Acqua Supper Club
Acqua Supper Club is a restaurant and nightclub on the historic grounds of Exhibition Place just south of Liberty Village.
Not only can you come and eat here, you'll frequently find you'll get dinner and a show. Speed dating, parties and live performances are just some of the events that Acqua is known for.
Splitting up two sections of booths, is a long checkered runway connected to the stage at the back of the restaurant.
The interior has a party atmosphere with white drapes and a mirrored cocktail bar and tables. Trimly dressed servers are friendly and attentive and deliver bottle service with a smile. On a recent evening I stopped by for dinner and drinks. As I settled into a cushy booth near the stage, a DJ spinning throwbacks had people vibing and singing along.
As I waited for the Vegas-style dinnertime entertainment to begin, I tried some of the cocktails.
The first was the Elder Fashion Royal ($20). The cocktail with St. Germain, Empress Gin, orange bitters and Prosecco was light, summery and refreshing.
The next and, my personal favourite, was a French 75 ($18) with Empress Gin, lemon juice, Prosecco and a dash of simple syrup. This to me tasted like an elevated gin and tonic—and if you know me, you know I love a G-N-T!
From the food menu, I tried the Fried Calamari ($20) appetizer. The deep fried pieces of squid were topped in a tasty hot honey aioli and sat in a bed of coleslaw.
The Acqua's Diavola ($25) brick-oven pizza topped with mozzarella, Soppressata salami and hot honey was a little crispy around the edges, a little spicy, a little sweet and definitely a crowd-pleaser.
The Surf & Turf ($55) is premium grade AAA tenderloin that was juicy and tender and coated in a Worcestershire-based steak sauce. A savoury, grilled scallop and a jumbo shrimp sat in a mashed potato puree.
The Truffle Linguine ($28) comes covered in a truffle sauce, Parmesan cheese and a blend of wild mushrooms that's rich, creamy and so good. It seems hard to go wrong with this one. The Foie Gras Burger ($40) is an 8oz beef burger topped with a slab of the foie gras, gouda, lettuce and a tomato and cherry compote. While, decadent and delicious the moist compote unfortunately made the burger fall apart pretty quickly
While eating dinner, Acqua Supper Club's resident act, Soul Nostalgia took the stage. Lead Singer, Dru Grange and his jazz band had the audience floored with their set of R&B and Soul hits spanning the 70s-2000s.
Their performance was an absolute riot.
Soulful tunes, dynamic choreography and Grange and his band's incredible stage presence enraptured everyone in the room.
I didn't see one person who looked like they were having a bad time.
Outside on the back terrace, people danced to the scorching sound coming from inside. If the weather had been nicer that night, I'm sure the back patio would have otherwise been bustling. I left with a full stomach and the sound of Soul stuck in my head.
Acqua Supper Club is located at 50 Prince Edward Island Crescent.
Fareen Karim