Scrumpdillyicious: Astoria in the Great Hall: French-American Bistro

Nestled inside the Great Hall on Toronto's Queen West, Astoria opened last summer as a French-American bistro and cocktail bar from the owners and chef from 'Bar Poet'. A heritage venue and iconic landmark since 1889, the inspiration for the restaurant’s soul-warming cuisine came from a desire to echo the building’s timeless aesthetic. "The place feels nostalgic, and we wanted the food to match that," says Montes de Oca, Manager of Astoria. Head chef Shivam Munjal heads the kitchen serving a classic French bistro-inspired menu featuring Escargot, Oysters, French Onion Soup, Moules et Frites, Duck Confit and Steak-Frites with classic desserts such as Crème Brûlée and Mousse au Chocolat. The 'cocktail menu' is equally enticing with classic libations including a French 75, Old Fashioned, Paper Plane and Negroni, plus a section featuring just 'Bubbles'.

Arriving for dinner on a chilly Saturday night, Astoria was bustling. The beautiful rustic bistro, exuding a sense of opulence of a time that once was — with exposed brick and gilded mirrors — we were nestled in one of their sumptuous leather banquettes surrounded by the warm hue of the vintage bar, and animated chatter of Saturday night's crowd. Our small party began the evening sampling some of Astoria's classic cocktails, then indulged in their signature brioche pull-apart bread served with Maldon salt and house-cultured butter stamped with an “A” for Astoria. Following with a platter of East Coast oysters and delicious Baby Gem Caesar Salad with candied guanciale, white anchovies and garlic croutons, we chose a lovely Pinot Noir from Astoria's short but concise wine list of easy-drinking French bottles that play well with the menu’s hearty bistro fare. It was delicious with the Steak-Frites and Mushroom Agnolotti. The dessert menu, also short but delightfully sweet, was too inviting not to yield to the temptation of the Mousse au Chocolat and silky smooth Crème Brûlée. Friendly and attentive, our server made our evening at Astoria a warm and welcoming experience.

The beautifully hand drawn menu doubles as a placemat

Casual dishcloth inspired napkins with casual bistro-style china

The French-inspired bistro décor of Astoria

The small menu of classic cocktails features a 'Paper Plane', made with bourbon,

Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and fresh lemon juice

Another Astoria cocktail is the 'Vesper Martini' which was invented by author Ian Fleming

for his iconic British secret agent, James Bond 007

Astoria's Warm and Squishy Brioche Bread & Butter with Maldon Salt

Chef Munjal's Baby Gem Caesar Salad crowned with candied guanciale, white anchovies

and garlic croutons and served wrapped in muslin for easy seedless squeezing

gets a boost of umami from his anchovy-laden dressing

These Bijou oysters from New Brunswick come with a Merlot mignonette, fresh horseradish,

a mini bottle of Tabasco and lemon wedge

A first from Ottawa born financier-turned-winemaker Frédéric Brouca, this Pinot Noir

is organically grown from a small vineyard in St. Chinian in Languedoc-Roussillon

Medium bodied with ripe tannins, the wine was a highlight on Astoria's short wine list

Grilled Asparagus

Mushroom Agnolotti with Porcini stuffed ravioli in a white wine cream sauce consisting of oyster, beech, and porcini mushrooms, and topped with a generous amount of pecorino