Introducing: Northwood, a new Christie Pits café and cocktail bar
Name: Northwood Neighbourhood: Christie Pits Contact info: 815 Bloor St. W., Facebook page, @NorthwoodBloor Owners: Richard Pope (co-owner of Mr. Pong’s) and Andrea Reynolds
The food: Currently in soft launch mode, Northwood is serving coffee shop staples like muffins ($2.50), chocolate chip cookies ($2) and butter tarts ($2.75). Once the owners settle on a chef, they plan to have a menu of Acadian, Quebecois and Cajun dishes as well.
The drinks: Classic cocktails ($10) from bartender Ana Wolkowski, some of which are made from traditional recipes (like the Manhattan), while others are contemporary interpretations of them (like her Canadian twist on an Old Fashioned). The cocktails will soon benefit from house-made bitters and syrups. There’s also craft beer on tap and the coffee is from Pig Iron Coffee Roasters.
The place: Pope describes Northwood as a “European-style café,” catering equally to MacBook-toting creative professionals, the after-work crowd and locals looking for dinner or cocktails. Along one wall is a striking vintage liquor cage salvaged from Casa Mendoza before it was torn down.
By the numbers: • 38 seats (not counting the patio) • 20 electrical outlets, which means 40 laptops can be happily powered simultaneously • $15, the cost of a pound of Pig Iron Coffee • 11:00 a.m. to 2 a.m., their “European style” hours • 4 beers on tap: Beau’s Lug-Tread Lagered Ale ($6.50), Beau’s Beaver-River I.P.Eh. ($6.50), Junction’s Conductor’s Ale ($6.50) and St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout ($7.50)
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Caroline Aksich, a National Magazine Award recipient, is an ex-Montrealer who writes about Toronto’s ever-evolving food scene, real estate and culture for Toronto Life, Fodor’s, Designlines, Canadian Business, Glory Media and Post City. Her work ranges from features on octopus-hunting in the Adriatic to celebrity profiles.
