{ Posts Tagged ‘bloor street diner’ }

bloor street diner’s restaurant makeover

Here’s another restaurant makeover that really rocked my socks.

The recent $750,000 refresh of Yorkville’s iconic Bloor Street Diner brought the 28-year-old eatery into full-on cool and contemporary territory, without sacrificing the casual comfort (and surprisingly affordable menu) that originally put it on the map. And the Cobb salad’s just as tremendous as it always was.

I was lunching at the Diner last week, and had the chance to chat with Sebastien Centner, director of Eatertainment — the firm that operates the Diner in addition to some of Toronto’s most celebrated (and celebrity-frequented!) restaurants, including the Panorama Lounge. Sebastien kindly shared the “before” shots, knowing that I absolutely luuuuurve a tasty transformation!

 

Here’s the Dining Room BEFORE the makeover… An late-’90s mix of American diner and French brasserie…

diningroombefore bloor street diners restaurant makeover

 

 

… And after!

diningroomafter bloor street diners restaurant makeover

diningroom2after bloor street diners restaurant makeover

Designed by Mehran Foroughi, the ceiling is solid teak panelling, elegantly lit by 40 spectacular conical pendants. The real standout for me is the textured white wall that lends the dining room a Euro-chic wine cellar vibe.

And I’m a sucker for an achromatic approach done well, which is certainly the case here. “We didn’t want the renovation to look dated in five years,” says Sebastien of the timeless black-and-white scheme (with a few hits of rich bordeaux, primarily in the cafe and billiards areas).

Congrats, and bon appetit! 

 

Bloor Street Diner, Manulife Centre, 55 Bloor St. W. (Bay & Bloor), Toronto, 416-928-3105

toronto restaurant serves up water in reusable bottles

bloorst toronto restaurant serves up water in reusable bottles

Toronto’s Bloor Street Diner deserves a gold medal in my books for being the first restaurant to join the innovative Green on Tap program: it will offer customers filtered water in the usual bottled water options (still or sparkling), the customers will receive their water in reusable 1L bottles, and $1 of the $4 cost will to toward the cost of transforming the Brick Works in Toronto’s Don Valley.

It’s estimated the initiative at this one restaurant alone will save some 12,000 bottles each year — absolutely mindboggling! Just think what would happen if more and more restaurants took part!

For more info, check out www.greenontap.ca. or click here for info on the Bloor Street Diner.

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