by Andrew Morrison | If all goes according to plan, the highly anticipated new tavern/gastropub from chef Andrey Durbach, Chris Stewart, and Michel Durocher (see also The Sardine Can, La Buca, Pied-a-Terre) will open this weekend in the old Wild Rice spot at 117 West Pender Street.

I slipped in to The Abbey for its “friends and family” night late last week. Though it had all the appearances of a fully functioning eatery, they’re still waiting on a few pieces of art to arrive and the kitchen crew are taking extra time to iron out some kinks. In other words, by no means do these photos fully represent what we’ll see on opening day.

I won’t comment in detail on the food I tried because it was their first dry run (everything but booze was on the house), except to say that those appreciative of Durbach’s cooking at its most carnivorous are in for a treat. Think potted oxtail, beef consomme, organic beef patty melts with Tête de Moine cheese and Berkshire bacon, lamb shanks, bangers, hanger steaks, and housemade sausage rolls. There are veggie and fish dishes, too, and they’re hardly after-thoughts (lobster mac & cheese, shrooms on toast, broccoli & cheddar beignets), but I’ll always gravitate to Durbach’s meatier plates. Force of habit, et cetera.

I didn’t get to properly explore the bar program helmed by Ben de Champlain – formerly of Boneta and the winner of Scout’s Bartender of the Year competition in 2012 – but it read like it was totally on point (it was especially nice to finally try a Dageraad beer after reading about the development of the brewery for so long).

Though it was made clear that the design was unfinished, there were finished aspects that caught my eye. I loved, for example, the raised booths running parallel to the bar (so cozy), and coveted the curvy, sleek look of the all-wood high top chairs. Of course the ghosts of Wild Rice are irretrievably embedded in the bones of the place, so the change will take some time getting used to, but it feels relaxed and ready to go. Good times, I suspect, will come naturally to The Abbey. Take a look…

ALL ANTICIPATED OPENINGS