SkyLounge
Intercontinental Toronto Yorkville
220 Bloor Street West
416-960-5200

With a name like SkyLounge, I arrived at the Intercontinental Hotel expecting an elevator ride to a rooftop patio. Instead the SkyLounge is a more like a secret garden tucked behind the hotel’s Proof vodka bar (which was a tearoom the last time I was here some 8 years ago, and goes to show how times have changed).

While the space has been open for four years now, offering a Mediterranean-inspired tapas-style menu created by Chef Joe Rabba, this month marks the beginning of Grill Thursdays, a weekly event that runs from 6 to 10pm. The evening finds Rabba and his staff manning a massive barbeque right on the patio where guests can enjoy treats such as wild boar burgers, rosemary skewered lamb chops and Peppercorn crusted grilled pineapple spears.

These barbequed additions will compliment a menu of cold and hot offerings (referred to as Teases - designed to “tease” the senses - and including market-fresh ingredients like grilled calamari, beef carpaccio and the hottest thing in salads – iceberg lettuce), big Tease (full-sized mains such as burgers or duck au vin), Cheese Tease (cheese platters where diners can create their own combinations) and Tease for Two – shared platters done up in a Mediterranean, Seafood or vegetarian theme.

To complement the food, the drink menu offers a selection of mojitos, caipirinhas and cocktails of every flavour (which they insist on calling martinis, but aren’t – gin and vermouth, people, gin and vermouth!!!).

The space itself is sleek but welcoming with Brazilian wood furnishings, silk pillows and even throws for cooler evenings. With it’s bright patio umbrellas, candlelight and world music, there’s no need to wonder why SkyLounge was voted Toronto’s Best Patio of 2007.

Despite the rainy weather that sent attendees running for cover under the many umbrellas at the media gathering to kickstart Grill Thursdays, SkyLounge is still a gorgeous and welcoming space that is reminiscent of a tropical poolside cabana. Worth a visit, either to check out the Thursday night barbeque events or to sample the regular menu.