TORONTO — The Senator Winebar, an upscale French-inspired restaurant and wine bar, will open March 15 on top of Toronto’s historic Senator Restaurant.
Executive chef Paul Laforet, formerly sous chef at both Ursa and The Drake Hotel, will create classic French-inspired dishes to be paired with a selection of wines and cocktails from bar manager Lorenzo Fattò Offidani.
The 24-seat restaurant features vintage furnishings, including a Prohibition-period bar imported from Cleveland and a classic 1920s Heintzman upright piano.
“We have served this community for many years offering a historic, feel-good familiarity with fresh, tasty food at the Senator, and then a central jazz venue with curated quality acts at the Top o’ the Senator, but never have we brought together such an interesting mix of the two,” says Bobby Sniderman, owner of Senator Restaurant. “I am confident the combination of this room, the menus and the music will be an immediate hit with both longtime and new guests.”
The menu will feature dishes such as a duck-liver mousse with brioche, concord grapes, mustard and pickled cherries ($16); cavatelli gorgonzola served with brussel sprouts, speck and pine nuts ($16); and braised veal cheeks with whipped potatoes, carrots and parsnip chips ($32).
The drink menu includes traditional Champagne cocktails, cognacs and liqueurs, as well as worldly offerings such as the Caffé Del Marinaio, a traditional drink among Adriatic sailors, featuring white rum, Meletti anise liquor, espresso, citrus peel and cinnamon, or the Top o’ The Senator which shakes up Amaro Averna, Famous Grouse, Angostura bitters and egg whites (all cocktails are $14).
