Eloise and Bar Cart Signal a Fresh Chapter for St. Lawrence Nightlife
On The Esplanade, two contrasting venues move seamlessly from business lunches to happy hour
For years, Graham and Dan Hnatiw watched as residents of their beloved St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood hopped in an Uber to head west in search of nightlife. And who could blame them? It’s hard to compete with the likes of Ossington, College and Dundas West, where it seems a trendy new restaurant, wine bar or cocktail spot is opening up on a near-weekly basis. That’s exactly the crowd the restaurateurs wanted to win over with their latest ventures, Eloise and Bar Cart, which opened this summer at 42 The Esplanade — just steps from their old stomping ground, The Old Spaghetti Factory, which has been in the family since the early 70s.
Located at 42 The Esplanade.
What is now Eloise and Bar Cart used to be a Shoeless Joe’s, of all things. But behind the schmaltzy, chain-restaurant décor, the Hnatiw brothers saw potential for not one, but two upscale neighbourhood spots. They opted to divide the space, creating a refined dining room by day and a swanky cocktail lounge by night. Credit for the design of both venues goes to Keri MacLellan, founder of local studio Westgrove. And they couldn’t be more different.
Soft, elegant and warm, stepping into Eloise is like taking a breath of fresh air. Inspired by old-world luxury travel — in particular, the Orient Express — the interior is replete with wood panelling and plush velvet upholstery. In the wrong hands, these sumptuous materials could read as heavy. But here, they are balanced by light and airy pendants, each wrapped in bouncy white drapery that adds a touch of whimsy.
While the design looks deceivingly understated, thoughtful details abound at every turn. The same could be said of the menu, which takes simple ingredients like cabbage and dover sole and elevates them beyond recognition (with an umami mushroom XO sauce and chicken velouté, respectively).
Mouth-watering bites from dinner service.
In the interior, it starts with the art: a series of expressive, almost geometric portraits by Victoria Sequeira, which McLellan says she planned the space around. “My brain went to art deco and mid-century, so I used a lot of the palettes from those times,” Sequeira explains of the pieces, which are rendered in a palette of earthy hues that include ochre, sage green and terracotta — with a subtle touch of gold leaf that echoes the luxurious feel of Eloise’s design. In one particularly evocative piece, a woman gazes out the window, taking the railcar reference full circle. Even the frames add to the ambience, with a series of spherical appliqués that “extend the art past the canvas.” The organic shapes found in the portraits are repeated throughout the interior — in the arched doorways, the notched moulding that tops the banquettes, and even the Art Deco-inspired light fixtures.
As you walk past a corridor of booths towards the back of the restaurant, where an eat-up bar offers a close-up look at the action in the kitchen, you catch a glimpse of red through an interior window — a hint at what you’ll find next door at Bar Cart, a sort of speakeasy serving cocktails and snacks. “There’s a surprise around every corner,” says McLellan. “From the outside, however, you shouldn’t know it even exists.”
Past a discreet black door, the entrance vestibule sets the tone, wrapped in a shimmery wallpaper that mimics wood grain yet is somehow reminiscent of animal print. Against the burl wood wainscotting, a series of miniature stools offers a place to wait for your table.
Where Eloise leans more timeless and traditional, Bar Cart is a playful counterpart — think foie gras served with a side of waffles and skewers of curly mortadella — and its design reflects that. “We didn’t want to just open another bar, we wanted to create a conversation piece,” says Graham Hnatiw. From the wallpaper to the chairs to the banquettes, the entire interior is bathed in rich oxblood red. There are nods, however, to Eloise, like the grey curtain that hangs above the bar, tying the two concepts together with one cohesive vision.
“Eloise and Bar Cart are the result of us finally having the freedom to design, to iterate, and to dream without constraint,” says Dan Hnatiw. “These are places that celebrate timeless hospitality and the art of gathering.”
