I’m not really sure if summer in Toronto is ever going to make an appearance. This year I purchased an ACTUAL rain coat because I just couldn’t deal with another day of getting soaked in the rain. With all this grey and gloominess on the outside, and maybe a little on my insides, I needed a strong dose of brightness and happy in my life. Enter Café Cancan. The latest addition to the dining scene by Chef Victor Barry of Splendido fame and Piano Piano, one of my Toronto favorites.
Photo Credit: Toronto Life
Photo Credit: blogTO
This delightful French Bistro occupies the space that Harbord Room was once in and designer Tiffany Pratt did not skimp on any of the precious details. The entire space is light, bright and filled with details that you’ll want to capture for the ‘gram. Every single corner and crevasse is oozing with adorableness so there’s just no way to be in a bad mood if you find yourself here.
The space itself is on the smaller side with about 20-25 or so seats in the front of the house and maybe another 10 for their patio. There is also bar seating should you want to partake in one of their delicious cocktails or their 3-5pm Happy Hour. I had the day off so figured why not take advantage of the Happy Hour because otherwise not really sure how a person with standard working hours could do it. Although perhaps I could work AND happy hour…
Photo Credit: Toronto Life
Photo Credit: Toronto Life
Their Snack (aka Happy Hour) menu is a small selection of drinks and what I like to call “things on toast”. Everything is priced at $5 each so for a crisp $20 bill you can get delightfully buzzed. On this particular day, I indulged in their rose, because it’s obviously the drink of the summer, their Apero cocktail and smoked salmon/horseradish on toast.
The rose was a Grenache/Cinsault from Southern Rhone and it was perfectly crisp and light. I can definitely see myself going through the bottle too easily. The Apero cocktail was SO refreshing. A blend of Lillet Blanc, lemon tonic, ginger honey cordial and rosemary. I need to learn how to make this.
The toasts were a snack size sampling topped with very fresh ingredients. The combination of smoked salmon and horseradish was perfect with my beverage selection.
I’ve been perusing their main menu to try and decide if my next visit will be for dinner or brunch. Their dinner menu is mainly comprised of classic French bistro dishes like steak tartare, French onion soup and a very heavy selection of seafood dishes. There’s even an entire section devoted completely to Foie Gras. The brunch menu is also made up of more classic dishes but with a little French flair. Hard to decide, might have to just try both.
Till next time, eat and be merry!
Discover Café Cancan
Address: 89 Harbord Street
Web: www.cafecancan.com
Instagram: @cafecancanto
$ – $20/per person for 3 drinks and 1 snack (during Happy Hour)
