Suite 115

Suite 115 is the most thoughtfully conceived recent speakeasy in Toronto — a love letter to a closed predecessor that succeeds on its own terms rather than depending on the nostalgia angle. The bar opened in 2024 at 532 College Street in Little Italy, the result of a 2020 pact between co-owners Jacky Ha and Oliver Leung after their previous workplace closed. Suite 114 (the original) operated at the corner of Bay and Dundas from 2017 to 2020 as an escape-room-themed speakeasy — Leung was bar manager, Ha was back-of-house staff. When Suite 114 closed in the pandemic-adjacent industry collapse, Leung tattooed the bar's slogan (“Stay Thirsty, Stay Humble”) on his forearm and made Ha a promise: one day, they'd revive the concept. Four years passed before Leung secured the College Street space and made the call. As Leung recalls telling Ha when the call connected: “Remember? I told you to wait for my call.”

The origin story behind the partnership is the kind of thing that should be a screenplay. While working back-of-house at Suite 114, Ha accidentally spilled red wine on a customer wearing a very light blue shirt. So mortified that he sprinted to the nearby Eaton Centre, bought three replacement shirts in different sizes (he didn't know the customer's size), and returned to present them. The customer was, by his own admission, “a sucker for tie-dye” and laughed off the incident. When Leung heard the story, his reaction was unequivocal: “I want that guy on my team.” That moment, in Ha's framing, was the “war story” that changed his life. The partnership it produced is now operating one of the most critically recognized new bars in Canada.

Designer Andrew Sun of Atelier Sun studio translated the concept into the physical space. Sun's framing in Designlines Magazine: “We really wanted the space to feel almost like a stage play, or watching the cinema. The space was designed to enhance interaction between the customers and the bartenders.” The execution is minimalist by design — double bartop lit by flickering candles, mood lighting seeping from behind the bar, a rosy-red back wall in the same shade as Suite 114, walls intentionally bare. The cocktails are the art; the bartenders are the cast; the guests are simultaneously the audience and the supporting players. Ha's quote on Sun's process: “Andrew painted the entire picture just from hearing our story. We said very little but he ran with the concept.”

The cocktail menu (designed by Leung) features about a dozen wildly creative cocktails on the printed program, with many showing Asian influences from Leung's own background. The Heart of Normandy is the most-cited signature — Calvados Boulard, pear, apricot, apple, ice wine foam, sakura leaf garnish. The build is classical-French at the base with a Japanese final touch. The Old Man is the bestseller for guests who know to ask for it — a clarified Hong Kong Milk Tea Old Fashioned that doesn't always appear on the printed menu by that name but is the drink long-time regulars order by code. The two cocktails between them define the bar's cocktail identity: classical bones, intentional layering, small surprises, cultural cross-pollination.

The riddle-locked secret menu adds a layer Toronto's other speakeasies don't attempt. The bartenders maintain a separate cocktail menu that guests unlock by solving a riddle — presented on request, with the staff helping if you're stuck. The secret menu rotates more frequently than the printed one and represents the bartenders' creative-research outlet for bolder, less-conventional builds. Yelp reviewers consistently reference specific staff (Santiago, Jackie, Cory) helping them solve the riddle and the cocktail revelation that follows. The system embodies Suite 115's broader hospitality philosophy: engagement over transaction.

The food program is intentionally personal. Mom's Dumplings come from Jacky Ha's mother's recipe. The Vietnamese-style bar nuts (caramelized fish sauce, shallots, Thai basil, coriander, cumin) trace back to Ha's Vietnamese father's after-work ritual. Shrimp Toasty draws on the owners' Hong Kong family roots. Taro and lotus chips with furikake dust reflect the bar's broader Pan-Asian aesthetic. The menu is small — designed to pair with cocktails rather than anchor a full dinner — but each dish has a story the bartenders will tell you if you ask. The food reinforces the “Grandma's House” hospitality framing more directly than any menu of standard bar snacks would.

The Spirited Awards Top 10 honour for Best New International Cocktail Bar in Canada places Suite 115 among the most significant new Canadian bar openings of recent years. The Spirited Awards are the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation's industry recognition, considered the most prestigious cocktail-bar awards globally. The recognition has driven a sharp rise in international visitor interest — Suite 115 now appears on cocktail-tour itineraries for visitors from New York, Chicago, London, and Hong Kong. The bar has been featured in The Pinnacle Guide (December 2025), TasteToronto, Foodism, Designlines Magazine, and various international cocktail-press publications.

The hospitality is what makes the bar work as more than the sum of its visual moves. The “Grandma's House” framing isn't marketing; it's operationally consistent. Bartenders introduce themselves by name. They explain each drink. They check back through the evening. They ask about your night. They share the story behind a dish. Reviewers across Yelp and Google consistently reference specific staff by name (Jackie, Cory, Santiago) as the highlight of the visit. Ha's stated framing of the bar's purpose: “Hospitality is a big thing here... It's about making a human connection. We are here to have a connection with you, over alcohol, which is the easiest way to break down your guardrails.”

Best for: Cocktail enthusiasts wanting riddle-and-passcode theatricality with substantive craft behind it. Date nights wanting an intimate room and an experience that includes the bartenders. Anyone interested in Toronto's bartender-as-storyteller hospitality model. Visitors from out of town looking for the most internationally recognized new Toronto bar. Industry diners on nights off. Cocktail nerds curious about Hong Kong Milk Tea Old Fashioned techniques (ask for the Old Man).

Skip if: You wanted easy walk-in access — the 25-seat capacity makes weekends competitive. You don't like service that engages with you — the team will introduce themselves and explain drinks, and that's the design intent. You wanted full dinner; the food is small-plates only. You wanted a quiet conversation in a private corner; the room is small enough that nearby conversations carry. You wanted a venue with an obvious street presence; the passcode entry is part of the experience.