Archive

This place is great. The food, for what it is, is very well done and a perfect compliment to an extrememly impressive wine list. The Bujols and the Tartare are both fantastic. Can’t remember which wine I had but it was recommended by one of the owners and was good. If you’re in the Bellwoods neck of the woods I would highly recommend this place!

Enjoyed the wine list, and the service was pretty attentive. The owners are involved in the running and won’t hesitate to give you recommendations. The tapas aren’t bad, but didn’t get a chance to try very many. A nice place to enjoy a few drinks and enjoy the conversation, plus nibble on some snacks. Would go back.

Olives! If you like olives try them! The atmosphere was very classy. The food had small portions but was very flavourful and more than enough. The service was very good. Overall it was a great experience. They had a nice selection of craft brews and an extensive wine selection. Pricey though.

Great selection of VQA and international wines. Great small plates of food. Informed staff. Clean comfortable space. Wine preserve systems that allow a large selection of wines to available by the glass.
Highly recommended.

Archive is a lovely little wine bar, on a beautiful stretch of Dundas that has been slowly picking up over the last few years. The atmosphere is candlelight, re-​purposed wood, exposed brick, hipster bartenders… essentially everything endearing about high-​end, urban bars is housed here. Hooray.
Their wine selection isn’t pages and pages, but it seems to be a well-​curated little list, with a few rosé and sparkling options to please my palate. Beyond their wine they have many small plates for sharing, and we indulged in their house-​made (?) truffles. Delightful.

This is a lovely place, but not a serious restaurant.
It appears to be a group of guys enjoying themselves in having a Tapa type establishment. The waiters are amiable, but the service is a bit intermittent.
The food has few ‘aha’s, and is mostly spreads on thin pieces of bread.
The wine list is unusual and long but there is little that is value priced.
Worthwhile to drop in for a glass and a snack, but I wouldn’t plan a dinner here.

Killer spot. Really intimate setting with a fabulous wine selection. We tried some of their tapas as well which were okay. I wish the place was a bit bigger — the seating is a bit awkward and uncomfortable at busy times.

Been here twice now, quite like it. There’s a
nice relaxed atmosphere that makes it great to grab snacks on a date. The food is tapas style portions, prepared fresh in front of you lots of preserve and antipasto\charcuterie to choose from and lots of wines! I had a leak and fennel salad and steak tartar which were both lovely. My only complaint is that I haven’t been offered a proper drink either time I went in, had to ask for a beer. Other than that I enjoy it and would go back again.

Such a cute place, very unpretentious and nice staff. And reasonably priced for Toronto.

Thank you Josh and Joel for a lovely evening.
I’ve passed by this place a few times, and for a first timer, party of 3 we had a blast.
After the staff was kind enough to let us sample wines, we were able to choose a bottle.
I had the opportunity to sit down with part owner Joel who told me that their business is constantly changing to try and meet needs to retain both loyal and new clients.
We had their 2011 Tollgate, Ontario wine after we were able to narrow our selection.
Steak Tartar ⁵⁄₅: with an egg yolk in the middle helped bind all the ingredients together. Flavors were fresh, tender, and local.
Prosciutto wrapped dates w/​Machego (cheese) ⁵⁄₅ beautiful balance of flavors with all three of these ingredients, the cheese was the x-​factor that helped unify the balance between both the dates and prosciutto.
Meat & Cheese: Duck Prosciutto, prosciutto, Beemster xo (Dutch cheese) served with pickled celery, & cauliflower & smoked paprika almonds… perfectly paired with our wine, it was a complete meal.
Pasteis de Bacalhau: with cheese, a Portuguese/​Brazilian dish, perfectly fried, and prepped with perfection! I would recommend in a heartbeat ⁵⁄₅
The overall ambiance is dim, cozy, small; intimate… just a great place for a low key hot spot.

Went there with my friends for a low key wine night. The interior design is very interesting, and with music creates a very cozy, pleasant, atmosphere, perfect for a low key night out with some friends, or a date night. Music is not very loud, and will not interfere with your conversation. Both owners (brothers) were very friendly, professional, and definitely very knowledgeable about their wines and food. They allowed us to try 6 different wines until I found a perfect red for my taste, really putting guests’ satisfaction first.
Small plates selection was great! We ordered prosciutto wrapped dates with cheese, steak tartar, meat and cheese platter. Every appetizer was full of flavor, had a nice presentation and was rather affordable. Will certainly keep coming back!

I really want to love this place. Their staff is great, I like the space and the vibe. But their wine… I’m not sure if they’re trying to have a very narrow wine menu, but their selection is pretty limited in scope… very heavy on the French, and light to medium bodied overall. I would love this place if they kept the menu fresh and had a broader selection.

Getting my group to come out every week for a quiet gathering of small talk, work gossip and griping over liquor is never a tall order. Getting them to go this far west of the downtown core, however, takes a little bit of persuasion. Thankfully, Archive has given me a great argument.
The venue itself is cozy and set amongst a variety of shops. The interior is neatly decorated but not ostentatious, giving you the impression that this is a place that let’s the product speak for itself. Menu’s exist on three blackboards, offering you a variety of selections helpfully categorized for you by type, along with some charcuterie selections for you to enjoy amongst you group.
The wine selection is extensive, as is the knowledge of the servers. Whether you know your stuff, or simply want someone to make the choice for you, these guys are ready to provide the perfect example of what you’re looking for. They even offer to pour you samples of various wines so that you may choose exactly what you’re looking for.
I can’t tell you what wines we ordered though I can remember we did have some French, Italian, and Georgian bottles which certainly helped unwind after a hellish week. We also ordered a meat plate consisting of chorizo sausage, duck procuitto, cornishons, paprika coated almonds, crostini, and another cured ham which went perfectly with the wines.
Overall, I was impressed with the layout and the crowd as well. It was quiet enough that you could have a conversation, though, it is small enough that you can get interrupted by the more boisterous guffaws from a neighbouring table. Everyone was friendly and attentive and it provided a nice relaxed atmosphere all around.
The owners are local boys who really wanted to open up something where they group. It’s nice to see people from the community actually opening up shop there, so bonus points for that.
I think we will likely be coming back again. Hopefully I can leave the car home and fully indulge my inner wino.

Archive is a cozy wine bar with very good tapas to boot.
The tapas are Italian and Portuguese influenced, with a nice variety seafood, meats and cheeses. You can get a fair sampling for a reasonable price.
The wines range in price so you won’t break the bank.
Good for: small groups, couples. Staff is friendly and it wouldn’t be a big deal if you went and grabbed a seat at the bar for one.

Another too-​tiny restaurant, with wooden tables, chalkboard menus, overpriced tiny sharing plates with meats and cheese on wooden planks… and customers with tattoos, beards, and pants that show you all their business.
Look, it’s not that there aren’t some gems in the hipster-​crazed restaurant trend. There are times when it’s great. But you still have to have top notch food to keep me interested, for when the trend wears off, who will survive?
Strong, strong wine list. Service was quite nice, only one server for the whole joint and he was good. Ambiance is breezy, a neighbourhood feel to it, laid-​back. But the food didn’t inspire me. Dates wrapped in proscutto were literally two dates on a plate for $ 5. We ordered the three meats (for $ 19) and it was three slices of small toast with chicken liver mousse, three small toasts with cheese and pesto, and three small toasts with mushrooms. Yummy, but nothing that stood out as amazing. Certainly far from filling, presentation boring, and nothing I haven’t had before. Needs a more adventurous and fulfilling menu to match the wine list.

Archive is a quaint cozy dream come true right up the street from my place. The wine list is extensive and reasonably price (that’s a rare find in Toronto these days). The tapas style food is delicious and the ambiance is relaxing. In fact, I’m a complete wino and a reggae nut and so the combination of reggae and wine (not sure if they always play reggae but the two times I’ve been there they have) is a winning one for me. The tapas I’ve tried are the crostini which are amazing, the crab cakes are divine, the tartar is the tartar of my dreams. I’ve even contemplated going there just to stuff myself with tartar. Basically the food is perfect, reasonably priced and the portions are are just right, the wine is great, the service is top notch and the ambiance is great. Amazing find!

It’s cozy. It’s relatively quiet to allow for actual conversation. It’s wine selection is rather impressive and delicious. It’s owners, two wonderfully friendly and knowledgeable brothers, are, well, friendly and knowledgeable. It has food (did not try, so sadly cannot comment on it), tapas style aka my favourite. I even loved the way the windows condensated up to allow my wine friend and I to sit right in the front window and not feel like we were in a fishbowl!
There is not a single negative or even temperate thing I have to say about Archive. I love it. Go… or maybe don’t; I don’t want you taking up my table ;)

A small & cozy space that is great for an after-​work snack or even better, a late-​nite nibble. Lots of wines available by the glass or by the bottle — with most of the bottles at $ 50 and under. Really reasonably priced. It’s a nice alternative to while away some time if you’re waiting on a reservation in the area, or just want to linger in the area.

Finally a wine bar the focuses on wines found in our back yard.
I was so excited to try this place out for my BFF’s birthday. It was a Saturday night and it was a bit quieter so we were able to take over most of the bar. It’s a great relaxing vibe with attention to details. (IE they put cubby holes under the bench for people’s purses).
My favourite thing about this place though is its focus on Ontario wine. I love this because I feel like so many places in this city are importing wines from the Old World instead of focusing on what we have to offer in our own backyard. It’s refreshing. The prices are great and they have really taken the time to find the cream of the crop where Ontario wineries are concerned.
I highly suggest checking out Archive. if only for a glass of local goodness