What’s on the menu at Evangeline, the Ace Hotel’s new all-season rooftop cocktail bar
Name: Evangeline
Contact info: 51 Camden St., 14th floor, 416-637-1200, acehotel.com, @evangelinetoronto
Neighbourhood: King West
Owner: Ace Hotel
Chefs: Chef-partner Patrick Kriss, executive chef Devin Murphy
Seats: 80 (50 indoors, 30 outdoors)
Accessibility: Fully accessible
Patrick Kriss extends his culinary dominion at the Ace Hotel with a new rooftop lounge serving cocktails and small plates in a cozy room bookended by fireplaces. Perched on the hotel’s 14th floor, it’s an elegant, inviting sanctuary from the bustle of the streets below. And, in a rare move for a rooftop lounge—thanks to ample room inside and out plus a wall of west-facing windows—it’s an all-seasons destination.
Evangeline is named after Canada’s earliest-recorded feature film—a 1914 silent drama set in the 17th-century province of Acadia, parts of which now make up the Maritimes. The choice is fitting for Canada’s first Ace hotel given the guiding ethos of the brand’s design and architecture: finding creative ways to tie in local elements. To that end, the lounge will also feature rotating exhibitions from Canadian artists alongside a permanent installation by Montreal-based David Umemoto.
The food
Small plates are served without cutlery for the most part, but they’re all easy enough to eat in a comfy lounge chair without making a mess. Think moderately fancy snacks designed to complement the drinks, like oysters on the half shell with yuzu crème fraîche, tuna tartare served chips-and-dip style, and cheese toast made with brie on sourdough.
The drinks
Evangeline’s tight, creative cocktail menu is a love letter to other Ace hotels around the world, like the Punch Lafitte—named after Jean Lafitte, the “gentleman pirate” of New Orleans—a blend of rum agricole, white rum, brandy, absinthe and green gunpowder tea, clarified with high-fat coconut milk. For special occasions (even if you’re just celebrating leaving your house in the winter), there’s a nice selection of bubbles available by the glass or bottle. A small, thoughtful collection of beer and wine rounds out the menu.
The space
With a wall of west-facing floor-to-ceiling windows and two big fireplaces on either end of the room, Evangeline will feel like cozy snow globe when the winter flurries fall. Deep armchairs, ample greenery, a wood-and-terracotta colour palette and high ceilings lend the space a grand yet intimate feel. On the northern wall, an intricate cast concrete mural by Umemoto surrounds the fireplace.
Accessibility: Fully accessible
Patrick Kriss extends his culinary dominion at the Ace Hotel with a new rooftop lounge serving cocktails and small plates in a cozy room bookended by fireplaces. Perched on the hotel’s 14th floor, it’s an elegant, inviting sanctuary from the bustle of the streets below. And, in a rare move for a rooftop lounge—thanks to ample room inside and out plus a wall of west-facing windows—it’s an all-seasons destination.
Evangeline is named after Canada's earliest-recorded feature film—a 1914 silent drama set in the 17th-century province of Acadia, parts of which now make up the Maritimes. The choice is fitting for Canada’s first Ace hotel given the guiding ethos of the brand’s design and architecture: finding creative ways to tie in local elements. To that end, the lounge will also feature rotating exhibitions from Canadian artists alongside a permanent installation by Montreal-based David Umemoto.
The food
Small plates are served without cutlery for the most part, but they're all easy enough to eat in a comfy lounge chair without making a mess. Think moderately fancy snacks designed to complement the drinks, like oysters on the half shell with yuzu crème fraîche, tuna tartare served chips-and-dip style, and cheese toast made with brie on sourdough.
[caption id="attachment_595734" align="alignnone" width="2750"] Crispy fries with creamy garlic aioli. $8[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_595738" align="alignnone" width="2750"] A bowl of fried halloumi cubes and warm green olives stuffed with ’nduja and finished with rosemary. $14[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_595728" align="alignnone" width="2750"] Black pepper salchichón, chorizo, and coppa are served with toast and a piquillo pepper relish. $22[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_595737" align="alignnone" width="2750"] A trio of jumbo shrimp, topped with grated horseradish and chives, comes with a punchy wood-smoked tomato-and-horseradish cocktail sauce. $18[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_595736" align="alignnone" width="2750"] The tuna tartare, topped with seasoned crème fraîche, chili and chimichurri, is served with thick-cut potato chips (not pictured) for scooping. $20[/caption]
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The drinks
Evangeline’s tight, creative cocktail menu is a love letter to other Ace hotels around the world, like the Punch Lafitte—named after Jean Lafitte, the “gentleman pirate” of New Orleans—a blend of rum agricole, white rum, brandy, absinthe and green gunpowder tea, clarified with high-fat coconut milk. For special occasions (even if you're just celebrating leaving your house in the winter), there’s a nice selection of bubbles available by the glass or bottle. A small, thoughtful collection of beer and wine rounds out the menu.
[caption id="attachment_595724" align="alignnone" width="1833"] The easy-drinking Desert Verdin, an ode to the Ace Hotel Palm Springs, is made with house-infused pasilla pepper liqueur, fermented pineapple, lime, tequila and mezcal—both spirits blitzed with green bell pepper for a subtle vegetal note. $19[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_595726" align="alignnone" width="1833"] The Punch Lafitte is a bartender’s answer to consommé. A blend of rum agricole (distilled from sugarcane), white rum, brandy, absinthe and green gunpowder tea is clarified with high-fat coconut milk for the crystal-clear consistency you see here. $19[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_595727" align="alignnone" width="1833"] This is the Meiji Restoration, named for the Ace Hotel Kyoto (and Japan’s late-19th-century Meiji dynasty). Suntory Toki (Japanese whiskey), bittersweet Cocchi Rosa, plum wine and yuzu bitters make for a balanced, Manhattan-like sip. It's garnished with a slice of plum soaked in plum wine and Luxardo cherry juice. $22[/caption]
The space
With a wall of west-facing floor-to-ceiling windows and two big fireplaces on either end of the room, Evangeline will feel like cozy snow globe when the winter flurries fall. Deep armchairs, ample greenery, a wood-and-terracotta colour palette and high ceilings lend the space a grand yet intimate feel. On the northern wall, an intricate cast concrete mural by Umemoto surrounds the fireplace.
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