Hush-hush new bar just opened on one of Toronto's busiest nightlife drags
It doesn't take long for the cat to get out of the bag when it comes to bars on Toronto's Ossington strip, but the latest spot to open on the buzzy drag doesn't want you to tell anyone about it.
And I mean that literally: the bar is called Don't Tell, and it's taking over the unmarked Ossington digs that formerly housed Pastiche.
Even though the restaurant's name suggests some desire to be kept under the radar, I never made any promises, and this is one spot you'll want to carve out a time to visit before, in the fashion of virtually every other bar and restaurant on the street, it completely blows up.
Billing itself as "Ossington's Best Kept Secret" (perhaps not anymore, oops!), the bar actually quietly opened for business on June 24, and managed to do so relatively quietly, but with a schedule of live music, dim, sexy interiors and a menu of French-Asian bites, it's only a matter of time before it starts attracting quite the lineup.
A speakeasy-inspired concept, not because you need to know a secret knock or password to get in, but because the sultry interiors and ever-present music emit an air of intimacy, Don't Tell feels conceptually similar to fellow recent Ossington addition, Small Talk.
There could be something to be said about the oration-inspired names of both ventures. In any event, whether talking small or not at all, it's evident that the clientele on the Ossington strip is hungry (or thirsty) for spots that are sleek and jazzy these days.
The menu at Don't Tell is surprisingly extensive, boasting a lineup of small bites (hello, caviar cannolis and duck tataki), savoury eclairs and sashimi, alongside an impressive lineup of cocktails, both craft and classic.
Whether you're in the mood for a good, old-fashioned vesper or a yuzu sesame sour (or both, I won't tell), your bases are covered here.
There's no doubt that the word about Don't Tell is about to get out, and soon, but don't forget that you heard it here first.
Don't Tell is located at 59 Ossington Ave.
