Food & Design

Why Maison Selby and the new Planta should be on your must-visit, must-eat list (the design! the maki!)

Solid Design Creative’s latest work – an Oliver & Bonacini spot in the 136-year-old Gooderham mansion on Sherbourne – belongs to what might be called the Easter Egg school of thought. Maison Selby is a tribute to the Montparnasse-era Paris bistro, and its seven-year journey of restoration and renovation from budget hotel to mid-range restaurant (guided by ERA Architects and Hunt Heritage) has resulted in a treasure map of details that together make for a charming and cohesive whole.

With original residential walls still intact, the rooms flow into each other: bar–lounge to the right off the entrance, three dining rooms to the left. Amid the many original features are impeccable reproductions of 1883 forms cast in gypsum. The ridiculously detailed hinges on the doors that separate the four distinct dining rooms, and those floral light fixtures? These are facsimiles fashioned by some of the city’s finest metalsmiths and lighting designers. And the impressionistic painting in the main bar that looks like it’s on loan from the AGO? A closer look reveals Honest Ed’s–style lettering and two women with a selfie stick (artist Jahn Page calls the oil-and-acrylic canvas in a 250-year-old frame Maison Selfy).

The menu has similar little treats, like steak tartare served with a cracked quail egg, or a Toronto cocktail made with Gooderham & Worts rye. But the biggest buried treasure of all is the Sous Sol, the bar genuinely hidden downstairs. There, you’ll find another playful Jahn Page, a mirrored ceiling with a beaux-arts twist and a bartender, Ali, who is as creative with mocktails as he is with cocktails.