Yorkville’s new supper club and cocktail bar leans hard into luxury
Everyone’s getting caviaaaaaaar
Name: Powder Room
Contact: 129 Yorkville Ave., powderroomyorkville.com, @powderroomyorkville
Neighbourhood: Yorkville
Owner: Liberty Entertainment Group
Corporate executive chef: Michael Ewing
Accessibility: Not fully accessible
Many years ago—before King West claimed the city’s club kids—Yorkville was home to one of the vibiest spots in town: a swanky whitewashed lounge and rooftop known as Amber, which attracted young people to the posh neighbourhood and set the cobbled streets aglow. Since Amber closed in 2011, Yorkville has yet to muster a night haunt that captures the same balance of maturity and marauding—something both luxe and lit.
Until now. Meet Powder Room, a 4,000-square-foot, 200-plus-person lounge with a strict dress code perched above Cibo and powered by the Liberty Entertainment Group crew, who have spent over three decades dealing in downtown swank (and, more recently, in Michelin-level dining).
“With Powder Room, we wanted to fuse nightlife and fine dining in a way that feels truly tasteful,” says Luca Di Donato. “We have excellent resources through the team at Don Alfonso 1890, so we worked with them to build out the menu here. And of course, the room was created by the best designer in the business—my mom, Nadia.”
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For Di Donato, a former real estate lawyer—who, in 2023, opened Paris Texas, a raucous honky-tonk club on King West with the Municipal Goods team—Powder Room marks a deliberate departure from that world. “My life is a lot different now,” he says. “I gave up practising law, and now I work full time for Liberty. My wife and I also recently had a baby. This is the kind of scene I want at this stage of my life, so it made sense to create it.”
While a DJ will spin lo-fi tunes later in the evening, the focus is on live music. The sound coming from the lounge blends Frank Sinatra’s swagger, Sade’s silk and a modern, slow-burn soul vibe. “We want the music to permeate but not overpower,” says Di Donato. “The idea here is to come for a bite but then stay for the night.”
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The Food
Leveraging the Michelin-starred expertise of Don Alfonso, Powder Room’s culinary program fuses elevated gastronomy with approachable barroom craft. Even the simplest items get the star treatment here. For example, house-made chicken nuggets are served with sour cream, chives and a 30-gram tin of caviar. It’s a dipping situation that makes house aïoli look like amateur hour. And hot dogs are made with Wagyu and topped with (more) caviar.
The Drinks
Set ablaze by the imagination of world-renowned bartender Jacob Martin, the showy cocktail menu may not feature actual pyrotechnics, but it does include a glow-in-the-dark moment and a miniature bathtub.
Thoughtful ingredients and flavours sneak into classic cocktails, like matcha and sake in the Yorkville Margarita. And Tanqueray and tonic mingle with popped rice, green tea and passion fruit in the Midnight Muse, a playful twist on the classic G&T that delivers effervescent, exotic notes with every sip.
The Space
A secret elevator takes guests up to a luxurious, sprawling room that immediately draws them in with its lush fabrics, jewel tones and moody lighting. It feels both cinematic and intimate—a hint of The Godfather, a flash of Gatsby and a bit of boudoir.
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Erin Hershberg is a freelance writer with nearly two decades of experience in the lifestyle sector. She currently lives in downtown Toronto with her husband and two children.
