ALL IN THE FAMILY
Blink and you’ll miss Museum Tavern. Squirreled upstairs and across the street from the Royal Ontario Museum sits the suitably named brasserie. The charming space has been satiating museum goers and the spillover crowd from Koerner Hall ever since siblings Chloe, Glen and Kyle Kristenbrun opened back in 2012. (Prior to opening, they were involved in an intense food tour in the States.) In addition to serving American comfort food — think upscale burgers, giant salads and the like — the tavern is known for its stellar cocktail program.
THE MAN FOR THE JOB
“I’m from Halifax,” notes bar manager Andrew Foster, “and I moved out here last year for … a blonde.” After pouring at bars around town, Foster was spotted and subsequently poached by a Tavern staff member, who knew he’d be the perfect fit behind the bar. The cocktail program itself is a collaboration between Foster and the rest of the team. “You want to follow trends but sometimes trends aren’t right for this establishment,” Foster says. “It limits you but also pushes you to keep trying new things.”
THE BUBBLES HAVE IT
“We always want a sparkling cocktail,” Foster says of the Beauty and the Bog, a tipple found on the winter menu. To craft the popular drink, Foster pours Bombay Sapphire gin and Lillet Blanc into a cocktail shaker. He adds a grenadine syrup made from fresh cranberries and pomegranate juice, some lemon and half a rosemary sprig and then shakes it and fine strains it. A pour of sparkling brut tops it all off, making for an easy sipper that’s just the right amount of sweet.
Museum Tavern, 208 Bloor St. W., 416-920-0110