$$ ‧ Bar
About
Located at 1090 Queen St West, Bar Poet sits at the corner of Queen and Dovercourt in a white walled building with the words 'Bar Poet' glowing in gold above the arched doorway, the space once was home to Church Aperitivo Bar. Bar Poet offers a wide range of pizzas, a selection of pasta's and a variety of tapas perfect to accompany any of their creative cocktails. At the front of Bar Poet as you walk in you can see the length of the restaurant and a small area for Skee Ball.
My Experience
We had made reservations through Resy and arrived at Bar Poet at 6pm on a Friday. The space was already bustling with people despite it being so early. We thought maybe because it was quite early in terms of dinner time for Toronto natives that it would be quieter, but we were quite wrong- so be prepared for sore vocal cords the next morning. The ceiling was filled with foliage and glowing fairy lights. Upon entering we were seated at a booth just past the bar area. Further down the length of the restaurant was a small 2 or 3 step staircase that lead to another seating area with a view of the kitchen.
Their menu was quite extensive having a perfect variety of starters to share, hand made pastas, pizza's and beverages. It was also nice to see a gluten free section. Their cocktail menu had fantastic names for their drinks, each separated into 1 of 3 categories. the firsy category being 'Fairy Tales' including fun drinks like their Sleepy Hollow ($16), the second 'Poetry' carry's a list of familiar cocktails that have been changed like their Peanut Butter Espresso Martini ($19) and the third category 'Classics' which refers to cocktails that we already recognize like Old Fashioned ($18). After perusing the menu we decided on our drinks: I ordered their Purple Rain ($18) which was lovely mix of gin, cassis, Limoncello, Lillet Blanc, Lemon, Prosecco and butterfly pea flower. My friend ordered the Perfect Pear ($19), which came in a stunning wide rimmed Nick and Nora style glass. Lastly, two other members of our party ordered the Sour Poet ($14).
What We Ordered
NYC Spicy Rigatoni ($18.95)
The NYC rigatoni comes with the option of adding shrimp ($6). I decided to forego the shrimp since I am sometimes intolerant to it. Once it arrived it looked spectacular. If it wasn't for the heat I would have inhaled the cheesy hand made rigatoni in seconds. It was quite a bit spicier than I thought it was going to be, but a great way to open up your appetite.
Gnocchi ($22.95)
Gnocchi is an Italian pasta or dumpling made with potato and flour. Growing up, gnocchi was the first pasta my Nonna taught me how to make. It can sometimes be tricky to make as the gnocchi can sometimes end up becoming to dense and heavy, but bar poets hand made gnocchi were quite light in texture. The sauce on their gnocchi was made of Taleggio cream, which is a semi soft mild cheese cheese, gorgonzola, truffle oil, chives, cauliflower, and black garlic. The portion is quite large so I do recommend sharing!
Prosciutto Pizza ($22)
Bar Poet is known for its pizzas, and it's usually the first thing you see when your search this establishment online. They have a selection of 15 pizza's with gluten free and vegetarian options available. Today we went for their prosciutto pizza, which is rather simple with the toppings such as tomato sauce, mozzarella, prosciutto, basil, olive oil and parmigiano cheese. The pizza had a generous amount of prosciutto and basil on top as shown in the picture above, which was great to see; especially when restaurants at Eataly only put 2 or 3 basil leaves on their margarita pizza. The crust was thin and and airy making it a pretty descent pizza.
Arancini ($15)
Arancini are rice balls originating from Sicily that are stuffed usually with a minced meat ragu and peas, coated in bread crumbs and then fried. These arancini's were a bit different, with the rice being made up of a mushroom risotto, with sembal cream, and topped with parmigiano. They outer shell had a nice crunch and the rice balls them selves were quite tasty.
Service
The food and drinks were great, however we did run into an issue during our time at Bar Poet. I had made the reservation on Resy a few weeks before and was told that we have a two hour seating limit. When we arrived at the restaurant our host also told us that we had the table for 2 hours. About 45 minutes into the meal, another host came to us to let us know we had 15 minutes before the next reservation arrived for our table. We were a bit shocked and confused since we thought we had the 2 hours. The host went back to double check, and returned to let us know there was system error and that it over booked the table. They did not come back to clarify if we had to leave or not, but they did not ask us again, so we assume that they were able to find another table for the group coming at that time. They did a little later come and provide us with complimentary green Tea Shots, which were absolutely delightful, but my main critique would be for them to have checked the system for our seating time limit (i.e groups of 4 - 2 hours) before telling us we had to leave. We did appreciate the complimentary shot, and that I believe they resolved it, but coming up and telling us we have to leave in 15 minutes was a bit unsettling. I do believe with some feedback and system review, any issues like this can be avoided in the future.
Conclusion
After an evening at Bar Poet on Queen St West, it's clear they offer a vibrant atmosphere, delicious food, and creative cocktails. From the cozy ambiance to the extensive menu, it's a spot worth visiting. However, I would recommend that lowering the music a touch would make it a go to place, and the issue that arose with the seating limit, which the staff handled highlighted a need for smoother operations. But with these minor adjustments, Bar Poet could ensure every visit is as enjoyable as the last.
How To Get There
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