Name: The Gatsby
Contact: 18 Saint Thomas St., 416-971-9666, windsorarmshotel.com, @windsorarms Neighbourhood: University
Previously: Lounge 22
Owner: George Friedmann
The food
Upscale comfort food in the form of bar snacks, à la carte lunch and dinner menus, and a prix-fixe dinner menu. Although the lounge is “resonant with the Gatsby era,” Friedmann says, the food is given all the culinary expectations of 2018: there are dairy-free options, gluten-free ones and a dedicated kosher menu.
These savoury doughnuts are served with a shallot and roasted pear butter. $8.
An avocado kale caesar with smoked bacon, shaved parmesan and herbed croutons, tossed in a roasted garlic dressing. $16.
Salmon tartare with shallots, bell pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. Served with lotus and taro chips. $22.
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These vegan sliders are made with tofu and red lentils, topped with pea shoots and tomato, and served on a toasted bun. $19 for three.
The seafood board for two includes grilled calamari, three oysters, smoked salmon on crostini and fish tempura. $38.
The St. Thomas Burger, available at lunch and on the bar menu, is topped with gouda, fig preserves, Boston lettuce, caramelized onion and tomato, and served on a milk bun. $19.
Hen Two Ways features a thyme- and apricot-stuffed thigh, buttermilk fried breast, seasonal vegetables, roasted fingerling potatoes, pomme purée and thyme jus. $32.
A whole spread.
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The drinks
Beer, signature and classic cocktails, a sizeable collection of hard-to-find aged Scotch and a wine list that’s over 700 labels deep (the cellar’s oldest bottle is from 1918). A unique half-bottle program includes dessert wines and a few larger-investment pours.
Classic Daiquiri: Mount Gay rum, fresh lime and cane juice. $15.
The space
The long room in the hotel’s lobby has been transformed to provide two different experiences: there’s an opulent dining room decked out in white linen and original Charles Pachter paintings, and a polished lounge filled with comfy chairs and couches.
The throne seat found in the dining room lets guests who sit there lord over their peers seated at less-fancy tables.
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Check out all that wine.
The grand piano (which doubles as a bar table) has been used in impromptu performances by Sir Elton John, Robin Williams, Richard Gere and Andrea Bocelli.
The July issue of Toronto Life features the monster cottages of Muskoka versus the resistance. Plus, our obsessive coverage of everything that matters now in the city.
