Name: City Betty
Contact: 1352 Danforth Ave., 647-271-3949, citybetty.com, @citybetty Neighbourhood: The Danforth
Previously: The Borough
Owner: Amanda Gatien
Chef: Alex Molitz (Farmhouse Tavern, Geraldine, Waupoos Estate Winery and Restaurant)
The food
A changing menu that draws from both Molitz’s and Gatien’s ties to California, New York and Ontario. They call City Betty a “seven-season kitchen,” and Gatien explains the description as such: “In Ontario you have spring, late spring, summer, early fall, fall, and two kinds of winter—really cold and right before spring when you can still get a lot of root vegetables.” Open for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, there’s also a kid-friendly menu that includes cheesy pasta, a burger and treats from Glory Hole Doughnuts.
This tartare is made with Lake Erie rainbow trout, celery and crème fraiche. It’s served with house-made kettle chips. $14.
The whimsically named Woodstock, NY tops Blackbird Bakery bread with crescenza cheese, a mix of local roasted mushrooms, English pea purée and pea shoots. $16.
The brunch-only Uptown Latke features a large Yukon Gold potato latke (based on sous chef Eric Jacob’s family recipe) topped with cured Lake Erie rainbow trout, crème fraiche, charred green onion, raw watermelon radish salad and crispy capers. $14. (Add an egg to it for another $3.)
For this dish, Fogo Island cod is gently cooked with celery root purée and finished with plumped golden raisins, wild greens and seared endives drizzled with a vinaigrette. $27.
The Bananarama is a pastry tart filled to the brim with sliced bananas, pastry crème, and topped with a crown of Walt’s maple whip. $10.
The drinks
Local beer, some wine and a cocktail list of zodiac-based creations curated by Sarah Evans (House of Commons). The drinks are made using recipes developed by some of Toronto’s top female bartenders.
The smoked tequila carrot caesar is made with Olmeca Blanco tequila, house-made carrot juice, Lapsong Souchong tea and pickled onions, and finished with a coriander and ancho rim. $12.
The Scorp Sister (described as “heated, deep, loyal AF”) is made with Leyenda Oaxaca mescal, Lillet Blanc, Amaro Montenegro, birch syrup and citrus. $15.
The Gemmy Night is made with Beefeater gin, St-Germain, Lillet Blanc, kumquat, activated charcoal, lime and aquafaba (chickpea water). $14.
Non-alcoholic cocktails include the Virgoean, which is made with Seedlip Garden 108, celery, fennel, dill and tonic. $7. ($11 with gin.)
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Drinks, like these Blackberry shots ($7 each) are served in vintage glassware sourced from shops around the city.
The space
The restaurant’s name is a reference to the city of New York, combined with a Californian surfer term for a babe (a Betty). “And Betty is my grandmother, who I adore and love,” says Gatien. (City Betty’s logo also includes the California poppy, the New York rose and the Ontario Trillium). A tiny 10-seat patio is on the way.
Molitz, beyond the pass.
Watch for daily chalkboard specials and the “casual dinner service menu” which features fun, off-the-cuff specials like Camp Runamuk, Molitz’s take on s’mores.
The “lookout” is an extension of the bar. Rumour has it that Molitz might serve tasting menus from here in the future.
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Artist Kenny Baird is responsible for the restaurant’s murals.
The name is a reference to the city of New York combined with a Californian surfer term for a babe (a Betty). “And Betty is my grandmother, who I adore and love,” says Gatien.
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