Despite its name, the team behind Lonely Diner is not working in isolation. In fact, behind the bar at this newest College and Dufferin cocktail spot are some masterful mixologists who hail from some of the city’s top establishments.
Lonely Diner is the latest vision from Andrew and Christine Pham, the brother-sister duo behind the neighbourhood’s Midnight Market and Big Trouble.
“This is a project we’ve had in the works and in our minds for a very long time,” says Andrew. “We’ve always wanted to get into doing something where our style is represented through the drinks and the food, and to do a cocktail style is something that we always wanted to venture into.”
Joining the duo again is Lonely Diner’s bar manager, Jon Kim who worked at Big Trouble for a number of years. Behind the bar and the menu, he’s joined by veteran mixologists Kaleb Hansen — of BarChef fame — and Sasha Siegel, formerly of Bar Banane and the now-closed Overpressure Club.
“We were luckily able to pick them up to join our team and what we’ve created has come from those three bartenders working together alongside us,” says Andrew.
Lonely Diner pays homage to the original Lonely Bar, a speakeasy at Midnight Market curated and managed by Kim, which Andrew calls their “baby step” into launching the new concept. As for the “Diner” part of the name — that pays tribute to Mars Food, which previously stood at 432 College Street and was one of the oldest diners in Toronto, having opened in 1951 before closing in 2021.
“I know a lot of our diners were patrons and they understand the historical significance of this old-school diner that used to exist here,” Andrew says. “When we were given the opportunity to take over this space and bring up on the next chapter, that’s the opportunity we hoped on.”
Nostalgia buzzes through Lonely Diner, too, which evokes a 70s retro vibe that’s clad in walnut. Though it looks like everything was made for the space— which was the case for the custom woodwork from Toronto’s Studio 83 — Andrew says much of it was sourced through Facebook Marketplace and given a makeover. From reupholstered retro booths to revamping old plush chairs, every last piece of the space has a story.
On its food menu, Lonely Diner takes a shot away from typical bar fare with caviar fish filet, strachiatella toast and shrimp shishitos. Despite the cocktail bar’s name, the dishes are meant to be shared amongst friends — and so far, Lonely Diner has collected many of them.
As for the real reason to step inside the Lonely Diner, the famed mixologists have crafted an eclectic menu that is wide-ranging and which Andrew says he hope captures a “nostalgic” taste of Toronto.
A must-have on the menu is a Forbidden Fruit, a durian-based cocktail that combines rum and a Chinese liquor called baijiu and rounded out with a soy milk punch with honeydew. Another claim to fame — and not only for the creative name — is the Bohemian Raspberry, a cocktail with a base of vermouth, pineau des charentes, and mezcal, with a banana milk cheese foam rounding out the top.
“It’s been great support from the community,” Andrew says. “So far the reception has been very good, and we’re just happy to be open and have people come in and experience the space and our cocktails and our food — it’s a very wonderful experience.”
