Eat Street Social

Sometimes, vacationing is just as stressful as a long week at work. On Sunday, Derek and I got back to the city from a week up north. The best remedy for easing back into city life? Some cocktails and tasty morsels from Eat Street Social.

We arrived around 7pm — a little too late for the early evening happy hour and a little too early for the late night happy hour. We weren’t too worried about it though — we settled in at the bar and quickly ordered our first round of drinks, the Winter Sangria ($8) for me and the Winter Sea Change ($9) for Derek. We didn’t have to wait long for our fab bartenders to whip up our beverages and soon we were sipping to our hearts content. The Winter Sangria was the perfect cure for my anxiety about going back to work — the allspice and clove made it wonderfully soothing. Derek adored the Winter Sea Change, which turned out to be a warm beverage — a pleasant surprise on a chilly night!

Eat Street Drinks

As we sipped our drinks, we scanned the menu to decide what food we wanted to try. We weren’t very hungry, so we decided to keep it simple. The mixed greens salad ($8), with blood orange, kumquat, Marcona almond, chevre, citrus vinaigrette and the poutine ($5). We ordered, and our bartender came back soon after with a pleasant surprise — two little glasses with a gin/vodka punch. Awesome, right? He explained that they used to have music and a little general debauchery on Sunday nights, but it was shut down because of the noise. Thus, for recompense, the punch. Our food arrived quickly and we dug in. The salad was simple, but tasty. Nothing to write home about, but great after a vacation of heavy food. The poutine was delish — if you’ve never had poutine before, try it! There’s something irresistible about the combination of french fries, cheese curds, and gravy. Eat Street’s version does not disappoint.

We finished off our plates with relish and as the bartender dropped off our bill, he encouraged us to stay as long as we liked. Always a plus. We settled up and continued to sit for a while. I should mention, our first bartender finished his shift soon after we arrived and stuck around to hang at the bar. He came around and shared some delicious snacks from the kitchen with us — what a guy! We also were presented with a whiskey shot by another friendly bartender. These guys certainly treat their customers right. Eat Street Social was the perfect Sunday night relaxation tactic — one that we hope to repeat soon.

Atmosphere
Cozy, dimly lit, and romantic feeling, but still casual enough to just come and hang out at the bar with friends.

Service
Truly excellent service — the bartenders that served us were attentive, fun, and interactive. Plus, a bonus shot of whiskey and they found the keys that I dropped outside in the snow?! They may have just topped my list.

Presentation
They dress their cocktails up realllll nice. Oh, and the food looks great too.

Taste
The cocktails were SO GOOD. It’s no wonder their mixologists were featured as “The Best” here. And the poutine was seriously drool-worthy.

Value for Dollars
Spendy for a few cocktails and small plates, but we were technically still on vacation, right?! Their happy hour deals make their superbly crafted cocktails very reasonable.

But don’t take my word for it: