Sauce Danthforth

From 1920s inspired cocktails to vintage furniture and Victorian goth décor, walking into Sauce on the Danforth is like stepping back in time. Owners Michelle Belisle and John Lucier say even the name Sauce dates to the prohibition era when alcohol was commonly referred to as sauce.

Along with retro-cocktails like a New York Sour – a bourbon sour with a float of red wine – the lounge offers Ontario craft beer on tap, Belgian and imported beer in cans and bottles, saké, soju, sparkling drinks and a late night grazing menu featuring their specialty shooter sandwiches.

“Back in the day when the posh people in England would go out hunting, they would pack their sandwiches in the side saddle, resulting in a compressed sandwich pie of sorts for lunch,” Michelle says. “The sandwiches that we make are pressed for 24 hours so that you get that pie-like kind of filling where everything is compressed.”

The menu, available nightly until 2 a.m., also includes cheese and charcuterie plates, olives, dips and other tapas style items. Sauce on the Danforth also has drink specials and live music.

“We’re big fans of booze and the right way to drink it,” John says. “They have to be prepared properly. Everything feeds off everything else – you have to be in the right room, with good people, the right booze, the right lighting.”