Name: Supernova Ballroom
Contact: 330 Bay St., 416-710-2764, supernovaballroom.com, @supernovaballroom
Neighbourhood: Financial District
Previously: Turf Lounge
Owners: Kelsey Ramage and Iain Griffiths (Trash Tiki, London’s Dandelyan)
A changing menu of fizzes and spritzes made with local ingredients, some of which would have otherwise been garbage. Here, leftover lemon rinds from a Toronto juice company are turned into an oleo syrup, and in order to champion Ontario produce, Ramage and Griffiths will preserve what they can, when they can (which means right now they’re sitting on a whole lotta Niagara peach wine). The two are behind Trash Tiki, a pop-up they started in 2016 to promote anti-waste drinks, after working together at London’s now-closed Dandelyan (named the world’s best cocktail bar in 2018, NBD.) But why not open a bar in London? “We were travelling and trying to figure out where we wanted to end up,” says Ramage. “We came through Toronto and it was just such an exciting city. We knew we needed to come here.”
Sharable small plates, including hot-pink “disco-devilled” eggs (the hue is thanks to beets), a seasonal salad of heirloom carrots and fennel, beans on toast (romano beans on fried bread with herbed compound butter) and a selection of sustainable seafood from Scout Canning.
Tucked away behind the concierge desk in an unassuming lobby, Supernova’s cathedral-like space was built in 1926 by the same firm responsible for Maple Leaf Gardens and the ROM. A second room will eventually be home to a disco-inspired dance floor.
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