At Bar St-Denis, the bar is the room’s centre of gravity. Running the length of the space, it fills early with regulars, first-timers and industry folks alike who settle in quickly. For co-owners Emily Homsy and David Gauthier, the intent was to create the kind of place where a drink at the bar turns into the full kitchen experience.
The refreshed room, originally by AppareilArchitecture and now updated by Finkel’ design studio, keeps that bar front and centre: a dark, polished counter set against oxblood-toned tile, with Art Deco traces still in the bones. A butcher’s block in the kitchen doubles as a chef’s counter on weekends. It’s all one room — the bar just happens to be one of the best seats.
There’s no reduced offering at the bar — Gauthier’s kitchen cooks for it in full, whether à la carte or across the five-course menu that moves from raw and seafood into heartier stuff. You might enjoy endive with Louis d’Or and habanada pepper, trout tartare with ginger and puffed rice, skate wing meunière.
For drinks, Homsy’s list is precise and wide-ranging. Wines lean toward artisan producers without losing sight of the classics, and by-the-glass options carry real weight. On the cocktail side, a Rosita perhaps, or the Filthy Animal, a vodka drink with blue cheese and olives.
You come for a seat at the bar. You stay for everything around it. This is C100B’s Best Restaurant Bar for 2026.
–Alana Lapierre
