🍸 Bar Cart | Toronto's "Power Broker" Speakeasy (But Skip the Drinks?

📍 42 The Esplanade, Toronto Discovered this new retro-luxe speakeasy through a bartender I follow—Bar Cart nails the "successful people negotiating mergers" vibe with its velvet banquettes, muted lighting, and spacious layout (no elbow battles here!). But the cocktails? A confusing letdown. 🍹 The Drinks (Honest Reviews): ☕ Espresso Ghost • Coffee-dark chocolate with a phantom coconut whisper? • Harsh spice finish—like a bad business deal. 🌴 Tropic Thunder • Promised piña colada vibes, delivered vodka-water with sad coconut flakes. Run. 🍫 Clockroom Martini • 100% dark chocolate bitterness without the richness. • Missing raspberry = missing the point. 🍓 Juniper Blush (Non-Alc) • Stir or get sparkling water betrayal. • Tastes like strawberry stems—where’s the sweetness?! 🌟 Meringue-a-tang • The only win! Fizzy, fruity, like sparkling wine’s cool cousin. 🍣 Food Side Note: 🐟 Hamachi Crudo (Chef’s Special) • Fish = fish. Orange = orange. Celery = celery. • "Tasting the ingredients’ truth" = fancy way to say "bland." • Saving grace: The shiso-infused green sauce at the bottom! 💼 Why It Works (For Some): • Luxe-but-not-stuffy ambiance (great for impressing clients). • No crowding = easy to talk mergers (or host a bank Q&A, like my friend did 😂). • Verdict: Come for the aesthetic, stay for... one drink max. #TorontoSpeakeasy #CocktailFail #PowerDining #TorontoNightlife #VibeOverTaste #BarCartTO