Immerse yourself in one of Toronto’s most unique cocktail experiences. Library Bar at the Fairmont Royal York has an outstanding new menu, very appropriately inspired by a legendary piece of Canadian literature.
Lights, A Story of Toronto and the People Who Built It, takes influences from the characters, the landmarks, and the stories of Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion. Director of Beverage James Grant led a very special book club with Library Bar staff to imagine how the story could shape a full cocktail menu.
It took nearly a year to create, inspired by the lush, evocative, period story set in the 1920s and the result is something very special and delicious. I loved everything I tried.
The theme works on every level, from the flavours and the service, to the space itself. Library Bar is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful cocktail spaces in the city, right beside the hotel’s other gem, Clockwork.
Every detail was a treat. The pairings between the cocktails and the plates make for mouthwatering moments, and I’m looking forward to going back to try more of the cocktails. Some cocktails are so unique, I know I need to try them again.
The Searcher was one of my favourites. It’s a complex blend, based on the novel’s main character, and you can choose the spirit to change the cocktail from young and innocent, to older and more balanced. You can choose to have the cocktail with either Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky, a blend of Siete Misterios and Don Julio Reposado tequila, Valley of Mother of God Smoked Gin, or Lot 40 Rye.
Midnight Snow is another favourite, made with Citadelle Gin, raspberry, blueberry, elderflower, and espresso, combining for a bouquet that brightens the coffee flavour and marries with it beautifully.
Belly of the Beast is also a must-try, made with Bearface Canadian Whisky, Appleton 12 Year Jamaican Rum, Metaxa 5 Star, blended with mace, pecan, seabuckthorn, grapefruit, and blood bitters. It’s a jawdropping cocktail, and one of the big stars of the menu.
Overall the Lights menu includes 15 unique cocktails, and if you’re hungry, the plates are just as inviting by Library Bar’s chef Brian Tang.
I recommend trying the crispy pork belly bao in particular, but there are also oysters on the half shell, steak tartare, truffle fries, grilled Cape D’Or salmon, and Mafaldine all’Arrabbiata.
The menu is a joy, and the team is incredible. The bar recently earned 1 PIN in The Pinnacle Guide for excellence and service, and ranked in the North America’s Best Bars 2025.
The space itself is also absolutely perfect. There are very few bars in the city as elegant and refined, with as much character, as Library Bar. It feels easy to get lost in the bar, with quiet corners, incredible ambience, and a sophisticated sense of place. It’s perfect for drinks before dinner, a nightcap, or a stop on a date night out in the city.
And don’t worry, there’s no homework, but you very well could leave with a better sense of Toronto, and an urge to read Ondaatje’s classic novel.
Library Bar is open daily from 12 PM to 12 AM.
Photos: W. Andrew Powell/The GATE.
