Samovar Room in Cabbagetown is the third Russian-themed bar in what's becoming Rumen Dimitroff's east-end dynasty.
Located behind the Winchester Hotel in the old Laurentian Room, Samovar embodies old-world Russian glamour as smartly as Dimitroff's other ventures, Rasputin and Pravda, embody csarist and soviet Russia, respectively.
Just off Parliament St, and upstairs through an unmarked door, the bar feels very for-those-in-the-know and slightly prohibition-era. Inside, dark walls, heavy burgundy curtains, and a wall lined with fireplaces conjures Russia as I've always imagined it: opulent, ornate, and elemental.
The long bar dominates one side of the room, while small tables dot the bench that runs the length of the opposite wall. Unlike Rasputin and Pravda, where cozy groupings of chairs and tables inspire intimate, conspiratorial chats, Samovar is more of a dance club, with live DJs and hired dancers keeping the energy level high, and drinks like absinthe keeping the inhibitions low.
Samovar offers a vast selection of vodkas, as with the other bars in Dimitroff's Eastern Bloc, as well as a variety of fine champagnes, four different kinds of absinthe, and a menu of delicatessen-style foods that complement the drinks and ambience perfectly, such as caviar and smoked meats.
For those who want the full experience, the large, wood-lined freezer room behind the bar doubles as a "tasting room". Patrons are provided with fur coats and hats and served food and vodka a la Russe: AKA, while cold.
A night out at Samovar merits your best duds, as you'll be keeping company with the young and fashionable - the ones who can afford a taste for the finer things. Fur or military hats might get you confused with the staff, but after a glass of absinthe you won't care. Samovar is only open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 7pm.
Writing by Jessica McGann
Additional Details
- Beers on Tap:
- Steam Whistle, Wellington Pale Ale
- Signature Drink:
- Vodka
- Bar Snacks:
- Russian-inspired delicacies like smoked meat and caviar
- Patio:
- No
- Music/Genre:
- Dance club remixes, heavy beats
- Live Music:
- Yes
- Who Goes There:
- Clubbers, young movers-and-shakers, fans of Pravda and Rasputin Vodka Bars
- Hours:
- Thurs-Sat, 7pm to 2am
Discussion
6 Comments
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"opulent, ornate, and elemental"
you rock!
I checked this place out a little while ago as I live just around the corner. First of all, it is incredibly expensive (we're talking $17 for a premium martini). When I was there a month or so ago there were two hired dancers wearing Ushankas and fishnet stockings jumping around on either side of the bar, which gave the place an unmistakable strip club vibe. It's smaller than the pictures suggest and the temperature was extremely high since they were operating all of the fireplaces despite the outside temperature being about 20C.
In other words, it sucks.
Was there last night for a Circus-themed variety/cabaret. Amazing space with incredible attention to detail, coupled with a surprisingly friendly and welcoming staff and clientele. Might be a little expensive, but just the opposite of snobby. This guy cares, and it shows.
I call shenanigans. You're the owner or somehow connected to the bar for sure. Nobody else would refer to 'welcoming clientele' or call a theme night a 'variety/cabaret'. Nor would they call a smallish rectangular bar an 'amazing space' with nothing to back up the claim, etc.
I agree, Mike - People coming on and pretending they don't have a vested interest in a place when they in fact do is definitely a problem. But that ain't me.
For the sake of full disclosure, I called it a variety/cabaret as I happened to be there to see one of the performers, and I think that's what it was called. Or not.
Regardless, I Still loved the space, and do in fact wish I was in fact the owner - I'd have a great bar to be proud of!
And as for all the other descriptives I used? That's simply how I write sometimes.
Long and the short - no connection to the venue, and my opinion still stands - great little high-end place.
I frequented this space when it was the Laurentian room, just after it had been restored to the splendor of the time when Al Capone and Billie Holiday frequented it in days gone by.
I came back after I heard that the defunct Laurentian room had been reopened under Russian ownership as Samovar.
Hands down, the worst bar experience I've had in Toronto.
The servers got our orders wrong, the menu was misspelled, the drinks were - frankly - disgusting (avoid Russian cherry cosmo-type drink unless you're in a period of self loathing). When we tried to order beers to offset martini hell, we were cooly informed they only offered half pints. And then they charged us twice.
If you want a great place, go around the corner to the Cobourg. After throwing down at this place, you'll have to read some Dostoevsky to lift your mood.