What’s on the menu at Electric Bill, an Aussie-themed cocktail bar from the Civil Liberties team
Including sausage rolls, Marmite-glazed cabbage and mushroom “scallops”
More New Bars
Name: Electric Bill
Contact: 866 Bloor St. W., electricbillbar.ca, @electricbillbar
Neighbourhood: Bloorcourt
Owners: Casey Ryan, Nick Kennedy and Dave Huynh
Chef: Taylor Goring
After making a trip back home to Australia in 2019, long-time Civil Liberties bartender Casey Ryan felt inspired to introduce Toronto to Oz’s laid-back nightlife culture. “I realized how much I missed the bar scene in Australia,” says Ryan. “There isn’t really a structure that makes a bar feel Australian. It’s about the way bartenders interact with guests. In Australia, bartenders chat to you like you’re their friend—they’re more cheeky, and they don’t take themselves too seriously.”
Ryan teamed up with Civil Liberties owners Nick Kennedy and Dave Huynh to open a bar that captures this carefree Aussie spirit. Located right around the corner from Civil Liberties, Electric Bill upholds the much-lauded cocktail bar’s mixology chops while trading its moody atmosphere for a bright, colourful and downright fun aesthetic.
The food
Electric Bill’s menu pays homage to beloved Australian pub food through the lens of seasonal produce. Ryan wanted to include vegan and vegetarian options, and the kitchen isn’t afraid to stray from familiar Aussie favourites to showcase fresh ingredients, but there’s a touch of Oz in every dish.
The drinks
The beverages are divided into house cocktails and rotating seasonal tipples—though all share a common thread of Aussie-style flavours and innovative mixology techniques. The current seasonal menu is themed around Australian slang and presented in the form of a dictionary, with descriptions of each term and its namesake drink.
“It helps break the ice, because bars can be intimidating to go into—especially if there are a lot of things on the menu,” says Ryan. “I think if we give you something playful like this dictionary, it sets the tone that you’re allowed to ask questions.”
The space
Ryan worked with Canadian-Australian design firm Werribee Workshop to curate an interior that reflects the bar’s easy-going ethos. “We wanted it light and bright and with a colour palette you’d see in Australia,” says Ryan. Wallpaper featuring Australian flora and fauna was imported from down under. There are also plenty of quirky Australian posters, knick-knacks and other Easter eggs to spot, including an infographic poster of the platypus, the bar’s namesake: electroreceptors in the semi-aquatic mammal’s bill skin allow it to hunt prey in murky rivers and streams.
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Name: Electric Bill
Contact: 866 Bloor St. W., electricbillbar.ca, @electricbillbar
Neighbourhood: Bloorcourt
Owners: Casey Ryan, Nick Kennedy and Dave Huynh
Chef: Taylor Goring
After making a trip back home to Australia in 2019, long-time Civil Liberties bartender Casey Ryan felt inspired to introduce Toronto to Oz’s laid-back nightlife culture. “I realized how much I missed the bar scene in Australia,” says Ryan. “There isn’t really a structure that makes a bar feel Australian. It’s about the way bartenders interact with guests. In Australia, bartenders chat to you like you’re their friend—they’re more cheeky, and they don’t take themselves too seriously.”
[caption id="attachment_644066" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] From left: head chef Taylor Goring, front of house manager Kat Weltner and Casey Ryan[/caption]
Ryan teamed up with Civil Liberties owners Nick Kennedy and Dave Huynh to open a bar that captures this carefree Aussie spirit. Located right around the corner from Civil Liberties, Electric Bill upholds the much-lauded cocktail bar’s mixology chops while trading its moody atmosphere for a bright, colourful and downright fun aesthetic.
[caption id="attachment_644049" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Ryan pours out the electric-pink beet-based Bin Chicken[/caption]
The food
Electric Bill’s menu pays homage to beloved Australian pub food through the lens of seasonal produce. Ryan wanted to include vegan and vegetarian options, and the kitchen isn’t afraid to stray from familiar Aussie favourites to showcase fresh ingredients, but there’s a touch of Oz in every dish.
[caption id="attachment_644054" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Chicken parmigiana may not be a classic Australian staple, but it's currently an in-demand dish down under. Here, it's reimagined into a shareable snack by rolling the chicken around a mozzarella centre and cutting it into bite-size pieces. It’s topped with tomato sauce and more mozzarella and served with a side of marinara. $12[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_644059" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] This hearty sausage roll features a beef and mirepoix filling mixed with parsley, chives and barbecue sauce, all wrapped in puff pastry and baked until toasty. $9[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_644058" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] The mushroom scallops are one of several veggie-friendly dishes on the menu. Goring uses a soda water treatment to give the mushrooms a plumper, more scallop-like texture. They’re topped with a spice gastrique and plated on swirls of edamame purée. A side of pickled mushrooms minimizes kitchen waste, and crispy onions add a hint of crunch. $11.50[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_644052" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] This grilled napa cabbage gets its loose Australian influence from a Marmite and black tahini glaze. While Marmite is technically more popular in the UK (Vegemite reigns supreme in Australia), the choice came down to cost: according to Ryan, Vegemite is tougher to find locally at a reasonable price. $9.50[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_644053" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] This spin on a Lamington, a classic Australian sweet, features a vegan raspberry sponge cake covered in a vegan chocolate glaze and raspberry-plum jam. It’s served with a dollop of coconut-lime crème anglaise. $8[/caption]
The drinks
The beverages are divided into house cocktails and rotating seasonal tipples—though all share a common thread of Aussie-style flavours and innovative mixology techniques. The current seasonal menu is themed around Australian slang and presented in the form of a dictionary, with descriptions of each term and its namesake drink.
“It helps break the ice, because bars can be intimidating to go into—especially if there are a lot of things on the menu,” says Ryan. “I think if we give you something playful like this dictionary, it sets the tone that you’re allowed to ask questions.”
[caption id="attachment_644051" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] The Bin Chicken uses a cutting-edge technique borrowed from Scotland’s Panda and Sons cocktail bar, which sees the gin base frozen to minus 30 degrees. The gin slush is strained, and its water content is replaced with beet juice. “It allows you to get a really intense infusion but get the full flavour of the gin as well,” says Ryan. This beet gin gets blended with Cocchi Americano, pineapple skin oleo and lemon. $17.50[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_644057" align="aligncenter" width="1333"] Fruity, fizzy and light, the Good Egg draws its inspiration from pavlova, a dessert believed to have originated in either Australia or New Zealand. Beefeater gin is combined with passion fruit purée, fermented strawberry, whey, egg, lemon and Perrier. $17.50[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_644065" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Made with bourbon, amontillado, black tea, golden syrup and rose water—and clarified with coconut and oat milks—the Sticky Beak nods to the flavours of Anzac biscuits, a type of cookie popular in Australia. “Milk punch is seeing a resurgence, and we wanted to do one that was vegan,” says Ryan. $17.50[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_644055" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] A riff on the Revolver, the Durry Muncher is a smoky and rich tipple made with a base of scotch that’s been infused with toasted coconut and cacao nib. It's mixed with Averna amaro, coffee liqueur and salted absinthe. $18.50[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_644050" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Electric Bill’s signature bitter is made in partnership with Left Field Brewery. (Any resemblance to a big brewer's logo is purely coincidental.) $7.50[/caption]
The space
Ryan worked with Canadian-Australian design firm Werribee Workshop to curate an interior that reflects the bar's easy-going ethos. “We wanted it light and bright and with a colour palette you’d see in Australia,” says Ryan. Wallpaper featuring Australian flora and fauna was imported from down under. There are also plenty of quirky Australian posters, knick-knacks and other Easter eggs to spot, including an infographic poster of the platypus, the bar’s namesake: electroreceptors in the semi-aquatic mammal's bill skin allow it to hunt prey in murky rivers and streams.
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