What’s on the menu at the Wine Swine, a new spot with weekday brunch and a rooftop terrace

By Caroline Aksich | May 16, 2016

By Caroline Aksich | 05/16/2016

Name: The Wine Swine
Neighbourhood: The Beach
Contact: 1001 Eastern Ave., 416-649-1001, thewineswine.ca
Previously: Le Papillon on the Park
Owners: Glenn and Kirsten Phillips

The food

The menu is a mix of pub standards (burgers, fish and chips) and upscale dinner plates (duck confit, venison osso bucco). Brunch runs Wednesday to Sunday, offering morning favourites like waffles and eggs benny. For those who are extra hungry after their boardwalk run, there’s the belt-busting Fry Up: French toast, two eggs, breakfast sausage, blood sausage, baked beans and home fries—all on one plate.

There’s a daily grilled cheese. Price varies.

Tempura-battered popcorn shrimp. $9.

Beer-battered haddock and chips. $15.

For the steak frites, the kitchen grills an eight-ounce strip loin. $28.

Venison osso bucco flavoured with juniper and orange is served with parsnips and asparagus $28.

The Blackstone Benedict: a croissant topped with grilled tomato, chorizo, poached eggs and a basil hollandaise sauce. $14.

Waffles with fruit compote, mixed berries and whipped cream. $14.

The drinks

The wine list is made up of 26 bottles, all of which are available by the glass, and two on tap (Peller Estate’s chardonnay and cab-merlot). There’s beer, too, including a lager from local Beach brewer Triple Bogey.

The space

The front portion of the restaurant is a gutted Victorian that’s been fused with an old tool and die shop. The long space is divided into four rooms: a bar, a cozy lounge with games and a fireplace, a dining room and a semi-private party room where monthly wine tastings are held. A rooftop terrace seats 80 and has its own full-service bar.