Sing Sing Beer Bar is a Vancouver export with an eclectic menu, consisting primarily of beer, pizza and pho.

Located below First Canadian Place, Sing Sing is the third restaurant to bear the name and the first to open in Toronto.

The original Sing Sing was founded in 2019 by Freehouse Collective, the team behind Belfast Love, Death and Taxes and the Walrus Pub, among others.

Amber Campbell serves as the restaurant's general manager, while Mariam Dannawi and Trevor Mackenzie act as day manager and director of hospitality, respectively.

Since opening in May 2024, the staff has made it their mission to provide quality food and service that doesn't take itself too seriously.

This philosophy is also reflected in the restaurant's decor. Though the concept of a multi-floor restaurant with two bars might seem intimidating to some, Sing Sing has a casual vibe that's meant to make guests feel at home.

The cream and white dining rooms are furnished with round wooden tables and slender barstools. The space is lit with orange overhead lights, which makes it look as if it's trapped in a perpetual golden hour.

Overall, the atmosphere is relaxing and unpretentious, which was exactly what the team was aiming for.

"Everything around here is very buttoned up and we're actively trying not to do that," Trevor explains.

Amber adds that the goal was to make visitors "feel disarmed at the door".

Sing Sing's menu is equally disarming, with an odd assortment of appetizers, entrees and cocktails.Tuna tartare ($18.75) is a dish of raw sushi-grade fish, topped with avocado, cucumber and nori mayo. Crunchy rice paper is served on the side. Torched beef carpaccio ($22.75) consists of thin slivers of beef, covered with cilantro, lime, fried shallots and maggi dressing.

These ingredients give the meat a slightly spicy taste, which pairs well with the savoury taro chips that come with the dish.

Pho bo ($20.25) is Sing Sing's take on Vietnamese beef soup.

In addition to the rice noodles, green onions and cilantro, which come standard with every bowl of pho, this dish is filled with rare steak, beef brisket and meatballs, making it a deliciously filling meal.

The brisket and kimchi pizza ($23.75) is topped with hoisin, mozzarella, green onions, pickled onions, spicy mayo and sesame seeds. As a result, it tastes a little like a loaded bowl of pho.The honey ginger salmon ($28.75) rests on a bed of cilantro lime rice, with bok choy and black garlic mayo on the side. Paw meh hard tea ($18) is an Asian-inspired drink, consisting of lemongrass, Olmeca Altos tequila, overproof rum, matcha, pandan, lemon and honey.The nada-colada ($19) is what happens when you combine a pina colada with bubble tea.

This surprising cocktail is made with Bumbu rum, black tea, passionfruit cordial, pineapple, vanilla, toasted almond, coconut milk and pineapple pearls.

Sing Sing rice lager ($5) is the restaurant's signature beer, served in a can decorated with a stylized tiger. This light beer is infused with green tea, which gives it a mild, earthy taste.Taparas Carambouille ($65) is just one of the wines on offer. It comes to the table in a clear plastic bag and is served in a rocks glass instead of a stemmed glass.

The staff explain that these aesthetic choices were intended to make wine more accessible to customers — by removing any barriers to entry, they're giving people an opportunity to try something that they might otherwise turn down.

"Sing Sing sort of sits in its own space in the market, if you know what I mean," Trevor tells us. "It sort of makes no sense and that's why it's so fun."

With that in mind, it's safe to say that Sing Sing will be right at home in Toronto's thriving food scene.Sing Sing Beer Bar is located at 77 Adelaide Street West.