Temperatures might drop to a cool -3°C in Toronto, but the cocktail scene continues to heat up with a locally loved and lauded bar in the city’s west end being named winner of the Campari One To Watch Award at North America’s 50 Best Bars 2024, sponsored by Perrier. The bar’s founder, Evelyn Chick, outlines how Simpl Things became everyone’s new favourite neighbourhood hangout
When Simpl Things opened in late 2022, it was with an entirely fresh take on how food and drinks could provide different experiences depending on the time of day.
Visit for brunch or lunch and the bar feels like the kind of Italian bistro you’d find in a Tuscan piazza, as chef Cody Wilkes serves up plates of breakfast pappardelle (complete with a perfectly poached egg) and confit chicken gnocchi sorrentina.
Come sunset, the bar switches from Siena to Shanghai as dynamic chef-duo Eva Chin and Trevor Liu create neo-Chinese snacks such as Asian pinxto (Asian charcuterie) and brussels sprouts som tom.
Toronto-based cocktail heavyweight Evelyn Chick opened Simpl Things in late 2022
What you’ll also get, irrespective of the time of day you visit, is an impeccably crafted drinks list and a warm welcome as, despite this being Evelyn Chick’s first cocktail bar, she’s managed to make hospitality the dish of the day.
“We’ve got the transition down to a science now,” Chick explains. “The camaraderie of the staff is part of it but, just to make sure the turn from day to night is seamless, we offer specials on house cocktails and some wines by the glass from four to six. Everyone’s too busy enjoying happy hour drinks to notice something’s going on in the kitchen.”
A tale of two halves
At first glance, Simpl Things seems complicated: with two resident chefs, two different food programmes and two separate but adjacent spaces — each with its own distinct personality.
“When I first looked at the space, it was very clear-cut for me,” recalls Chick. “I wanted to create a really casual space with a totally open kitchen plus a few tables and some bar stools that made a sort of chef’s table on one side. The other side is more for sit-down and dine-in.”
The interior is designed to feel like a mid-century modern home
The open kitchen isn’t fancy, however, and, although there are plenty of folks who want to hang out with the chefs, for most the draw is the other side: a cozy area with an eight-seat bar, a vintage glassware-decorated wall and neon accents. Artfully balancing minimalism with kitsch, it’s designed to make visitors feel as though they’ve stumbled into a cool mid-century modern home, which is entirely as Chick intended.
“Imagine you’re in the happiest living room in your new pal’s house and it’s full of colour,” she says. “I told everyone that the space was going to be a little bright and ridiculous, but that they’ll love it anyway because they’ll feel warm and welcome.”
For the love of cocktails
After studying art at the University of British Columbia with a view to becoming a curator, Chick’s career took a turn when she started bartending at Vancouver institution, Blue Water Café, where she was promoted to bar manager when she was still just 25. Chick soon felt as though she’d reached a ceiling to her progress, so decided the hedge her bets in a new city and start from the ground up in Toronto’s burgeoning cocktail scene.
Chick made quick work of the city’s best bars, taking the reins at the (now-shuttered) Harbord Room, an anchor in Toronto’s cocktail renaissance. When not impressing guests at the bar with her speed, focus and precision, she was winning industry competitions, as well as beginning her journey as an entrepreneur. Since moving to Toronto, she’s launched an event space (Ahma), opened a cocktail kit company, published her first book, For the Love of Cocktails, and made her dream of having her own line of glassware, Story, a reality.
The Melon Calling (baijiu, melon-infused gin, sherry, horchata, matcha) is one of the bar's Chinese-inspired creations
Taking all this into consideration, it’s really no surprise that the drinks at Simpl Things are world class. The list opens with one of Chick’s signatures, Sup Wit Dat, a fresh and punchy mezcal cocktail seasoned with balsam fir that was her bestselling creation at Pretty Ugly – arguably the spot that made mezcal famous in Toronto.
Simpl Things isn’t all about agave, though. The menu is an eclectic mix of clarified milk punch drinks, spritzes, zero-proof options and highly approachable cocktails that showcase everything from staples like whisky and gin to aquavit, shochu, nigori sake and baijiu.
“Some of the cocktail names are super silly,” says Chick. “The guests read a name, they laugh and they’re like, great, we’ll try it. They don’t need to know that the clarification process behind it takes nine hours or anything like that.”
Same with wine: the bar’s Very Good Wines to Drink Right Now list – which is stacked with skin contacts, wild-ferments and organic expressions – is light on descriptors and, at happy hour, the special of the house is ‘mystery wine.’ Luckily, the all-women team that runs the bar is made up of consummate professionals who can cater to any grape-related request.
Finally, there’s the Martini Vibes section of the menu, which Chick admits is her favourite child: “I’ve been on a mission to make martinis the next hot thing and I feel like I’ve achieved it with drinks like Tidal Bloom, a grassy, herbal and floral concoction that sounds intense but tastes like a nice, soft, welcoming hug.”
A place where everybody knows your name
This trustworthy, sincerity-driven ethos of a welcoming hug could well serve as a tagline for Simpl Things. The musical backing track of the bar is a mix of mellow hip hop, soul and funk, the room is homely and the service is exceptionally friendly. “Our lead server, Emma, makes everyone feel like a member of the family here,” adds Chick.
Chick and her team ensure that Simpl Things is a safe space for all
Everyone works extra hard to make sure it’s always a safe, queer-friendly and welcoming space. That’s likely a big part of the reason many local folks treat the bar as a second home, dropping in for bubbles and an eggplant parm mini sando while they catch up on emails and neighbourhood gossip.
At night, the crowd is a healthy mix of locals, industry people and cocktail fans from all over Toronto. Being a renowned destination with a lot of buzz is great, but Chick takes special pride in the fact that a lot of her neighbours (Parkdale, where the bar is located, is known for being resistant to change) have adopted Simpl Things as part of the hood. Between that and the fact that her staff is thriving, she feels like she’s making a difference.
“I feel it’s a nice environment for everyone to be in,” says Chick, “so I’m happy that I was able to create a space where everyone feels welcome.”
In short, nothing could be simpler than a warm environment to sip a beautifully made drink in – and it’s these simple pleasures that have won Simpl Things the Campari One To Watch Award.
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The list of North America’s 50 Best Bars 2024, sponsored by Perrier, was revealed at a live awards ceremony at Rosewood San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, on Tuesday 23rd April 2024. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube to stay up to date with all the news and announcements.
