The Best Classic Bars in Canada « Sharp – Canada's Magazine for Men

Sign up for the sharp insider, our email newsletter, and get a FREE DOWNLOAD of a past issue of Sharp The Book For Men.

May 2013

Gold-Award

Prev Next

Prev

Next

The Best Classic Bars in Canada

<b>L’Abattoir </b>
<br><br>
This laid-back fine dining restaurant is all 21st-century Gastown: light and airy with exposed brick and contemporary furnishings. Head barman Shaun Layton offers a virile, sharply curated cocktail list of largely early 20th-century recipes and his own brawny, bitter beverages echoing that era.
<br><br>
<b>Suggested:</b> The Fourth Regiment resembles a Manhattan, but with orange and celery bitters. These lend it a strange yet appetizingly savoury dimension. <i><a href="http://www.labattoir.ca/">labattoir.ca</a></i>

<b>The Diamond</b>
<br><br>
Josh Pape’s “no-bullshit,” nail-the-basics philosophy (“It’s got to be made perfectly to be made great”) helped propel Vancouver to cocktail glory when he opened The Diamond three years ago. Dinner and drinks all happen in one high-windowed room, and the jewel-hard cocktails are served in mismatched vintage glassware.
<br><br>
<b>Suggested:</b> The sting of a Pegu Club cocktail, consisting of Beefeater gin, Cointreau, lime juice and two kinds of bitters. <i><a href="http://di6mond.com/">di6mond.com</a></i>

<b>The Harbord Room</b>
The busy little bistro and bar has become the de facto clubhouse for Toronto bar industry types, who gather to chat with affable owner/bartender Dave Mitton. Their endorsement should suffice.
<br><br>
<b>Suggested:</b> What could be older-school than the Athol Brose, a delicious 15th-century Scottish concoction of Scotch, honey and cream? <i><a href="http://www.theharbordroom.com/">theharbordroom.com</a></i>

Comments

Pingback: SHARP Magazine – July 2012 | Clive's Classic Lounge
Mol

Been there, fantastic! Small town atmosphere, friendly people and great service. Best drinks! Give Wes the base(liquor) and he’ll make you a drink you’ll not forget. Worth the drive. The food is next to none and the service wonderful.