A hidden bar above a Toronto steakhouse is serving up some of the city's most inventive cocktails

There’s a brand-new speakeasy-style bar in Toronto serving up some of the city’s most unique cocktails. You’ll never guess where it is.

If you’re familiar with Toronto restaurateur Jad Sfeir, it’s likely because of his steak. More specifically, because of his steak frites, the only thing on the menu at the aptly named Little Italy restaurant J’s Steak Frites, which he owns and operates alongside his wife, pastry chef Tara Tang.

This July, however, he’s embarked on an entirely new adventure by opening a hidden speakeasy on top of J’s Steak Frites’ College Street location, in the space that was formerly home to industry staple Toronto Temperance Society.

A minimally marked door with a dungeon-esque window slot is all that marks the bar, but, upon ascending the steep, narrow staircase, you’re greeted with a sophisticated, sultry space that, no matter what time you’re visiting, always feels like nighttime.

According to Sfeir, simplicity was key when designing the space, not just due to the relatively minimal square footage of the bar, but in a very intentional effort to let the drinks speak for themselves, unencumbered by the bells and whistles.

Lush reds, rich blacks and sleek golds invoke an opulent, romantic feeling without being overkill. A selection of red velvet banquettes forms intimate seating clusters that make the bar a perfect date spot or ideal for a pre-dinner drink.

Sfeir’s wife, Tara Tang, is behind the entire food menu at Bitters & Bloom. He tells Dished Toronto that, while he went into the venture with the idea that food would be something of an afterthought — chips, olives, bread — as soon as he put Tang on the job, she immediately took the reins.

Lucky for them, the bar is better off for it.

Tang has created a small-but-mighty menu of wide-spanning, internationally-inspired bar bites that run the gamut from a single, sweet madeleine topped with creme fraiche and a subtly briny dollop of caviar ($21) to a roast beef sandwich ($14) served on a pretzel, with gruyère, arugula and a noticeable, though not overpowering, hint of truffle.

For something sweet, they also offer a delightful sticky date cake ($14), on top of other rotating treats that pop their heads in from time to time.

Let’s face it, though, we’re all here for the drinks, and Bar Manager Jason McNeely does not disappoint with his wide-spanning, deeply inventive menu of 13 cocktails and two mocktails.

When searching for the right person to make magic behind the bar, Sfeir tells Dished Toronto that he and General Manager Celeste Xaysanasy devoted themselves to exploring cocktail bars across the city. Eventually, McNeely’s name came up, but each time they visited the bar he was running at the time, he was out.

In a stroke of serendipity, when the job posting for Bitters & Bloom’s Bar Manager went up, McNeely was one of the first applicants. The rest is history.

When it comes to the cocktails at Bitters & Bloom, McNeely sources whatever ingredients he can from local suppliers, like produce from local growers and spirits from Ontario-based distilleries, including Spirit of York, Springmill, and Bearface Whisky.

McNeely tells Dished Toronto that, when he was building the cocktail menu, he started by checking the usual boxes, ensuring that there was a drink based on each of the major spirits, meeting a wide array of different flavour profiles. Beyond that, though, he had carte blanche, and the menu is a testament to his creative freedom.

Don’t Dream It’s Over ($23) is Sfeir’s favourite drink on the menu, telling Dished Toronto that it has a nostalgic flavour he can never quite put his finger on; a nostalgia that’s represented in its name, which takes inspiration from the 1986 Crowded House hit.

It’s a refreshingly light blend of tequila, Aquavit, aloe, Sauvignon Blanc Cordial and eucalyptus, the latter two ingredients an ode to the Australian-New Zealand band that gave the cocktail its name, which is then carbonated and served in a tall glass.

Kermit’s Revenge ($26) is a real showstopper on the menu, right down to the playful gummy from garnish that sits atop the large ice cube. With light rum, Del Santo, honeydew, lime, and lemon myrtle, it tastes exactly as green as the name would imply, but has a fruity, tart profile that makes it a joy to sip.

For something a little stronger, the Monkey’s Paw ($20) is a tropical take on the classic Old Fashioned, with pineapple rum, Vecchio del Capo, and Banana peel syrup that’s made in-house.

Every bar in the city has its own take on an Old Fashioned, but McNeely’s feels genuinely inventive. The banana flavour greets you up front, while the pineapple adds a slight tartness, and though Bitters & Bloom is a decidedly dim spot, it’ll still transport you straight to the tropics.

If you’ve always dreamt of being the sort of person who loves a Caesar but have never been able to achieve it, the Stampede Club ($24) could very well be your gateway. It features vodka, tequila, tomato shrub, clam juice and lime, is carbonated and finished off with a rim of crushed ketchup chips, in honour of the Albertan beverage.

You might also like:
• CNE will be the first festival in Canada to host a 'dinner in the sky' experience in Toronto
• The people behind Toronto's Old Spaghetti Factory are opening two totally different restaurants this summer
• An Ontario food truck known for its desserts has finally opened a permanent location

We may not have been Caesar fans before, but somehow, this is the drink on the menu that we haven’t been able to stop thinking about since.

If nothing on the menu tickles your fancy, McNeely also tells Dished Toronto that he and his bar team are always happy to whip up a bespoke drink based on your tastes and cravings, too. Bitters & Bloom is all about comfort, after all.

Bitters & Bloom

Address: 577 A College St.

Instagram

Still hungry? Discover Dished Toronto on TikTok