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Toronto’s Ace Hotel is a source for architectural and culinary inspiration, say Colin and Justin
If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that reverie is our raison d’etre.
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Whether with family and friends or with colleagues and production crews, fun times spent communing and ‘sharing’ are – perhaps more than ever before – critically important to our wellbeing.
When experiences such as these are denied (dining interaction, in today’s context) it becomes patently clear just how important they all actually are.
If you follow our social channels, you’ll know we love to eat out, but you’ve probably observed we only chat up the places we enjoy. Why so?
Well, we elect never to rain on anyone’s parade by assigning poison pen (digital or otherwise) to virtual, or literal paper. So when we wax lyrical – it’s cos everything was genuinely stellar.
Such as it was, recently, at Ace Hotel Toronto, a destination that can surely be described as one of the city’s most exciting hangouts.
And it’s little wonder it’s so special – the hotel, after all, was designed by powerhouse husband and wife architectural practice Shim-Sutcliffe (www.shim-sutcliffe.com)
You may remember we visited their cabin filming ‘Colin and Justin’s Great Canadian Cottages’ for Cottage Life? Back then, we certainly knew they were special (16 Governor General Medals in Architecture speak volumes) but we hadn’t quite figured out just how special they actually are.
At the meeting of Camden and Brant, the Shim-Sutcliffe ‘ground up’ masterpiece lies within the Garment District, an area previously distinguished by turn-of-the-century red brick factories and warehouses.
Today, sadly, many of these buildings have gone, demolished in the 1960s and 1970s to make way for, ahem, ‘progress’.
Ace, however, is a statement of resistance to the neighbourhood’s proliferation of thin, glassy developments, its brick facade reaching back in time and paying homage to the strength and durability of a bygone era.
Visiting, we wowed at the spectacle, one that feels strikingly different to Canada’s typical hotel space construction vernacular.
The cossetting oak clad lobby, designed as a ‘living room’ for anyone passing through, hangs on slender steel rods from the aforementioned concrete arches. In a neighbourhood so lacking in shared spaces,
Ace serves – in some ways, certainly – as a civic building, its lobby, therefore, conceived as a shelter for the many.
But anyway, back to dining. Mooted at the top of today’s column, breaking bread is a C+J preoccupation, and a veritable pleasure at Ace. Descend the staircase – from the lobby – to discover a restaurant fantasy named Alder.
Wood fired and helmed by Michelin starred Patrick Kriss (of Alo and Aloette fame) it’s half-buried in the earth, and features warming textural elements including brick flooring and bush-hammered concrete walls.
The monolithic structural frames, as previously described, command attention, with dining banquettes positioned between each (illuminated by Shim-Sutcliffe designed copper lights embedded in robust cement) to help guests feel connected to the hefty, structural skeleton.
Crucially, the food is extremely good. We shared beef carpaccio, and burrata with grapefruit – the former moistly piquant, the latter oozy and gorgeous, its flavour profile balanced by the pink, zesty citrus.
Heading into mains territory, we chose Australian lamb chops, cooked tender and sweet, and a wood baked half chicken, accompanied by a delicious side of harissa and sweetie drop peppers.
Our server, Sean, was friendly and efficient, and talked us through the menu’s every detail, without a single: “Oh let me go and check: I’m not sure about that bit.” Super friendly, and super informed, he made the evening extra special.
Post prandial, we headed back upstairs to the moodily lit bar to discuss the bonhomie that had just been: without doubt one of the best dinner experiences we’ve enjoyed of late, in undoubtedly one of the most beautifully imagined environments. We can’t wait to return to the magical spot…
Find out more at www.acehotel.com/toronto
Watch for Colin and Justin on Cabin Pressure and Great Canadian Cottages (Cottage Life TV) and on Cityline (CityTV). Find the Colin and Justin Collection in stores across Canada. Visit www.colinandjustin.tv.