What’s on the menu at Alobar’s new Financial District location
Including a bonkers twice-baked potato
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Name: Alobar Downtown
Contact: 150 York St., 647-368-6981, @alobarrestaurants
Neighbourhood: Financial District
Previously: Drake 150
Chef-owner: Executive chef Patrick Kriss, corporate chef Matthew Betsch, chef de cuisine Rebekah Bruce
Accessibility: Accessible washrooms
For a number of years, Alobar’s managing partner, Zane Pearl, and its Michelin-starred chef and owner, Patrick Kriss, had their sights set on the Financial District to duplicate Alobar Yorkville, their fine-dining restaurant that does double duty as a cocktail lounge. But it wasn’t until last July, when the space that was formerly Drake 150 became available, that they felt there was a fit. Nine months after the team said yes to the address, Alobar Downtown opened its doors, sitting confidently on the corner of Adelaide and York as if it had always been there.
While the design highlights of its previous tenant remain—including a wall of massive windows overlooking York Street and a hand-laid Moroccan mosaic tiled floor that was rumoured to have delayed Drake 150’s opening—Kriss’s new stomping grounds are light-filled, fresh and just fancy enough. In other words, the perfect backdrop for his uniquely beautiful style of cooking.
The food
While many of the offerings—like the now-iconic wedge salad—are transplants from Alobar Yorkville, the downtown menu is channelling a new concept: what Kriss refers to as a “steak-ish-house.” Picture intimidatingly large twice-baked potatoes, colossal shrimp cocktails and Flintstones-sized bone-in steaks. Still, though the food is often of steakhouse proportions, the delicate hand that all Alo restaurants display is still very much present. There are plenty of pickled surprises and thinly sliced whatnots to add that something special. The food is big, intentional and—especially in the case of that humongous potato—a little bit campy. In short, this “steak-ish-house” knows what it’s doing.
Related: These are Toronto’s best new restaurants in 2023
The drinks
Bar manager Luis Martinez—who, at the age of eight, was chipping ice from huge blocks at his dad’s Mexico City bar—is no stranger to classic cocktails. And, while the accomplished barkeep appreciates the the OG recipes, his goal at Alobar is to create classic drinks that are idealized versions of themselves. Case in point: La Malinche, his complex take on a margarita that gets its incredible chartreuse colour from fresh poblano syrup, a tinge of heat from habanero syrup and smoke from just enough mezcal. Guests can expect all the standouts from the Yorkville location plus some new ones. For instance, the Square Peg, an even stiffer old fashioned stirred with Drambuie and Bénédictine, panders to the Bay Street crowd.
The space
The sprawling, quietly elegant space is at once playful and polished. With its breezy palette of pale greys, bleached woods and whites, the room is reflective of a summer suit sans tie. Mid-century modern chairs and Mad Men–style banquettes nod to a classic time, but the space still manages a contemporary sense of humour. Tweed upholstery represents the working stiff, and light fixtures peer down from above like giant eyeglasses, making sure one finishes that file (or, in this case, cocktail) on time. In short, it’s not all about business here—which, of course, is a good thing.
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Erin Hershberg is a freelance writer with nearly two decades of experience in the lifestyle sector. She currently lives in downtown Toronto with her husband and two children.
