he disparity between ambition and capability has doomed more than one drinkery, as an unfortunate graveyard of bars padded with excessive design attests. Many bars give up and close just as new ones surface. What a pleasure, then, that chef/mixologist Brock Shepperd has given his beloved Azul that precise jolt of adrenaline needed to explore its potential, and not a shred more.

Azul held its last supper (eight courses for fifty friends of Azul) on New Year’s Eve. After that dinner, or perhaps even during, the place was shuttered and went straight into construction mode. What was to emerge, two months later, was the more polished, grown-up Canteena.

Not too polished, just enough to thrust the former eatery/bar into the lounge territory it so eagerly aspired to belong. That comfortable, DIY interior - made to satisfy both Queen Street artists on a budget and late-night drinkers, and everything in between - has now become a dark, sultry and mildly sexy chill space. A little update to Queen and Bathurst.

A spruce row of redwood tables along one wall is paired with black leatherette ottomans, while on the other side a dark room-length bar is matched with a row of bar stools. A search through the city’s antique shops seems to have paid off, as a fearless mix of chandeliers hang from overhead; take a closer look at the one above the bar and tell me that doesn’t scream Adam’s Family.

As the title indicates, Shepperd uses the nebulous ‘Cocktail and Wine Lounge’ subtitle to classify his new establishment. What Canteena has surfaced to be, however, is cocktail lounge-meets-tapas-style eatery, while simultaneously easing up on the ‘wine bar’ thing.

“It was originally to be called Canteena Wine Bar,” says Shepperd, from his perch behind the newly installed bar. “But as I was telling people about my new place, I could instantly see that ‘hmmm, it’s-not-for-me’ look in their faces when they hear ‘wine bar’. So, I took care of that right away.”

The shuffling of the name was a good move, as Canteena is all cocktail. And as a mixologist at heart, Shepperd will always maintain his cocktail repertoire. His other effort, The Chelsea Room, on Dundas West, has his staff hustling the virtues of new cocktail ingredients as if they were comparing the vitamin content of bowls of Cap’n Crunch to other leading cereal brands.

There is wine, however, passively listed under the non-grand headings of Cheap, Decent and Good. Thus said, Canteena has way to much energy to even consider wine-bar-ism. That very energy has a distinguishable change-over, starting around 11:00 when the volume creeps up, and the late night crowd starts to trickle in. This is when the music switches over to DJ-driven mode, reaching levels ususally found in a dance club.

Or to hear it from another angle, the upstairs tenants - repelled by the heavy bass beats from below - have since packed their belongings and have moved on to quieter digs. Clearly, some will miss Azul more than others.

Upshot: Two bedroom apartment for rent: must like music. - DE



Write a Review
Reader Reviews

Canteena is delicious.
Mark, Toronto,
October, 23
The space is warm and cosy (except on a frigid winter day with gusty winds...then pray that you're not sitting near the door when someone walks in!), the food is good (mmm...that chocolate fondue dessert is killer!) and the drinks are excellent (in their twisted little way). Go! Go! You'll like it too.


Canteena
Brock, Toronto
April 3, 2004
Forgive our missteps I'm confident we will be back on top of the brunch pack. Brock


Remember Azul?
K, Toronto
March 15, 2004
I went to Canteena for brunch with a friend. They were out of bacon. No problem. They were also out of three quarters of the menu items. After negotiating what they could make us to eat (eggs, not-quite-ripe avocado, toast, and some sesame chicken on toast, both with boring green salad) we waited twenty minutes after the food was brought (ten minutes apart) to our table for some cutlery. I think the waitresses were high. Remember Azul? How it was so good?