Archie's
106 Broadview Ave.
Toronto
Ontario
CA
M4M 2G1
The four-storey building at Queen Street East and Broadview Avenue has lived many lives. Originally built for the Canadian Bank of Commerce, the Romanesque landmark was once the tallest building east of the Don River. It later became a hotel, then entered its more questionable Jilly’s era, when the rooming house was home to the notorious strip club on the ground floor.
Since 2017, The Broadview Hotel has welcomed guests and gourmands as a 58-room boutique hotel — though its restaurant story has had a few hiccups. The Civic, its grand ground-floor restaurant, eventually closed, leaving a sizeable hole beneath the hotel’s popular rooftop restaurant and patio. Now, eastenders can rejoice: Archie’s has arrived, and it understood the assignment.
Following the high-low restaurant trend, Archie’s has wisely opted for a casual neighbourhood hangout over the kind of high-ticket razzle-dazzle that makes frequent revisits unlikely. The Civic’s handsome red leather booths remain, but the retro sports-bar-meets-tavern’s whole M.O. is simpler: Stop in for a drink, a bite or a game of pool — exactly what the area needed.
The menu at Archie's might read like straightforward comfort food, but there's way more going on once you pull back the curtain. Sports-bar staples like chicken wings, corn ribs and chicken tenders get a chef-driven upgrade with buttermilk marinades, chilli-lime butter and Cajun dry rubs, bringing plenty of punch to the familiar.
The Crispy Brussels Sprouts take Asian inspiration, served with shredded carrot, crispy shallot and a vegan sriracha mayo. Portions are generous enough that a few appetizers could easily make a meal, though the mains are where Archie’s really flexes.
The smash burger, already something of a social media fixture, holds its own against some of the city's best burgers. Archie's takes the Oklahoma patty route —pressing a generous heap of thinly sliced onions directly into two raw beef patties over a hot griddle so they caramelize with the meat. The result is a more substantial take on the smash burger, with crispy edges, aged cheddar and a special Archie's sauce to round out the dish. The fries are a little over-seasoned for my taste, but their punchy take is more interesting than the standard pile of shoestrings.
The Eggplant Parmigiana is another standout, arriving in a tomato sauce that nails the balance between tart and sweet, with a generous helping of fresh mozzarella, roasted vegetables and arugula. There’s enough sauce left behind to drag a few stray fries through so that nothing is wasted — something I highly recommend.
Cocktails run from classics to Archie’s signatures, several of which nod to the building’s notorious past. Jilly’s Palomita Rosa riffs on the Mexican paloma, while the Pole Dancer combines Ketel One vodka, Jamaican rum, lime, passionfruit and ginger beer — landing somewhere between a Moscow mule and a dark ’n’ stormy. The names may wink at the strip club that once occupied the ground floor, but the drinks themselves are decidedly more polished.
There’s plenty of local beer on tap, including Archie’s Ale, a custom house brew made in collaboration with Steam Whistle Brewing.
Dessert keeps things tight with just two options: a Warm Dark Chocolate Pecan Cookie with vanilla ice cream and bourbon caramel, or the decidedly more indulgent Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake, layered with peanut butter mousse and rich chocolate ganache.
If you’ve still got some competitive spirit left after all that comfort food, Archie’s pool table is free and first-come, first-served. There’s also a photobooth for an old-school souvenir of the night — no front-facing camera required — which feels fitting for a retro hangout that makes it easy to forget about your phone for a few hours.
Dinner, dessert and drinks for two: around $120 before tax and tip.
