Name: Drake Mini Bar Contact: 150 York St., 416-900-0992, thedrake.ca/drakeminibar, @thedrake Neighbourhood: Financial District Previously: Timothy’s World Coffee Owners: Drake Hotel Properties Chefs: Corporate executive chef Ted Corrado, executive chef Jonathan Pong (Drake One Fifty) and chef de cuisine Amancio Dos Santos
The food
Open from morning to night, Mini Bar starts off with bagels, toasts and egg-stuffed crepes for breakfast, then moves on to shareable lunch and dinner plates like house-cured charcuterie with seasonal pickles, a fish plate (salmon gravlax, seaweed-cured albacore, pickled herring, smoked black cod) and spiced duck breast.
The drinks
Espresso-based beverages, a handful of rotating beers and an eclectic wine selection that includes some sustainable and natural bottles, as well as the house wine, Pandolfa’s bag-in-box sangiovese and chardonnay. Lead Bartender Jeremy Cheng is responsible for the cocktails, some of which are non-boozy and others of which are very, very boozy.
The space
Located right across the hall from Drake One Fifty, the mini space was designed by +tongtong along with Alex Simpson and the Drake’s in-house team. Between the dining room and all-season indoor “patio,” Mini Bar can seat 60 guests. But come summer, an outdoor patio (rumoured to have a 15-foot waterfall fountain) will add another 55 seats.