Introducing: Ze Ze Food & Drink, a new café, restaurant and cocktail bar in Parkdale
Name: Ze Ze Food & Drink
Neighbourhood: Parkdale
Contact Info: 1704 Queen St. W., 416.901.9951, zezefoodanddrink.com, @zezefoodndrink
Owner: Haeyeon An
Chef: Haeyeon An, who previously worked in the kitchens at Local Kitchen & Wine Bar, Origin and Bar Salumi
The Food: Chef Haeyeon An is no stranger to fusion cuisine, having trained under Claudio Aprile at Origin. Her short menu of casual, shareable plates combines French, Italian and Korean flavours. Steak tartare, for instance, is chopped to order and served with grilled brioche and a Korean-spiced aioli. Chunky brioche crostini come topped with things like slow-roasted pork belly with onion chutney, or roasted beets with honey ricotta. Everything is cooked to order in a tiny open kitchen, including flaky croissants and other French pastries.
The Drinks: Craft beer, five wines by the glass or bottle, and nine custom cocktails made with inventive liquor infusions, like Earl Grey–steeped rye and cardamom-spiced bourbon.
The Place: Open from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m., Ze Ze operates as a café, a lunch counter and cocktail bar. Chef An liked the former Bar Salumi space as it was, so she only made a few small changes, like topping the bar with smooth Carrera marble and lining the countertops with pretty Parisian ornaments and porcelain cake trays. One wall of the restaurant displays artwork from up-and-coming Torontonians (right now it’s lined with a collection of Greg Sheglar’s quirky vintage collages).
The Numbers: • 60 days to renovate the space • 22 seats on the patio, which opens in the spring • 11 handcrafted teas by local producer Kali • 10 small loaves of brioche baked daily • 6 antique mirrors • 5 pieces by local artist Greg Sheglar displayed on the rotating gallery wall • 3 tea-infused cocktails
THIS CITY
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