Winchester Kitchen & Bar Tasting
A former hangout of Al Capone. A stage that was graced by Billie Holiday. These are the things that legends—and press releases—are made of. Throw in a history as opium den, maybe an unsolved murder or two, and a Masonic cornerstone, and The Winchester Kitchen & Bar could have been the set of a Joe R. Lansdale story rather than a tasting event premiering the new menu.
Located in Toronto's Cabbagetown district, the Winchester Hotel displays its age with pride. Originally a hotel, the venue has been designated a heritage building and is protected from extensive renovation, so a tangible sense of history permeates the intimate, narrow space. Dark tones, high ceilings and a small stage feel like a smokey 1920s lounge, working with the clean, sleek lines of the bar and liquor shelves to create the look of a speakeasy built by a Porsche designer.
The Winchester was most recently a vodka bar, but new owners Anesti Tsiourantanis and Mareesha Klups took over this year, and opened their doors to the locals in March. Tuesday's event drew a young crowd, the plethora of black-rimmed glasses and the occasional wrist tattoo suggesting that the Winchester is ready to expand its customer base to draw Torontonian hipsters who have graduated from faux-dive couture and overpriced burritos to top-shelf liquor and bistro cuisine.
While Toronto indie-folk band Lazybones—featuring Matt Wells, the TV personality who specializes in being mildly bemused by reality show histrionics on MuchMore Music—provided the live soundtrack, black clad waitstaff circulated with tasting plates based on Chef Binh An Nguyen's winter menu. The beet tartare balanced its acidity with a creamy goat cheese. The delicious cauliflower soup shooters layered its flavours masterfully, following a nose of truffle oil with a rich saltiness and a crunch of sweet from diced apples. And the cast iron calamari and chorizo was alarmingly addictive, the haute cuisine version of pork rinds.
Though some dishes were less successful—an innovative pumpkin risotto cake was slightly under-seasoned, and a cabbage roll was a touch dense—the Winchester's speciality cocktails seemed universally popular. The Winchestacaesar, piled high with vegetables and house-made pickles, was a monument to rustic excess. And the Electric Whiskey, which includes Canadian Club and Aperol, packed a punch belied by its candy-corn appearance, like laudanum-laced Lifesavers. Capone and Holiday would no doubt have been quite proud.
Winchester Kitchen & Bar, 51A Winchester St., Wednesday to Saturday
