Damn! I love this restaurant!

The spaces are so versatile and comfortable.
Street-front & garden patios - and the main room. Been pretty jammed some nights - we're just hopping in the kitchen . . . but it's great to look out and see people having a good time enjoying the food. And the weather's been so fine for out-of-doors service.


Early in July Pat Butler & friends presented their second
'Not An Octogon' art show, themed 'This Place'.
Some excellent Canadian art.
We served up some tasty nibbles - little ribs with different sauces, tenderloin sliders and shrimp - among other good things.
Here are a few pics . . .

The artists on show were Patrick Butler, Eric Overton, Hyein Lee, Roben Nieuwland, Greg Hill, Seth Wotten and Liz Pignataro - with fantastic accordion and vocals by Saskia Crescentia . . . (thanks to the folks at 'SNAP' for dropping in)

The Beaches Jazz Festival was madness and mayhem - a really good time.
The dining room and front patio are such good vantage points to take in the Street Festival action while relaxing over dinner and drinks.
We capped off the street fest with our own 3rd. annual "Damn! I'm Glad That's Over." party with DJ LEXX, as always, at the controls. Thanks to all for coming and making it a good time.


What else? . . . we had a couple of lovely weddings - they're fun - couple more coming up.
Hope to get the GameKeepers Roast together in September (or October) - we'll let you know.

And, of course, we have more new beers . . . so as well as the great tastes of Mill Street drafts - we now offer 'Flying Monkeys' Craft Brewed beers on tap. Delicious!

So, cheers 'til next time . . .

Dave & the crew

Balsam Bistro Back Patio Kick-off

Hey everyone,

We had a lot of fun on our first day/night of the back patio. The BBQ was blazing three types of sausages - Italian, Bratwurst and Honey Garlic - topped with our fresh sauerkraut and Dijon. The chefs made sure to accommodate the vegetable inclined with asparagus and corn on the cob right off of the grill. Both were dressed with a white wine, lemon, and butter sauce with fresh herbs picked from our own back patio garden.



Both bars were open and our patrons were trying some of the cocktails off of our list. Some favourites included: the Balsam Cosmo (with Orange infused Vodka) and the Lemon Martini. Looking to the future - The new Summer Cocktail List will be introduced on Saturday, June 12th. It will have some summer classics while also introducing some new cocktails. We are constantly trying to give people what they expect off of a cocktail list but with our own twist. Possible classics with a twist include: Dave's own Sangria, a new Caesar, and of course the Mojito. We are certainly excited to dust off the old 'drinks blender' and give it real work-out for the rest of the summer.


The night was filled with both family and friends and we would like to thank everyone who came out to support us on the long weekend. We know that a lot of people go away for the holiday and we truly enjoy the fact that we have such a loyal following.

Snap magazine came by and took pictures of the event, so look out for the party in their upcoming issue. We would especially like to thank Lee Waddington for his amazing support and even better pictures. As well, we would like to thank Les for these photos in this post ........ Les, you are truly a friend of the Balsam.





We hope to see you out on the patio with your family and friends. Come by and eat, or drink ... or eat and drink!
Have you tried our new beers on draft? We just installed a draft fridge on the back patio and it is currently refrigerating beer from the Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery. We have both the Hopitical Illusion and the Anti-Gravity on draft. Both are amazing beers and have a lot of flavour. They introduce something that we have always wanted at Balsam, and that is beer that reflects the type of quality that matches with our aspirations for our food. Also on tap are Mill St. Organic and Tankhouse. The Mill St. products are arguably the best brewed out of Toronto and have been fully accepted by our patrons. So, we're definately ready for summer!


The back patio is available for private functions and will be open for dinner from Thursday to Saturday from 5:30pm on.

We're More Like We Are Now Than When We First Got Here!

Had a little bash on "the 3rd."
A few citizens,

. . . friends . . .

. . . family . . .

. . . regulars . . .


little cocktail party (I saw it from the kitchen)











- then DJ LEXX dB kicked in around 11
(sorry - no further photographic record of events!!! the old guy with the camera hadda leave!!!)

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Hey! there's a Monthly Draw for a 'Dinner for Two' now - so get your email address to us to be eligible
- drop it off at the bar or send it here balsam.bistro@gmail.com

Happy New Year - Welcome, 2010 . . .

We had a great time bringing in the new year with a few friends - a quiet time by Balsam standards but very enjoyable . . . and I could actually function the next day . . . bonus!


The food was great, just fantastic! Nick really turned on his high beams in the kitchen . . . just to remind us that he is 'Taicho!'

We'll miss his culinary adventures (and those big bearhugs) now that he's been lured back downtown to the big smoke to cook at "Ki", and all his fans and co-workers wish him every success and happy days!
But at least now, if I ever get a night off, I know a descent place to go for dinner.

We've whipped up a new dinner menu for January
some favorites - some new stuff
So take a look, come in and check it out . . .

(Click on the menu to enlarge it)