Introducing: Ardor Bistro, a new Peruvian restaurant on Ossington from the owners of Celestin

Introducing: Ardor Bistro, a new Peruvian restaurant on Ossington from the owners of Celestin

Ardor Bistro
(Image: TJ Tindale)

Name: Ardor Bistro
Neighbourhood: Ossington
Contact Info: 59 Ossington Ave., 647-351-5100
Owners: Brothers Ivan Tarazona and James Bailey (Celestin)
Chef:
Ivan Tarazona

The Food: A modern take on traditional Latin American food. Dishes include fish ceviche, grilled octopus salad and Peruvian riffs on classic bistro mains, like steak frites with chimichurri, duck confit with quinoa and sous-vide chicken with yellow pepper sauce. There’s also a six-course tasting menu for $45.

The Drinks: Cocktails are mixed with pisco, a Peruvian spirit similar to brandy, and house-made bitters, like key lime, orange-cranberry and charred tea. A handful of South American wines and bottles of Dos Equis and Negra Modelo beer are available (Peruvian brews are in the works).

The Place: A decidedly unfussy interior with dark wood, exposed brick and black marble-slab tabletops salvaged from the yard behind the restaurant. Jugs of Bailey’s house-made bitters sit in recessed shelves above the bar.

The Numbers:
• 22 seats (plus 10 more once the chef’s table is installed up front)
• 14 varieties of pisco (once they clear customs)
• 30 days to steep the charred tea bitters, which are infused with hickory, oak and bergamot
• 7 years chef Tarazona lived in his native Peru before emigrating to Canada
• 2 chunky wooden benches inherited from Charles Khabouth’s bistro-bar Spice Route