What’s on the menu at Overlea, the rooftop restaurant of Newmarket’s Postmark Hotel

Farm-to-table dining in a retrofitted 110-year-old post office

By Caroline Aksich| Photography by Joshua Best

| September 11, 2024

What's on the menu at Overlea, the rooftop restaurant of Newmarket's Postmark Hotel

Name: Overlea Contact: 180 Main St. S., Newmarket, 289-319-7678, thepostmarkhotel.ca, @thepostmarkhotel
Neighbourhood: Newmarket
Owner: Archive Hospitality Group (Gladstone House, Broadview Hotel) Chef: Jon Turner (Fairmont Royal York’s Reign and Clockwork) Accessibility: Fully accessible

Archive Hospitality Group, a newly established hotel management company by Streetcar and Dream, is making a bold bet on the charm of Newmarket’s historic downtown. Over the past two years, they’ve painstakingly retrofitted a 110-year-old post office, preserving the Italianate-style shell and transforming the interior into a modern boutique hotel. A seamlessly integrated 20,500-square-foot addition, designed by Kirkor Architects, provides extra space for amenities. Among the highlights is Overlea, the hotel’s rooftop restaurant, which offers sweeping views over the town’s trapped-in-time skyline.

The rooftop patio at Overlea, a restaurant inside Newmarket's Postmark Hotel

Diners sit at tables while staff works behind the bar at Overlea inside Newmarket's Postmark Hotel

The Food

Hotel GM Avi Wulfand, who honed his hospitality chops at Auberge du Pommier, was determined to make the Overlea stand out from Newmarket’s other restaurant offerings. “We wanted to enhance Main Street, not compete with local businesses,” he explains. As for the menu, Wulfand describes it as “new Canadian,” which loosely translates to unfussy upscale dining with a farm-to-table bent and a playful disregard for international borders.

Overlea chef John Turner — Chef Jon Turner

“Canada is such a melting pot of cultures,” says chef Jon Turner, whose menu reflects this diversity. There’s no singular dominant culinary influence—dishes freely mix seasonings from around the world. Take the hamachi crudo: it tempers Japanese miso with Spanish ajo blanco. Or the Mexican street corn–inspired cappelletti, where two culinary traditions come together so naturally that you wonder why “fusion” ever became a dirty word.

Poached heirloom beets on a bed of spiced yogurt — Poached in a herbaceous broth, these heirloom baby beets rest on a bed of yogurt spiced with dill, garlic, chive and lemon. Pistachio dukkah—a blend of pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts, sesame seeds and coriander—adds a delightful crunch. Finished with a sprinkle of chopped dill and a few blueberries, it’s the perfect end-of-summer salad. $21

Cappelletti stuffed with roasted Ontario corn purée, mascarpone, and Parmesan, served in a tangy lime butter sauce made with corn stock — Cappelletti stuffed with roasted Ontario corn purée, mascarpone and parmesan is served in a tangy lime butter sauce made with corn stock. The hand-folded pasta is topped with crumbled cotija, Aleppo pepper and coriander. It’s the culinary mash-up we didn’t know we needed. $32

Hamachi crudo — “I would love to use more lake fish,” says Turner, whose ambition is to increase the amount of local protein used throughout the menu. This hamachi, although definitely not domestic, is super fresh. Gorgeous semi-translucent morsels sit in a miso-orange dressing, each topped with ajo blanco (a tangy Spanish almond sauce). Orange segments, pearled cucumbers, scallion curls and a light sprinkle of Maldon salt tie it all together. $26

Venison carpaccio — Game gets its due on the menu with duck, venison and lamb, but Turner has plans to add elk and Ontario fowl. “I come from a family of hunters,” he says. “I’ve always believed it’s important for the younger generation to know where their food comes from—not just from a Styrofoam package.” His seared venison carpaccio is coated in dijon and herbs, sliced paper-thin and topped with crushed walnuts, lemon aïoli and fresh marjoram. Red vein sorrel, smoked Maldon salt and a dash of Urfa pepper bring out the meat’s lean, earthy flavour. $27

A dish of Bromlake duck breast with peas and caramelized onions — Seared in cast iron, this Brome Lake duck breast is basted in the pan with butter and thyme until it blushes a perfect pink medium in the centre. It’s served alongside sweet peas and tangy caramelized cipollini onions. A bright sour cherry jus adds a tart finishing touch. $36

Ontario prime lamb loin, served with fingerling potatoes and a Levantine-inspired yogurt — Ontario prime lamb loin—brushed with Kozlik’s mustard, thyme and rosemary, then seared until it develops a flavourful crust—is served alongside fingerling potatoes. A Levantine-inspired strained yogurt seasoned with dill, chives, feta, shallots, garlic and lemon adds a creamy, tangy contrast. The dish is finished with a minty pistachio gremolata. $59

A s'mores tart — This s’mores tart—made with smoked chocolate ganache and burnt marshmallow buttercream—tastes like country camping (okay, country glamping). $14

A stack of pancakes topped with caramelized bananas, cherry compote and yogurt — Brunch will be launched at Overlea later this fall. One of the standout dishes (already available at the hotel’s ground-floor lobby restaurant) are the sour cherry pancakes. A fluffy stack of lemony flapjacks gets layered with sour cherry compote and drizzled with honey-vanilla Greek yogurt. It’s all topped with a brûléed banana. $21

Eggs benedict topped with Montreal smoked meat and sided with roasted baby potatoes — When it comes to eggs Benedicts, the poached egg is usually the star. But this Benny’s show-stopper is undoubtedly the house-made Montreal smoked meat. It’s brined for 10 days and slow-cooked for five hours at 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Price TBD.

The Drinks

The wine program here is robust, featuring 70-plus bottles that are esoteric (these aren’t your LCBO bestsellers) and modestly priced, averaging around $70. Curated by GM Avi Wulfand, the list doesn’t lean heavily toward either new- or old-world varietals but instead focuses on excellent bottles that pair well with the food. The cocktail program excels at both classics and riffs thereon.

The Scarlett Letter, a mezcal-based cocktail — The Scarlet Letter is a sweet and smoky mezcal-forward drink made with Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur, crème de violette and Aperol. $18

The Posutokado, a Japanese twist on the mojito — The Posutokado is a play on a mojito with a Japanese twist: yuzu purée and sake replace the sugar and rum. $16

The Banana Boulevardier cocktail at Overlea — Here’s the Banane Boulevardier, a boulevardier that adds Giffard Banane du Brésil liqueur to the mix. $18

The French Tart, a grapefruit-forward non-alcoholic cocktail — A solid selection of mocktails and alcohol-free beers is also available. For example, the French Tart: a refreshing mix of Giffard elderflower and grapefruit non-alcoholic liqueur, grapefruit, lime juice, and soda. $12

The Space

The third-floor dining room—part of the building’s new expansion—may not compare to Toronto’s sky-high restaurants, but in quaint historic downtown Newmarket, three storeys up is plenty high. Floor-to-ceiling windows mean everyone in the room enjoys sweeping views of the town hall, antique churches and rolling hills in the distance. But the most coveted spots are on the wrap-around terrace, where tables with built-in fireplaces keep diners cozy.