Offering French cuisine infused with East Asian flair, reinvented classic cocktails and weekend DJ performances, Jade is a restaurant first, late-night lounge second—or both for those who stay for the full experience.
“We’re not sacrificing dinner in order to be a party venue,” says beverage director and general manager Jake Dolgy. “Our identity is all three—a restaurant, a bar, a lounge—and we can be a space that’s for everyone.”
Chef Hermawan Lay sees the fusion of French and Asian flavours as a chance to reimagine the fundamentals of cooking. “If you’ve trained as a chef, you know how to cook based on French technique,” he says. “I’m incorporating classic French sauces to marry everything together.”
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A light ume sauce forms the base of this crisp salad, which is topped with thin slices of English cucumber and wedges of quick-cured mini cucumber, then mixed with breakfast, watermelon and red radish slices. $16
This eggplant sits in a pool of butter soubise, with a little extra poured overtop. It’s garnished with micro sunflower greens and a dusting of togarashi. $16
Broccolini two ways (grilled, blanched) is tossed in a goma dressing made with black sesame rather than the traditional white. $16
These pork potstickers are served over a basil crème. The tuile is meant to be cracked and eaten with the dumplings to add some crunch to each bite. $28
For this crudo, hunks of yellowfin tuna, amberjack and salmon are bathed in a zesty orange vinaigrette, then crowned with Sichuan pepper, house-made chili oil and micro cilantro. $28
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This steak tartare features Australian Wagyu combined with house-pickled kohlrabi, red yuzu kosho, ground sesame seeds, mustard and egg yolk. It’s finished with chopped chives, crispy capers and Maldon salt. Lettuce leaves and toasted bread offer a choice of eating it the traditional French way or as an Asian-inspired lettuce wrap. $28
In this dish, Korean tteokbokki sub in for gnocchi. They’re pan-fried until crispy and combined with a San Marzano tomato sauce, ‘nduja and double-smoked bacon. Shaved pecorino, grated pippali and micro basil provide the finishing touches. $28
This bone-in short rib is marinated in miso and then cooked sous-vide for 48 hours. It’s finished on the grill for a hint of char and served with a balsamic and red wine gastrique. Fresh parsley, cilantro, mint and lettuce accompany the dish, allowing diners to mix and match for herbaceous bites. $48
This dish blends char siu with duck à l’orange, featuring King Cole duck breast paired with a sweet char siu sauce. It’s topped with pickled jalapeño slices, kumquat and crispy fried sweet potato sticks. $36
This cake features alternating layers of pandan chiffon and passion fruit, with a final layer of dark chocolate ganache. Overtop, a glug of strawberry-raspberry compote and a sprinkle of sakura dust. $18
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White miso brings a savoury hit to this dreamy cheesecake, which rests on an oat crumble base surrounded by sticky palm sugar syrup. The dish is completed with a scoop of charcoal namelaka, a smooth Japanese-style ganache. $18
The Drinks
French and Asian elements also shape Jade’s drink menu, with traditional cocktails reinvented using ingredients like tamari and toasted rice. “I wanted to design cocktails that complemented the food with more savoury elements and a focus on umami and salt,” says Dolgy. Alongside dedicated champagne cocktail and martini menus, there’s also a by-the-glass list of wine that leans toward old-world bottles and a robust selection of non-alcoholic drinks.
The Jade Old Fashioned features Michter’s bourbon infused with jin jun mei (a Chinese red tea) for an Asian twist on the classic cocktail. It’s mixed with kokuto sugar, kokuto umeshu, and Angostura and orange bitters. $25
Gochujang brings some heat to the Tiger Bomb, a riff on a spicy margarita. It gets stirred up with sansho pepper–infused tequila, ginseng-infused shochu, and ginger and passion fruit agave, then garnished with wasabi furikake and gochugaru. $25
The fruit-forward Hubba Boba combines gin with peach soju, Cointreau, jasmine tea, lemon juice and sake kasu syrup. The addition of bursting strawberry orbs is a play on Taiwanese bubble tea. $25
The Space
The split-level space (done up in a muted green palette to pay homage to its namesake gemstone) reflects Jade’s dual identity as both a restaurant and a lounge. The upper level features dining booths while the main floor provides casual, cozy seating for cocktails.
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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.
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