Hidden history unveiled inside 50-year-old Toronto bar and restaurant

One of Toronto’s oldest cocktail bars is inviting the city to check out its secret history in a new menu.

The Fairmont Royal York, one of Toronto’s oldest hotels, also hosts one of the city’s most established cocktail lounges, The Library Bar.

After 50 years of setting the standard for the elegance and sanctuary that hotel bars carry, the powers that be — after years of telling stories in their cocktails — have decided it is high time to tell the tale of The Library Bar itself.

Often focusing on narrative theming, cocktails at The Library Bar hone in on narrative works or the authors themselves. However, now, The Library Bar has stitched together a menu around its own history, curated by a specific regular (Hazel) who was there to see it all.

[A little bit of bubbly before the new menu rollout at The Library Bar at The Fairmont Royal York]

“We were always lucky to hear stories from her, so I eventually decided to sit down and interview her and get a real firsthand account of the opening of this bar, and that really informed the story we crafted in this menu,” James Grant, director of food and beverage at the Fairmont Royal York, told yourcitywithIN.

The new menu, titled Opening Night, blends Grant’s transcriptions of the bar’s history from Hazel with colourful imagery inspired by Ludwig Bemelmans (illustrator and author of Madeline) and Wes Anderson.

“There is a quirky and sort of whimsical aesthetic to it that is also shared with this venue, but really, it is all about sharing the story of how one of Canada’s greatest hotel bars opened in the first place,” says Grant.

[James Grant, winner of 2022’s Best Bartender Award of Canada’s 100 Best, and leader of The Library Bar]

The bar’s namesake dates back to when it served as the hotel’s library for guests, before rooms even had a radio, let alone a TV. As a result, every cocktail is an homage to the gentle quiet of the original room, juxtaposed with the hustle and bustle of the Fairmont Royal York’s function as a grand railway hotel when it opened in 1929.

“I couldn’t be happier with what we learned through this process; it has given the whole space this whole new layer of romance and charm that I just adore,” says Grant.

As for what is on offer, The Library Bar’s new menu is comprised of Library Voices, an effervescent Amaro-based cocktail, anchored by coffee liqueur and a little bit of bubbly, as well as the Post Shift, likely — with no exaggeration — the creamiest cocktail in Toronto right now, built on Guinness, rye whisky, Kahlúa, and fresh whipped cream.

[The Post Shift at The Library Bar. Honestly, if you were to drink anything this weekend, this should be top of the list]

However, for Grant, the star of the show is a love letter to the woman who was there to see it all start.

“It was a drink for her, as she told the whole story; it’s the last drink on the menu, and it’s called Hazel’s Chrysanthemum. It’s light, it’s low-proof, and it’s incredibly elegant,” says Grant.

As for taking on the task of cataloguing such a unique history, and only getting one shot at it, Grant shared how meticulously he and his team worked to not only create a cocktail menu worthy of The Library Bar’s stories, but also present a visual companion to it that drives home that the patron is sitting in a living storybook.

[Something is shaking up at The Fairmont Royal York’s Library Bar — and it’s really good]

A task that did not come easily.

“It’s such an old and storied hotel, and everybody who works here is incredibly protective about how we present it. In fact, there were some tumultuous periods leading up to this bar opening in the 70s, and we even get to shed some light on that,” says Grant. “But by far the most pleasant thing about this process was that it reaffirmed a lot of things I experienced as a guest, long before I worked here.

The Library Bar’s Opening Night menu is now in full swing at The Fairmont Royal York downtown, with Grant promising more than just a secret history; he states, “It’s not as much as you would say a love letter to the bar, but really, it’s a love letter to our guests.”