Stepping past Neverland’s storefront street-to-ceiling windows and weathered stained glass panes, we feel like the boy who never grows up: filled with wonder and primed for an adventure into a good story.
Inside, freshly ground coffee aromas greet our nostrils. More than 1,800 eye-catching books line the wall, enticing guests to pluck them from their perches and get lost in their pages. Elegant piano music trickles down from above a string of Edison bulbs, punctuated by the soft clinking of wine glasses on the central communal table.
The hybrid bookstore, café and wine bar, formerly Peter Pantry, is a new partnership cooked up by Peter Pan Bistro’s chef and owner Noah Goldberg, and independent Toronto literature shop and publisher Flying Books. “It’s a really warm vibe,” grins Goldberg. “We have people who come in and have impromptu book clubs. We have formal book clubs.”
In the evening, the lighting gets moodier, and “we have people coming in on dates and having a cocktail. It feels like a modern library that allows you to drink.” On the wall, there’s a paper scroll with today’s selection of eight by-the-glass wines, complete with illustrations and varietal details (like ‘Orange!’) jotted in marker.
Further in, you’ll stumble upon an oenophile’s dream: rows upon rows of rare, sommelier-curated Old- and New-World wines. Peruse over 300 bottles; hand-written notes around their necks share details, like age or that it’s the best tempranillo from Rioja. Prices range from under $100 to over $500 for the rarest finds.
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Read moreWhile they’re sourced from around the world, each bottle has something in common, postulates Goldberg — much like the books on display, they all tell a story. “It could be anything from a rare varietal … Something that was made in low production. It could be a one-off … Or something produced in a way that we are passionate about, with a story we feel resonates with the wine and should be told in a unique way,” he explains.
For the holidays, Goldberg reveals Neverland will sell gift boxes with a mix of prepared goods and literature. “They’re incorporating a little bit of our Pantry roots,” he smiles.
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Neverland: Books
Every work on display in Neverland has been hand-picked by Flying Books founder Martha Sharpe, and ranges from non-fiction and children’s stories to poetry and Canadian cookbooks. Look closer and you might even spy some signed copies.
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Neverland: Drinks
Neverland stocks whole Hatch Coffee Roasters beans for purchase and Sloane whole-leaf tea. There’s a small menu of warm drinks to cradle as you read, priced around $5, and four house cocktails to sip. You can browse their local beer, sake, cider and canned cocktail selection, too.
Neverland: Food
From Wednesday to Saturday, guests can order from a menu of French-inspired small plates, like pâté de campagne and boquerón on brioche, prepared in the Peter Pan Bistro kitchen. There’s also a small selection of baked goods, prepared in-house, to snack on.
