Another Update: They have written back a super fast response and offered to treat to me to a belated birthday dessert if I come back. That means a lot to me. I will be back.
FOUR OUT OF FIVE WOODEN SPOONS
Update: I had to re-evaluate my 5/5 rating after I tried to make a reservation for my birthday party. I was assured that it was possible but once they found out it was a Saturday night they declined. They said there was not enough space and wanted me to change the date. I had already sent out the invite to all my friends and family. I did not need a private room. I just wanted a spot for 10 people and they could not accommodate. I asked if we could just hang out the bar and they said that there was not enough space. Funny that they said they could accommodate at the restaurant on a different night though…???!!! This place is huge and I gave them almost a week’s notice in January. I am so disappointed with how things turned out. Thank the foodie gods for the Firkin on Danforth. They were my foodie heroes and are a third of the size and could handle all of us no problem. Makes me so sad. I dreamed of having my birthday at the new Storm Crow Manor and everyone wanted to go and check it out. Still had a kickass birthday, no thanks to the Storm Crow Manor.
When my life was dark and falling apart a year ago in Vancouver I heard the most amazing news. The Storm Crow was opening up a location in Toronto and it was going to be called Storm Crow Manor. I could not believe it. I did not think The Storm Crow could get any cooler but it did (more gothic but still geeky) and in my home town!
It was the first place I wanted to go visit after I moved back home in four days and I also wanted to write one of my featured posts. I went to the Storm Crows in Vancouver as much as possible and this one sounded tailor made to my spooky and gothic nerdy tastes.
The Location
Storm Crow Manor located at 580 Church Street
At the time I had no idea that I would be living in Toronto. Once I got here, the biggest challenge was patiently waiting for them to open! I also wanted to wait so they could work out the kinks and details but had to go before winter hit.
I wrote to them and asked for a tour in December and I was thrilled they said yes! Perfect…
Inside
I was taken upstairs so I could pay my respects to the ever-watching Storm Crow Cthulhu that is at all of their locations.
A nook had been reserved for me so I could hear all about the story of the restaurants in general and go on a tour thanks to Storm Crow Brand Manager Taylor Assion who was so helpful and informative.
I knew that the owner and creator Jason Kapalka was famous for creating the game Plants vs. Zombies but did NOT know he also created Bejeweled which I personally still play to this day. When I can not sleep I often play it into the wee hours of night.
The Rooms… Welcome to Heaven
The Manor definitely stayed true to its geeky roots despite the three story gothic heritage home. Here we have the Heaven Room which I swooned over. Sci-fi themed galore and man, I could do some serious tarot readings in here!
You get the room to yourself and the alien influence is absolutely elevating.
Not to mention, mesmerizing…!!!
Bring On Hell!
There is of course a Hell Room that made me laugh my ass off. Reversed crosses on the wall, demons and the quote from Shakespeare, “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”
I must admit this little room is quite overwhelming with its Mars Attacks intensity and all that red.
But there is Darth Maul! One of the coolest villains ever. I could get used to it.
All the stained glass was custom made and is absolutely outstanding. What a seriously cool gig for a glass artist. So creative and so much fun.
Cyber Punk Blade Runner Room
Very few movies impacted me as much as Blade Runner.
Its chronically urban night-time techno light coloured world with noodle bar dining made me see the future in a potentially totally different light.
It was the first movie that really took me some place else so completely and did the Storm Crow Manor do a fantastic job of recreating that feeling.
I was expecting to see Deckard and Rachel having an intense conversation at one of the tables.
Those chairs are made of pipe and milk crates BTW!
Despite the seriousness of such an atmospheric room there is always something fun too.
The designer seriously understood this fictional world and made it come to life with pipes and colour. Incredible.
Heeeeere’s Johnny!
When I was lead to the back of the manor I saw the red curtains and the black and white floors and immediately knew I was in the land of Twin Peaks. Then I saw the bar and actually got scared. Having the most surreal show in the history of TV combine with one of the scariest movies of all time actually threw me! Twin Peaks AND The Shining?! It was too much. I was literally trying not to geek out at this point, it was so cool.
By the way, this is called The Viewing Room if it floats your particular creepy boat. They really need to have a guy typing “Jack Is A Dull Boy” in there to really finish off that room!
The Bar
I gotta say the bar is where it is at! Even though I was there mid-afternoon people were diving into their crazy and fantastical concoctions. I think it is one of the main reasons why people go to the Storm Crow because who wouldn’t want to try “What We Drink In The Shadows – When you are a vampire, you become very… sexy! White Wine, Peach Schnapps, blueberry compote, orange juice, drop of blood from your familiar (2 oz)”.
They even had a real HUGE operating room light that lights up certain colours when people order certain drinks. I wonder what colours they would shine for “Corpse Reanimator: Gin, Lillet, Absinthe, Triple Sec, lemon, brain that “fell off a truck” somewhere, some ‘lectricity and stuff (2.5 oz)“? I do not drink a lot but that? I want to try that drink and see if it brings me back to life!
The Apothecary Room
I fell in love with the Apothecary Room as soon as I saw the “Psychic For Hire” sign on the wall. This room had all things Spooky Suzie that I love like jars of weird things, space to do tarot readings…
A room of potions, crows, ravens, skulls and so many other curiosities.
This is my room. I can see me and my sisters in that bay window doing readings for each other drinking potions and cackling our identical laugh together.
The Bathroom
Normally I would never focus so much attention on the bathrooms but when this is what greets you on your way downstairs… How could I not?! I actually got to meet the designer who has been working tirelessly on the manor. Three months of getting all the details perfect. Bravo!
Normally the last thing I want when I go into the basement of a restaurant is to be freaked out but it truly is the coolest bathroom I have ever seen.
It was not just me who marvelled at the details. There was a woman who was laughing her ass of and said, “How can I make my home look like this?”
I am not alone!
That is one of the best things about the Storm Crow family, it is a space for everyone. And I mean everyone. There will be no Marvel vs. DC wars going on. No gender crap for gaming or anything else for that matter. Everyone is welcome.
The Food
You don’t think I would go to the manor and not try their food do you? I have to admit that the biggest complaint I had about the Vancouver Storm Crows was the food. A lot of the time the food was under seasoned, savoury dishes way too sweet… I do not think I had anything there I would order again. And I went a lot.
This time I ordered Dana Scully’s Sceptical French Toast with a side of bacon and prayed to the geeky foodie gods to please, not let me down!
As I waited for my food with Cthulhu at my side I marvelled at the tin roof. No space had been neglected in this manor. Every place you looked, heart, sweat and dreams went into it.
OK… The food came to the table and looked pretty fantastic!
The bacon was perfectly crisp, just the way I like it and the French toast was excellent! Phew and yay! I loved all the fruit and they added enough maple syrup that I did not have to ask for more. My one complaint? No decaf coffee. I had a hot chocolate instead which was pretty good.
This is a HUGE improvement from out west. Sweet and hot damn!
Happy Foodie
Someone’s photobombing me…!!!
It has been one hell of a tough and challenging year and this was at the top of my Featured Post list. Normally I like to come in as a regular patron so I can be stealthy and undercover but not this time. I live in a weird reality right now where technically I am home but the Storm Crow was my home too when I lived out west.
This incredible experience has given me hope that I can continue my weird and wonderful foodie journey and not feel like I have to start over from scratch. Again!
Little Details
I love that the bill came in a treasure chest with a Magic The Gathering card. Clever!
And of course I had to do a little snooping and investigating. Check it out! Supernatural Winchester brother’s Devil’s Trap in their kitchen! I almost went weak in the knees over that one. Seriously, SERIOUSLY COOL!!!
Take Over The World
The Storm Crow is not going to stop at just Toronto! They want to spread the geeky cheer all over the place so who knows where they will turn up next?
I do know that for every friend that comes into town for a visit, for every birthday of mine, any excuse I can come up with… I will be at Storm Crow Manor (weather and health allowing of course).
I did a quick little video of some of the rooms. I did not cover all of the rooms because there is just too much to explore. Yet another excuse to come back and see what madness they are up to at Storm Crow Manor. I can not believe they surpassed my expectations and kicked butt with their food.
I am one happy foodie.
SO FREAKING AWESOME! Thanks for the tour, Suzie! And speaking of details . . . I love how your “Dana Scully’s Sceptical French Toast” came with the bacon arranged in an “X” . . . for “X Files” of course!
Isn’t this place unbelievably amazing Debra? OMG, I hadn’t even realized about the X-Files bacon! That’s freakin’ brilliant. Damn, nice catch!
Wow! What an epic review…
Thank you Jason!
So great. We are looking for something cool now that the Harry Potter Yule Ball is cancelled. This might be just the place to wear our Gothic Elegant costumes, take some pics, and have a few drinks.
Oh yes, absolutely!!! They might be having some sort of New Year’s Event you can all go to if you want (call and check, they weren’t sure yet it if was happening) or see if you can rent one of the rooms. And that sucks about the Harry Potter Yule Ball being cancelled! This is the perfect second choice. You will LOVE it! Perfect for Gothic elegant costumes. Natural lighting for photography would probably be the apothecary room BTW. Have fun!!! I wish I could see the pictures when you go.