best you are in trouble. and ‘fruity’, ‘oaky’? are you serious? if you claim to be a wine bar you should re-evaluate your method of getting that point across. this all reads of two owners without little to now clue that only know what they like…and not much else. 18 months and we will read what is next in this space. i dont enjoy being this pessimistic but it pales to the contempt i feel for those who decide that because they eat out on a regular basis they are informed enough to lead the way and show us all what the city is missing. you have no idea and will soon see what i mean…
@ Rob & Dean…. 100% agree..they lost me at the roasted beets (it’s spring right?) on the cheese plate and the marinara sauce on the poutine (‘cuz what Queen St. needs is more poutine)…but then again what to expect from a joint spelled “Mavrik” instead of the traditional yet cooler “Maverick”…
I’ve been in a couple of times and the food and wines are fantastic. I’ve had the brushetta, the phyllo wrapped shrimp, the lamb, and a healthy sampling of several of their reds. I’m not sure where the “beet” pairings come from. They do have a long list of cheeses and cured meats. I’m also confused with the “fruity for red, oaky for white” categories. I didn’t see anything like that on the wine list, which had quite a wide selection.
Such a great idea – only problem is the INSANELY bright florescent lights from the kitchen drove me right out of there before I could even order. A wine bar needs to have better lighting than a walk in clinic.
The ignorance of the owners who say they “left our cares behind” is rather insulting to every restauranteur in the city. Opening a restaurant or “wine bar” with no worries or cares?? Easy to open sure… difficult to turn a profit absolutely.
Love this spot.
Great ambiance, fantastic wine selection and perfect location.
Will definitely be coming back.
You ALL have to check this place out! My friends and I randomly ended up there during a stroll. The food was amazing, and the Pinot noir we had was among the best I’ve ever had. Anyone that knows anything about good food and wine, will definitely be impressed!
Finally a wine bar that I can afford to drink at. The wines seemed very well priced. I had the charcuterie which I thought was great! Ya the lighting is not the best. Very friendly staff. Looking forward to going back.
Yeah, I’ve been in a few times and have to agree with much of what’s been said (on both the pro and con side). First off, I don’t know where the roasted beets thing comes from… I’m thinking that the author made at least a few mistakes. (I don’t remember any pineapple in the calamari either.)
As for the set up, these girls are clearly new to the restaurant scene–when I went in the first weekend they didn’t have coffee, tea, diet coke, the wine we wanted OR debit or credit card payment… why were they “open”?
That said, our waiter (some guy from New York) was great and the food was absolutely fantastic. The lamb, the calamari & the phylo wrapped shrimp were to die for… good enough, in fact, that I went back despite all the other problems. The quail gravy poutine still has my mouth watering every time I think about it.
The place seems to be shaping up, and I would definitely recommend the food to anyone… I just hope that the owners can figure out how to keep up with the kitchen in time to make this place fly–it’s a great little spot.
I look forward to trying this for myself!