Mixing it up with Tony DaSilva at the Broadview Hotel

by Patricia Noonan

Anyone who’s been around the east end would have passed the infamous Jilly’s, a peeler bar housed in the Broadview Hotel. Originally commissioned by Archibald Dingman in the late 1800’s, the hotel has finally been brought back to its Romanesque Revival glory by Streetcardevelopments and Dream. The building was purchased in 2014 and renos began in 2015 after a conservation plan was put together to restore the exterior. With the acquisition and renovation of the hotel comes the promise of new hotel dining and lounge options for Riverside. [Photo credit: Patricia Noonan]

Tony DaSilva is the head bartender at the Broadview Hotel. Growing up in a small town, Toronto beckoned from a young age. Shortly after moving to the city for college, Tony realized that he wasn't on the right path. To shake things up, he took a bartending class. He got to know the bartending community's creativity and camaraderie at his first cocktail competition, and he was hooked. Tony spent the next 4.5 years bartending, while placing in cocktail competitions including Made with Love and Bacardi Legacy.

With the acquisition and renovation of the hotel, anyone familiar with its most recent past would think it remiss if Tony didn’t have at least one cocktail to remember the infamous strip club, so his new cocktail list has “Weekend at Jilly’s.” Amusingly, it’s a spin on a Pimm’s Cup, a drink I consider more of a genteel summery cocktail. This long cocktail uses Casa Mariol Black Vermouth, Cointreau, cucumber, mint and ginger beer with a flamboyant crown of mint; it’s a spicy yet refreshing number. A tribute to the original owner, “Dingman’s Sour,” uses Bombay gin, Capo Capo Aperitivo, grapefruit juice, rhubarb syrup, egg whites and Peychaud’s bitters, giving the cocktail an unexpected, but delicious retro spin on a classic sour. “Playing the G” is a salute to DaSilva’s mentor, Wes Galloway, another talented bar man and brand ambassador. A unique blend of Grey Goose, Fino sherry, wildflower honey syrup, Bittermens Boston Bittahs and a lemon zest garnish, this cocktail is served on the rocks.

While there is a classic cocktail list, the separate house cocktail list is where Tony DaSilva gets to be creative and curate new cocktails and these will change seasonally. The cocktails can be had at the main floor café and the wonderful rooftop lounge. DaSilva is passionate about hospitality, and takes the time to make each guest feel special when they sit at his bar. Come in and see him at the Broadview Hotel and enjoy the new view and the new vibe. It’s intoxicating.

Cheers!