Posted by Greg Clow in pub crawl, pubs and bars, restaurant profile on January 6, 2009 at 7:41 am

C'est What
67 Front Street East
416-867-9499

When beer writers look back on the still relatively short history of modern craft brewing in Ontario, the names that are most often remembered and mentioned are the breweries and brewmasters who essentially created the industry back in the mid 1980s. Microbrewing pioneers like Jim Brickman of Brick Brewery, Frank Heaps of Upper Canada Brewing, and Philip Gosling, Charles Maclean & David Moorsom of Wellington County Brewery receive - and undoubtedly deserve - a huge amount of credit for introducing Ontario drinkers to a world of beer beyond pale golden lagers, and kick-starting what is now a thriving and growing industry.

Brewing the beer is only part of the equation, though. You also need to get it out where people can buy and drink it, with bars and pubs being the most obvious outlets. But back in the 80s, when Labatt, Molson and Carling ruled the Canadian beer world and now-ubiquitous imports like Guinness and Heineken were rare sights on local tap handles, it wasn't exactly easy to find publicans in Toronto who were willing to take the risk on those newfangled microbrews.

That's why craft beer makers and drinkers alike should all be very thankful that George Milbrandt came along in 1988 and opened C'est What, the first - and still one of the best - of Toronto's craft beer bars.

As the affable Milbrandt explains it, the roots of C'est What actually extend back a number of years before any of Ontario's microbreweries existed, and even before he was legally allowed to drink beer himself. "I was the oldest looking person in my group of friends, so I was always the one who went to the Beer Store, and I was overwhelmed by the wall of bottles on display. There were so many exotic looking beers, and I vowed to go through the whole list, but the more of them I tried, the more I realised that they all tasted pretty much the same."

To satisfy his craving for better beers, he turned to homebrewing as a hobby while working full-time as an architect. But he soon found himself drawn to the idea of opening a bar, although his involvement was initially supposed to be limited mainly to the design and building of the space, while some friends with experience in the hospitality industry were going to handle the food and drink side of things. When the others dropped out early on, Milbrandt found himself running the whole show.

In the end, though, it's probably been for the best, as it's allowed him to put a personal stamp on many aspects of C'est What, from the food and drink, to the atmosphere, to the entertainment. "The overriding theme is that I didn't want to open a fake English pub or a fake Irish pub, I wanted it to be a Toronto pub. We stick true to the pub principle of being a 'local', not some place that reminds you of somewhere else."

This 'local' philosophy is strongly reflected in the pub's beer list, which features 35 taps and a dozen or so bottled beers, all sourced exclusively from Ontario and Quebec craft breweries. The line-up includes five beers brewed especially for C'est What by Bruce Halstead at County Durham Brewing in Pickering, and there are always five cask-conditioned ales available, the largest selection of cask ale in the city. Nowadays, a bar with such a strong selection of local/craft beers is hardly a novelty, but in 1988, even beer aficionados were sceptical that it would fly.

"I will admit that for the first 9 months or so that we were open we had Foster's and Toby on tap along with Upper Canada, Creemore, Conners, Brick and Wellington products," Milbrandt remembers. "But once it became apparent that there was enough choice out there, we went to all microbrews on draught, at which point the head of CAMRA Toronto told me that it was a recipe for bankruptcy. Even beer fans were saying there's no way, people aren't going to accept that. I guess my viewpoint is that in a city as large as Toronto, there's a market for anything." Obviously, he was right, as evidenced by the continuing and increasing popularity of C'est What's beer selection, as well as the remarkably successful Festival of Small Breweries held at the bar each spring and fall.

Milbrandt also decided early on to limit the wine list to Ontario VQA selections, including several created exclusively for the bar by winemaker Angelo Rigitano, some of which have taken international awards. And while it breaks from the 'local' theme somewhat, the selection of Scottish single malts is quite respectable, and is complemented by a few Irish whiskeys, Canadian ryes, and American bourbons.

Also not purely 'local' is the food menu, described as "ethno-clectic" and including such wallet-friendly offerings as falafel, tourtière, lamburger, Morrocan stew, roti, ribs, curries and stir-fries. But perhaps a globally-influenced menu is more 'local' than it seems, as Milbrandt explains that "Canadians didn't really pride themselves on their cuisine at the time we opened. The one thing that strikes me about Toronto is its multiculturalism, so that's the part of Canadian cuisine that we picked up on: the fact that it's from everywhere. We've always been a place that makes things from scratch, and we're trying to push as much as we can into local ingredients. There are serious price constraints on going all organic, all local, but we're trying to inch our way."

Local music has also played a large part in building C'est What's reputation, especially during the time that they operated Club Nia, a room to the west of their original space that featured live music every night. Since the closure of Nia, shows now take place 3 or 4 nights a week in the original bar area under the banner What's Next, with performers ranging in style from pop-rock and  singer-songwriter to reggae, jazz and beyond. All shows are streamed on the What's Next website, and plans are in place to install a new system that will allow high-quality multi-track recordings to be made of every performance.

Last but certainly not least, C'est What offers an atmosphere that is comfortable and inviting, and amongst the most historic in the city. Nestled in the basement of two buildings near Church and Front, the exposed brick walls date from Toronto's earliest days, giving the space a look that is quite unique, or as Milbrandt describes it, "something that is more real than the 'Ye Olde English Pub' look."

Of course, a semi-hidden basement location isn't exactly conducive to attracting walk-by customers, especially in the warmer months when Torontonians tend to flock to patios to sun themselves while they have a chance. Still, Milbrandt sees the positive side of it. "Even though you can't see it very well from the street, that's kind of appealing in a strange way. I think it's one of those places that you can discover and then tell your friends, 'I found this great little place that you'd never know about'. When I'm sitting after work having a beer, I overhear people who are talking to their friends at the bar, bragging about the fact that they found it. It's a wonderful feeling, and makes me think I'm doing something I can be proud of, something to leave behind. We're all going to be gone eventually, but it's what you leave behind that's important."