What’s on the menu at the Gatsby, a new lounge and piano bar at the Windsor Arms
By Renée Suen| Photography by Renée Suen
| May 31, 2018
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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.
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