An evening of cocktails and nibbles with friends

August is my birthday month and I try my best to drag the celebrations to ensure I include the friends I’ve gathered from all walks of life together over the course of the month, so when I was invited to sample some cocktails and nibbles at the Shore Club in Toronto I had to oblige! You may recall that we recently visited the Ottawa Shore Club and found them to be extremely baby friendly with healthy and delicious options for all. Having previously visited the Toronto Shore Club for lunch and dinner, I knew that good food, craft cocktails and friendly service awaited us – no surprise that’s exactly what I got this time around as well!

Our group of seven were welcomed with the Shore Club Seafood Tower which is absolutely brilliant for large groups. Our eyes were glued to the enormous display and we barely greeted each other! Lobster, King Crab, Grilled Scallops, Snow-Crab, Dungeness Crab, Smoked Salmon, Jumbo Cocktail Prawns and Oysters are all part of the dish and we loved the Yuzu Sauce and Onion Vinegarette that came along.

After digging into the gorgeous Seafood Tower we sampled the stellar cocktail list. Favourites included the French 75 (gin, lemon and champagne), the Old Fashioned (Bourbon and bitters), Vesper (Gin me baby!)  and the Bourbon Manhattan Martini ( Bourbon and bitters with Cinzano). I was pretty sad that I couldn’t indulge in some Chocolate Grappa… try it out when you’re in next! Delicisimo!! Clearly post pregnancy I have a lot of cocktail and drink sampling to do! I was pleased with the virgin margarita they made for me, and no it wasn’t just lemonade 😉

The conversation was flowing and the hubs and I were enjoying the company of friends without worrying about the Little Monkey as she was at home, away from our cocktails and seafood tower! We were all in a mood for nibbles more than full dinners so we decided to explore the appetizers on offer… brilliant idea when in a group of friends. Favourites included the Clams Casino (who can say no to bacon and clams?), Beef Carpaccio (so tender!) and Spicy Popcorn Rock Shrimp (you know it’s one of my all time faves!). We also enjoyed the Fried Calamari, Steak Tartare and Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail. The only one that didn’t hit the spot was the Panfried Oysters – not sure why but it was not what we expected.

We contemplated ordering a couple dishes of the creamed corn ( since it was another favourite of mine from the Ottawa visit) but instead we decided to share some desserts. The cheese platter was perfect (loved the apples, grapes and honey accompaniment)  and while I’m not a fan of Apple Crumble usually, this one was done really well and who can ever say no to a good Old Fashioned Brownie? Not I ! It was quite dense and not the light fluffy version I usually enjoy  but the ice cream created a happy blend that made my mouth rejoice!

It was a lovely evening with friends, catching up over fantastic appys and craft cocktails in an intimate setting surrounded by spectacular work by celebrated Canadian artist David Bierk. I especially liked the nod to the ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ painting above the bar. From what I’ve noticed the Shore Club in both Ottawa and Toronto had similar design elements with unique art deco pieces injected throughout. Totally groovy! Oh and by the way.. I checked. These washrooms have a lounge sofas as well… coz you know I’ll be taking the Little Monkey there the next time I need to connect with friends in the Entertainment District!