What’s on the menu at Mahjong Bar, a hideaway cocktail bar on Dundas West
Name: Mahjong Bar
Contact: 1276 Dundas St. W., 647-291-6097, @mahjongbar
Neighbourhood: Little Portugal
Owners: Emily Blake, Joshua LeBlanc, Andrew Perry and Kyle Wong
The drinks
The house cocktails are fresh, funky and packed with pop culture allusions—there’s even a very-2017 Salt Bae one. Asian flavours (pandan leaves, shiso, umeboshi) and spirits (soju, sake, Japanese whiskey) feature prominently throughout. The esoteric draught selection includes Sweden’s Omnipollo Zodiak IPA and cider aged in merlot barrels from the Solera Cider Project. The list of bottled beers includes brews from Portugal, Hawaii, Beijing and exotic Milwaukee.
The food
Tricia Soo (who co-owns Ossington’s Malaysian restaurant, Soos) was brought on to create Mahjong Bar’s menu of Chinese small plates.
The space
Mahjong Bar is tucked behind a Pepto-pink storefront that has shelves stocked with shrimp chips, instant noodles and RuPaul votive candles. There’s a clutch of chairs and few tall cans in the fridge, but the real action happens behind the curtain.
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Caroline Aksich, a National Magazine Award recipient, is an ex-Montrealer who writes about Toronto’s ever-evolving food scene, real estate and culture for Toronto Life, Fodor’s, Designlines, Canadian Business, Glory Media and Post City. Her work ranges from features on octopus-hunting in the Adriatic to celebrity profiles.
