The
Brit Cafe in the foreground.
Dylan O'Connor's Irish Pub in the background
The
Brit Cafe is closing its location on
Portage Avenue and moving to
Dylan O'Connor's across the street. The Mann family of England have been involved in retail and restaurant work since immigrating to the city in 1998. Mon, dad and four kids are all involved in the restaurant and store.
I remember one of their earliest incarnations was the
Raging Brit store on Academy Road at
Lanark Street.
In recent times, the family has run both the
Brit Cafe and
Dylan O'Connor's Irish Pub side by side. However, the prospect of consolidating the two businesses was just hard to ignore.
First, the family had to clean up
Dylan's which had a reputation for motorcycle gangs, underage drinking and by my recollection...brawls. The Mann's have been changing the crowd, the look but not the unique tastes and attractions of the place.
If anyone can change the atmosphere there, it will be this British family who managed to get their restaurant noted as the
top British restaurant in Canada by The
Daily Telegraph in the U.K.
Best fish and chips if you can make it to this St. James treasure.
Hope the Brit name is carried on some place in the Irish pub.
3 comments:
Love the Brit Cafe ! This will mean better hours but losing it's personality, which is too bad.
Geez, your blog is keeping me up to date on all my old food haunts !
I agree. I like the windows in the old Brit but it is the food that keeps bringing me back.
No word on if the store will remain part of the operation.
I wonder if they saw the irony in having the "Brit Cafe" inside "Shannon's Irish Pub" ?!
Lots of cities have a decent sized Brit store. I hope they keep it. Every year, especially around Christmas, I REALLY miss Marks and Spencers.
When I go to Ireland or the UK it's one of my first stops !
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