Lisbon Hotel

Written By

Erica Commisso

Photographs By

Carbelle Djossa

The East End corner that hosts Lisbon Hotel is certainly coming up fast. There are tons of condos and up-and-coming developments around. And, Sally Gillespie and her partners thought it was missing something. Something unique yet approachable, friendly yet elegant. Something like the cafés in Europe.

So Gillespie, alongside David Wex and Adam Hijazi, got to work filling that void. The result is Lisbon Hotel, a warm yet modern space that's a café by day and a cocktail bar by night. The idea, Gillespie says, is that someone can spend a day working from the eatery, sipping on a cappuccino while firing off emails and switching to a thoughtful, flavourful cocktail soon after the clock strikes five. It's a place where guests can people watch, observing as the crowd changes, meet a friend for a post-work drink, or gather with friends and family on a weekend. "As the sun goes down, the music gets louder, the vibe of the space changes," Gillespie says. "It gets more energetic and sexy and vibey and fun."

Chef Mason Sankey and the culinary team work with mostly seasonal, locally sourced produce and a small but efficient kitchen space. With no big fridge or massive industrial unit, everything is made fresh and many of the ingredients are creatively crafted in-house and stored in the back. But it makes for a creative menu, with spiced lupini beans, pickled seasonal vegetables, marinated mushrooms and a selection of savoury toasts alongside some European staples.

Everything is simple yet complex, with a small list of ingredients creating a burst of flavour. The chorizo is an example. "It's a classic Spanish chorizo that we warm and slice on a really fresh, herby, slightly spicy, aromatic green sauce," Gillespie says. "Guindilla peppers are at the base of the sauce, so it has a little bit of kick to it to kind of cut through that fatty chorizo."

"I love an anchovy toast because I love the simplicity of it. And I also just love anchovies in every format. Or any small, briny fish. With a really good bread from Blackbird," Gillespie says. "And we make the compound butter with lots of fresh herbs. Tarragon is the primary flavour in the compound butter. And then white anchovies, thinly sliced, with cucumber and lemon zest, which gives it a bright freshness which cuts through the brininess the acidity of the anchovies."

Above all else, Gillespie, Sankey and the team want people to be excited about the menu. "I think the team has just come up with a menu of things that are not just centered around us, but includes things that we would want to eat and drink when going out to eat," Gillespie says. The marinated mushrooms certainly fit that bill. Three types of mushrooms come together with a balsamic marinade and a garlic aoli to create an earthy flavour on a shareable plate.

For dessert, a rich chocolate mousse gets a unique twist: It's topped with chili flakes and olive oil to combine fruity and aromatic flavours with richness and spice. "It's actually our chef's mom's recipe," Gillespie says. And it's deliberately placed on the menu to satisfy a sweet tooth after a night out.

The robust cocktail menu is complimented by a small but mighty wine list. It's intended to be unique yet approachable, a selection that allows cocktail enthusiasts to "nerd out" but also gives people the space to enjoy a really good drink. "The idea is that all of the cocktails are food-friendly cocktails. The menu is broken down into categories, so citrusy and refreshing and stirred and spirit-forward, the idea being that it goes from light, bubbly, refreshing, and lower in alcohol to a more rich, Old Fashion, martini, Negroni-style cocktail," Gillespie says.

The Aunt Spike - named after the evil aunt in "James and the Giant Peach" - is Lisbon Hotel's take on a gin sour, made with white Port, peach aperitif, lemon, Peychaud's and egg whites. "I think that's probably like the sweetest, fruitiest thing on the menu," Gillespie says. "Everyone loves a frothy cocktail."

For a craftier take on an Aperol Spritz, Lisbon Hotel offers a concoction with Limoncello. The team infuses it with deep-toasted coconut, and pairs it with lemon and sparkling wine to create the Lobby Spritz.

Akvavit, a Nordic liquor, is the base of the Not A Martini. Its paired with gin, house bitter bianco and tarragon to create a flavourful and bold twist on one of the most recognized drinks in the world. Gillespie chose it because of the "savoury funkiness" it brings to the cocktail.

The unique but simple menu at Lisbon Hotel is also surprisingly affordable. It invites guests to go on an adventure they wouldn't necessarily find anywhere else. "It's fun to go off the beaten path a little bit," Gillespie says. And the fruits of the team's labour are evident in the ever-changing menu and intentionally curated offerings. "There's definitely a lot of thought that goes into both the food and the beverage program and allows us to be creative and consistently be evolving. And we're trying to offer our menu at a price point that is accessible to everyone."

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