Rather quietly last year, a new pub opened up in the Leslieville area of Toronto, the district we laughingly called the “West Beaches” back when I lived there many moons ago. It’s called the Ceili Cottage, which is pronounced “Cay-lee Cottage” for the Irish-challenged amongst ye.
Run by my friend Patrick McMurray, who also oversees the Starfish Oyster Bed & Grill, it’s not a beer joint in the sense that Paddy keeps a massive range of ales and lagers from which to choose. But if you’re looking for a neighbourhood local kind of place with a handful of fine beers, decent food and the lingering scent of peat smoke hanging in the air, well, this is the place.
The Cottage also has a little patio out front, lovely in the summer but obviously rather superfluous in winter. So what does Patrick do? In an inspired bit of lunacy, he puts up boards and floods the thing, making a little skating rink that’s free for locals to use almost any time. Canadian to the max, says I.
But Patrick isn’t finished even there. Not only can you skate on the rink, but as you’ll see from this blog post, you can also drop by and partake of some curling, complete with instruction every Wednesday night! With beers inside afterwards, of course. Like a proper Canadian.
