What’s on the menu at Pray Tell, a new cocktail and snack bar with an ex-Home of the Brave chef
Name: Pray Tell
Neighbourhood: Little Italy
Contact: 838 College St., no phone, praytellbar.com, @praytellbar
Owners: Nickie Minshall (Track and Field Bar) and Dustin Keating (Track and Field Bar, Montauk)
Chef/co-owner: Sonia Mondino (Home of the Brave, Patois)
The food
A one-page menu, divided into four sections: little snacks, bigger snacks, shareables and desserts. Some of the dishes are classics with twists: The steak tartare, for instance, gets a kick from wasabi oil, subs out gherkins for pickled daikon and carrots, and is served with togarashi crostini. Mondino’s Italian heritage manifests itself on the menu in the form of a few straight-up Italian dishes, like the pocket pizzas. According to Keating, Mondino is a “70-year-old Italian grandmother in disguise.”
The drinks
Signature concoctions rounded out with a handful of classics, like a super-boozy zombie. There are no draft taps, but beer drinkers have a short list of Ontario cans and bottles to choose from, including Brimstone Brewing’s Sinister Minister. Everything on the international wine list is priced at $11 a glass or $55 a bottle.
The space
Steeply angled shelves line the 41-seat room, and the space is decorated with more than 40 plants. (Luckily, one of the new hires has a botany degree.) Keating and Minshall designed and built everything themselves, including the shelves, wood ceiling, marble tables and copper light fixtures.
NEVER MISS A TORONTO LIFE STORY
Sign up for Table Talk, our free newsletter with essential food and drink stories.
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.
