The Reveal - Coffee Oysters Champagne (COC)
It’s difficult to find one spot that covers all your desires, but Coffee Oysters Champagne (COC) does it in one fell swoop.
Taking you from first sip to last call with a roster of premium roasted coffee and pastries, daily selection of fresh oysters, and the largest selection of sparking in the GTA, this tantalizing trifecta is sure to become your new obsession.
With insta-ready COC lounge in front, [spoiler alert!] hidden hotel à toi in back, and friendly, outgoing staff, it’s a veritable party you never want to leave. (Or have to clean up after, either. Win-win.)
Provisions & Tipples
Since there are two distinct spaces (though one is decidedly discrete), you’ll find two separate menus. Out front, in addition to a variety of beverages, bivalves, and bubbles, there’s Pate de Campagne ($15), Grain Salad ($13), and Fries ($8) to nibble on.
Past an undisclosed entryway, both carnivores and omnivores can eat with abandon. Meat lovers can sink their teeth into Steak & Bones ($21), Liver & Onions ($13), Meat & Potatoes ($33), Burger ($28), and Two Duck ($38), while vegetable and seafood forward selections include Almond & Eve ($15), Carrot Terrine ($15), Swiss Chard Ravioli ($25), and certified sustainable Ocean Wise Arctic Char ($34).
When it comes to bottles of bubb, COC can’t be beat. Along with the largest roster of sparkling in the city (80 bottles and counting!), they also offer the best prices ($54-$4,888).
With more glass options (21) than anywhere in Toronto, you get to try champers from across the globe without have to shell out for an entire bottle. Bonus: Kindly listed from lowest to highest price ($9-$88), it removes any guesswork, coming in especially handy after a few tipples.
Past the front lounge, you’ll also find an insane amount of cocktails ($12-$18) in back, from absinthe-forward to cognac-centric, large format punch ($75-$250), and zero-proof ($10) sippers, as well as a hefty selection of wine and spirits, beer and cider.
À toi food diary
Daily Oysters (MP)
Oysters are a big feature out front, but they’re available in the more secretive back space too. Served on ice with mignonette, fresh horseradish and lemon, it’s a fabulous way to begin your mysterious adventure.
Mushroom Salad ($17)
An earth medley of ‘shrooms take center stage, with treviso (raddichio’s gentler cousin) sherry, cured egg yolk, and puffed rice elevating the dish from mere starter to sophisticated entree.
Sous Vide Octopus ($21)
Finishing immersion cooked cephalopod on the grill imparts a subtle smokiness. The tentacled mollusc gets a further boost from vibrant salsa verde and pickled roasted beets, finished with celeriac remoulade, lemon, and chervil.
Frites ($9)
Triple-cooked house-cut fries tossed with salt and parsley arrive with a rich black garlic aioli to dip and dunk at your leisure.
Backdrop
It’s hard to believe this was ever home to a dreary Indian buffet.
Toronto’s own Navigate Design worked its usual magic (you’re familiar with their work already: Fresh Restaurants, Byblos, and The Fairmont Royal York, to start).
The front lounge is awash in a dreamy palette of blush, ivory and gold. Walls dripping in ballet pink onyx and rosé-coloured velour sink into retro penny round mosaic covered floors. With finishing touches of soft brushed brass accents, filling your insta feed is a no-brainer, and running your hands over everything? Practically guaranteed.
As for the à toi hotel in back? Describing it ruins all the fun, so just go and experience it. It’s so much better this way. One hint: how you exit is just as mysterious as the way you arrived.
Names
At the pass
Executive Chef Chris Wilkinson
At the bar
Bar Manger Dylan Turner
Higher ups
Owners Sanjay Singhal and Steven Daicos; General Manager Jake Dolgy
Numbers
Drop a pin
214 King St. W.
Ring, ring
(416) 408-4044
Come on in
Daily 7am – 2am
Please be seated
COC - 28, + 16 on the patio (weather permitting)
à toi - 104 (evening cocktail capacity: 230)
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For more photos, visitToronto Restaurants on Instagram.