Bar Banane
NA Program Strength is an editorial assessment based on publicly available menu data. See methodology.
227A Ossington Ave, Toronto, ON M6J 2Z8, Canada
Bar Banane sits on the Ossington Strip, one of Toronto's busiest restaurant-and-bar corridors, at 227A Ossington Ave. It's open Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to midnight and Friday and Saturday from 6pm to 2am, closed Sunday through Tuesday. Reservations run through OpenTable, though the bar holds space for walk-ins, and groups of six or more are asked to contact the bar directly rather than book online.
The menu leans French and internationally minded, running from canapés like nova scotia lobster croustade and smoked sturgeon rillettes through snacks such as savoury churros and steak tartare to large plates including a lobster roll "américaine" and steak "frites" with sauce béarnaise. The cocktail list runs to twelve elaborate signature drinks priced $21–29, built on ingredients like mezcal, roku gin, toki japanese whisky, bumbu rum, aquavit and pandan vodka — among them the forbidden negroni (toasted coconut gin, white fig vermouth, campari) and midnight ceremony (toki whisky, barley shochu, banana, matcha, hojicha). The wine list runs deep across red, white, sparkling and rosé, and the beer and cider selection includes a house collaboration, the Rainhard x La Banane Lager, brewed with Toronto's Rainhard Brewing.
Non-alcoholic drinks get their own standalone section on the menu — "Non-Alcoholic Beverages" — rather than being folded in with soft drinks, and all three are priced at $14, matching the bar's house cocktails rather than being discounted as an afterthought. The options are Optional Side Quest (elderflower, clarified grapefruit, genmaicha tea, tonic), Pear-odactyl (mango aloe, pear juice, lemon) and Extremely Safe for Work (passion fruit, clarified lemon, orange, chili).
The program has drawn outside notice, too: Destination Toronto, the city's official tourism organization, featured Bar Banane in a roundup of the city's non-alcoholic drinks, writing that the bar "showcases just how far and creative you can go when building a non-alcoholic beverage" and singling out the Mango Aloe and Genmaicha Tea combination as proof the drinks are "sure to wow and impress any date."
Non-alcoholic menu: what to order
- Optional Side Quest - elderflower, clarified grapefruit, genmaicha tea, tonic ($14)
- Pear-odactyl - mango aloe, pear juice, lemon ($14)
- Extremely Safe for Work - passion fruit, clarified lemon, orange, chili ($14)
Menus change — see the current full menu on Bar Banane's website.
“The team behind Bar Banane on the Ossington Street strip showcases just how far and creative you can go when building a non-alcoholic beverage. From Mango Aloe, Genmaicha Tea, and so much more, expect the unexpected. The drinks and atmosphere at this buzzy bar are sure to wow and impress any date.”— Destination Toronto (official Toronto tourism organization blog)Destination Toronto →
Non-alcoholic brands they serve
House-crafted NA cocktails
Location
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