Toronto Adventures: Get Sizzling at the Hot House Café

The Hot House Cafe with view of Flatiron Building

Shortly after I reached Toronto, I looked up an old British friend of mine, Pigcat—now residing near High Park in West Toronto. She invited me to the Hothouse Café next to the St. Lawrence market in downtown Toronto for lunch and to reminisce over a classy “hot” meal; she knew my tastes in food!

Pigcat isn’t her real name. Her human companion, Vanessa, calls her “Cat Teddy”. But Vanessa doesn’t know about Pigcat’s old friendship with me, and the endearing nickname she’d come by in her community due to the obvious…(little cat grin). I’d met Pigcat during my travels, when she was still in the UK, living in Brighton, West Sussex, where our mutual passion for travel, fine dining and dark chocolate cemented a long-lasting friendship. I was overjoyed to see her again here in Toronto.

Elinor, the smartly-dressed and graceful Maitre-d and general manager, welcomed us with a warm smile and took us to

Toulouse meets an old friend

 our seats in the enclosed patio beneath one of the colorful umbrellas with a view of the historic Saint Lawrence neighborhood. After a lively discussion about cats, loyal companions and Stonehenge, Elinor left us to make our choices.

As Pigcat peered intensely at her menu, I gazed past the diaphanous fan of black locust trees to the rust-colored four and a half-storey Gooderham Building (Flatiron building), a wedge-shaped work of art that stands at the apex of Front, Wellington and Church Streets like the bow of a great ship. Designed by architect David Roberts Jr., the building was erected in 1892 to house the headquarters of George Gooderham’s large industrial and commercial empire. This Victorian building reflects a gothic revival and Romanesque style and predates the iconic Flatiron Building in New York by a decade. It is arguably the most photographed building in Toronto. Prominent features include the copper roof, decorative dormers, tower with ogee arch windows, textured façade and zig-zag fire escape stairway, which reminded me of the Chelsea district of New York City.  My eyes were drawn to the contrasting but pleasing backdrop of the modern Toronto skyscraper skyline with the trendy retro funk of Old Town, one of the best-preserved 19^th century commercial blocks in the city. What an ideal place to dine, I thought, and was reminded of a café’ I used to frequent at Place Saint-Michel in Paris with a view past plane trees to the fountain of Saint-Michel slaying the devil.

Toulouse savors his delicious meal

Krystel, our waitress, took our order. I chose the Sicilian Gnocchi, elegant hand-made potato dumplings with cremini mushrooms and pancetta bacon, swimming in a gorgonzola cream sauce that married elegant flavors with the zest of garlic and basil. The gnocchi came with a colorful mixed vegetable dish, cooked to perfect texture. I selected a 2008 Fontamara Pinot Griggio (Abruzzo, Italy) from their eclectic wine list. The Fontamara, with its sweet aroma and notes of peach and apple on a fresh acidic backbone, was ideal for the warm sunny day.  Pigcat ordered the Black Aberdeen Angus Rib Eye steak, grilled to her exact specification and topped with a slab of porcini butter. She wisely chose a Guinness with it.  I had fun watching her meow little sighing breaths with each juicy bite she took. It was the best steak she’d had in years—possibly ever! declared Pigcat.  The café staff pride themselves on the consistent excellence of its signature soups, salads, entrés, pastas, gourmet pizettes, sandwiches and burgers and vegetarian dishes. Oh, and exquisite deserts and coffees!

Five minutes later, the suave and charming owner of the cafe, Andrew Laffey—a young Cary Grant look-a-like —arrived with a beaming smile.

“I just had to meet Toulouse!” he said, extending his hand in greeting.

Between the main course and dessert, he and wife, Elinor, the general manager of the café, treated me to a tour of their cool—well, hot!— restaurant. 

Owners Andrew, hostess Aaron and Elinor enjoy lively discussion with Toulouse

They had commissioned architect Dermet Sweeny to create the Hot House Café with a spacious art-nouveau European look, including multi-levels and high ceilings with drop lights and hardwood floors. The café was brightly elegant, from the stylized “clean”art of Russian artist Leon Belsky on the walls to the avant-garde interior design of Mary Winefield that included displays of vintage wines and spices, rich furniture and colours with clean lines.  The place blended nicely into the “persona” of the trendy Old Town/art-nouveau look of the St Lawrence Market neighborhood.

During my tour, Elinor took me round to the back of the restaurant, which housed several elegant rooms used for lunch meetings , workshops and mini-conferences. We then sidled past the bar run by the indominable Kevin, who can serve up practically anything from a Taylor Fladgate 20 year old Tawny Port to a HotHouse Martini, which consists of pomegranate and green tea liqueurs, pomegranate blueberry juice and fresh lemonade. Now, that’s HOT!

Elinor gives Toulouse the special tour

Returned to the patio, I rejoined the patient Pigcat and we rounded out our culinary experience with a coffee and dessert. I ordered an espresso with the dessert we decided to share. It was a toss up between the tiramisu and the molten chocolate cake and guess which won out. Yup. Drizzled with fresh raspberries and a fudge sauce, Pigcat and I proceeded to dig into our delicious chocolate “volcano”.  The inside scintillated with a molten chocolate lava that flowed over dark cake into a sea of fudge. OMG! … Meow… :-3

Now I know why it’s called the Hot House Café!  The Hot House Café is open for lunch, dinner and late nights, serving up consistently wonderful food and an eclectic choice of wines and beers by friendly and efficient staff. Known particularly for their awesome Sunday brunches and pasta dishes and desserts, their clientele ranges from the Bay Street set to Leafs fans, area residents & theatre patrons. What’s there not to like! Go check it out and agree… meow… Oh, and say hi to Andrew, Elinor, Aaron and Krystel for me!

Toulouse enjoys a "molten" experience

I’m Toulouse LeTrek, the COOL Travel Cat!

Contact Information: The Hot House Café is located on the corner of Church and Front Street in Market Square (35 Church Street) Toronto, Ontario; 416-366-7800; www.hothousecafe.com. The Hot House Café is open from 11 am

Toulouse shares molten ambrosia with Pigcat

until 11 pm on weekdays and 1:00 am on weekends, including from brunch (9:30 am) to 11 pm on Sundays.

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