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”
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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.”
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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Jessica Huras is a freelance writer and editor with over a decade of experience creating food, travel and lifestyle content. She’s a content editor for the LCBO’s Food & Drink magazine, and her work has appeared in the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Chatelaine, Toronto Life and Elle Canada, among other publications.
