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Eat & Drink

Bacchus Gets a Makeover, Chino Becomes Manhattan

Posted by Tim / October 7, 2008

11 Comments

Bacchus ParkdaleBacchus, the venerable Parkdale roti shop (and one of the best in the city) has a new look. Gone is the uber casual environs and Caribbean blue walls and in their place is a surprisingly stylish setup that includes white leather seats, modern wood tables and fancy chairs.

At first glance, I'm not sure what to make of it. While the new interior is still casual enough, I wonder if the more modern aesthetic might alienate some of the regular crowd. And then part of me can't help feeling that this makeover is the ultimate sign of Parkdale's gentrification (at least the stretch east of Lansdowne anyway).

And right next door, the short lived Chino is no longer. In its place is the why is this place named Manhattan Manhattan. Here's a photo of their brunch menu:

Manhattan Menu

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Jonathan / October 7, 2008 at 02:03 pm
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Are there no prices on the menu or are they just cropped out of this picture? Unfortunately, I find brunch prices vary inversely to food quality in this area, so I want to know!
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Elle Driver / October 7, 2008 at 02:16 pm
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@Jonathan: I checked out the posted menu just yesterday, and there's no prices listed. Either it's one of those places that doesn't bother listing their prices (because they're way expensive) or they're being careless. Or both.
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Elle Driver / October 7, 2008 at 02:50 pm
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Additionally: is the Bacchus make-over a direct result of Restaurant Makeover (a.k.a. the resto kiss of death)? Granted, I do find the hand-lettered sign quite charming.
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Roger / October 7, 2008 at 04:28 pm
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I walked past Manhattan last week when they were still putting in all the fixtures. It looks much more upscale than most of the places along that strip. Let's hope the prices aren't too New York. :)
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Teena in Toronto / October 7, 2008 at 04:48 pm
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I had a roti at Island Foods for lunch today ... not that far from Bacchus. Alas, had I known about the revamp I would have gone to Bacchus.
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Jason / October 8, 2008 at 09:02 am
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"short-lived chino"? The place opened back in, what 2006? and hung around for well over a year. It was one of the first bars to symbolize the gentrification of parkdale (along with the closing of the blue moon) but it was never busy, over-priced and had nothing unique about it. I can't believe they lasted as long as they did. But "short-lived" is an odd way description.
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Jerrold / October 8, 2008 at 09:43 am
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@Jason

Curious... what would you call a resto that opened in 2006 and closed in 2008? Long-lived?
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Tim / October 8, 2008 at 09:51 am
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Yeah. I consider two years short lived. And I agree, like the now departed Dragonfly and The Parkdale Drink, the execution was simply off and not in tune with the sensibilities of the neighbourhood.
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Greg Clow / October 11, 2008 at 03:42 pm
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The reason that Manhattan didn't have prices listed on their menu earlier this week was because they just opened last weekend, and hadn't decided on the final prices yet. We wandered by last Saturday on our way elsewhere for lunch, and the waitress noticed us looking at the menu and came out to tell us that everything on the menu (except the steak and eggs) was 5 bucks until they finalized things. So we had lunch there, and were really impressed.

Walked by again today, and they now have prices listed. Mor than 5 bucks, but still very reasonable, with most dishes in the $7-$10 range. Weekend brunch is all they're doing for now, but once they get their liquor license, they'll be starting dinner service, and will have live jazz in the evenings.

As for Bacchus - based on what we saw through the window, the Restaurant Makeover reno looks like crap. We noticed some really sloppy painting around the edges of the banquette, and whatever they used to cover the tables is already peeling off. Sheesh.
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Davy / October 15, 2008 at 08:13 pm
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I watched the Restaurant Makeover crew sitting around Bacchus for hours - as seemed to happen on that show the couple of times I've watched it - and leave one or two guys to pull off a sloppy all-nighter: paint spots on the leather, sorry plywood sign.... Sad. That show truly is the kiss of death.
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Amanda / October 18, 2008 at 02:39 pm
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I was just working in Parkdale ... from what I heard, Restaurant Makeover is coming to Bacchus to repair everything that isn't right for free.
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