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Drinks Food & Drink

Montauk

MONTAUK 765 Dundas West, 647-352-4810


When you order a drink at Montauk, the latest thirst-worthy destination to set up shop on the surprisingly bar-sparse strip at Dundas and Bathurst, chances are whatever surface you’ve cozied up to is handmade.

Owner Dustin Keating dedicated almost half a year to converting the former convenience store into an inviting watering hole, tackling everything from pouring and installing the concrete bar top, upholstering the banquettes and rigging the plumbing and electrical to constructing the beer fridges and four antler-tipped taps.

Since Montauk opened its doors at the beginning of May, Keating says he’s made a conscious effort not to exclude anyone. His spot offers a rotating roster of live music, well-priced cocktails concocted by bar manager Joshua LeBlanc and Reposado’s Megan Jones, and cold beer in a warm, vaulted space made for mingling.

Food options are currently limited to jerky prepared in-house (Bret “The Hitman” Hart declared it the best he’s ever tasted on a recent visit), but stay tuned for future pop-ups.

A former travel writer, Keating named his bar after a Long Island surf spot he’s always fantasized about visiting. He’s built his own Montauk in Toronto, insisting there’s nowhere else he’d rather be.

“I really like this city for not being London, New York, Chicago. I like that I can be on a first-name basis with people who come to my bar.”

In a city where eating and drinking are choice pastimes for most, and where more and more options materialize weekly, some overlap in direction and aesthetic seems inevitable.

But Montauk is refreshingly unburdened by thematic rigidity and trite trends. Keating’s place channels the sort of no-frills timelessness and organic hospitality that can transform a bar into an institution. The Montauk crew are simply doing their thing – and everyone’s invited to the party.

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Signature drink: The Montauk

A twist on the classic Brooklyn cocktail (which, not coincidentally, isn’t a far jaunt from the cocktail’s namesake): rye + dry vermouth + Averna + Maraschino liqueur + bitters + orange blossom water.

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