The Great Canadian Bar-Hop

Photo by Christopher Cypert TOCA

FREE BACON Tucked under the mezzanine of the Ritz-Carlton’s TOCA by Tom Brodi restaurant (TOCA is short for Toronto-Canada), TOCA Bar is a demure lobby fixture where mixology is at its most multi-cultural – to wit, the Tandoori Spiced Pisco Sour and the Chili-Lychee Collins. If the nickel countertop suggests a surgical theatre operated by a mad scientist, under a fog of liquid nitrogen, drinks are done with precision.

Sip The Streetcar, bartender Moses McIntee’s take on the sidecar: Crown Royal, lemon juice and Cointreau infused with Earl Grey tea, reinforced by a bergamot sugar rim.

Snack Maple-roasted rashers, proving that bacon is still the candy of meats, are complimentary.