The Parlour Toronto
The Parlour is a Vancouver-based upscale pub, and this is their first location in Toronto. The backbone of the menu is a selection of tricked-out pizzas, but there are also addictive bar snacks and punch bowl cocktails.
Housed in an old piano factory, an actual piano made here back in the day has been deconstructed and hung from the ceiling as a kind of chandelier.
Made up of multiple levels, the entire downstairs area seats about 150, with an upstairs area with a champagne lounge intended to seat an additional 175.
An all-season patio comes complete with its own bar, a projector and a retractable roof.
A $23 burrata appetizer could be scaled down in price and excess, served with toasted baguette that can be topped with prosciutto for an additional $4, apricot jam and a frisee salad with salty lardon.
Heavily seasoned, luxuriously fatty and creamy, the Puglia cheese could almost stand on its own.
Stacked short ribs ($18) knock it out of the park, marinated in tamarind and hoisin and very tender. A green apple, red pepper and daikon salad refreshes, a swipe of sriracha on the plate offering a touch of extra heat.
Ahi lettuce wraps ($17) are a little bland but lighter, with tuna, avocado, citrus ginger soy, spicy ponzu aioli, onions and sesame seeds.
Pizza dough is fermented for three days, made using bleached flour rather than traditional 00 for a lighter, more airy North American-style crust with a good level of structure, blistering and chew.
A dual gas and wood rotating Morana oven positioned behind a wooden bar cooks pizzas in about four minutes, the wood primarily for seasoning.
The Yaletown ($24) is topped with tomato sauce, ahi tuna, avocado, cilantro, red and green onion, plus jalapeno and spicy aioli that help tie the whole thing together and make this pizza feel kind of sushi-inspired.
It may seem odd, but in a way it perfectly combines two comfort foods.
The Goldmember ($24) is topped with Gruyere, mozzarella, caramelized onion, mushroom duxelle, Yukon gold potato and truffle oil for a rich pizza with a high-end feel.
$10 desserts include a tart and airy lemon mousse, encased in a cylinder and plated with an orange streusel and an elderflower gel.
A salted caramel sundae tops silky gelato with house caramel popcorn, a cocoa nib brittle, whipped cream and fudge.
A $90 Eye of the Tiger punch bowl that serves about four combines Botanist gin, St-Germain, lemon, prosecco, and orange blossom water.
A Blackberry Smash ($16) is equally delicate but deadly, made with Hennessy, honey ginger lavender syrup, lemon and blackberry.
There’s also brunch, a powder room, champagne sabering, and an additional outdoor patio.
Hector Vasquez