Butt'r and Beba (Another Night at College and Bathurst)
5 August 2004, mid-afternoon
Drinks @ Butt’r
Simon, Steph and I parked a fair bit west of Bathurst on College and started wandering around. The first place we ended up checking out was a place I saw on Martini Boys earlier, a resturant called Butt’r. To say we were impressed with the place would be an understatement.
The resturant has a very clean look to it. There are basically only two colours used throughout the place, brown and cream, with the occasional hint of silver to switch things up. There are several small tables suitable for intimate dining with your significant other, as well as a few larger tables for bigger groups. The three of us grabbed one of the larger tables.
The music they were playing when we arrived was house. Originally they had some mix CD on, but by the time we left there was a DJ playing. The music was chilled out and quiet. We were able to carry on a conversation without resorting to yelling.
Our waiter, who was also the bar tender, was friendly and courteous. I ordered two Gin and Tonic’s to drink, which you can’t really mess up. Simon tried the Butt’r Martini, which was probably Vodka, Rum and Pineapple Juice or something like that. I had a sip and would say it was quite good. Steph tried the house white wine, which she also enjoyed. Drinks were a bit on the expensive side, but you are paying for the ambience I suppose.
We glanced at the dinner menu, which looked quite impressive. The food was reasonably priced for a restaurant that looked as nice as this one. Since we didn’t actually do any eating, I can only guess what it would have tasted like. Reviews of the place are quite favourable, and can be read at the restaurant’s web site.
The place was empty this Wednesday night. We wanted to check another place out before we headed back home, so we started walking again. We originally were thinking of going to Orbits, which looked a lot like Alleycats. Instead we decided on a European bar called Beba.
Dancing @ Beba
Beba was a lot more lively a place then Butt’r. The bar was far from full when we arrived, but there was a much bigger crowd of people. If I had to guess the bar catered to your older Ginos and Ginas crowd, though there was a bit of a mix to the place.
Beba was dark, with bizarre paintings on the walls. I wanted to buy one of EZ-E that some dude had done, but I am broke. And I don’t think I can bring myself to spend any serious money on such art. I digress. The bar is basically split into three sections. At the front is a bar and some small tables, but mostly it is an area to get drinks and stand around chatting. The middle section is where there are sofas and tables for people to sit around and relax. Finally, the back of the bar features a dance floor. There was a set of sofa’s in the corner of this back section as well, which is where Simon, Steph and I sat for the first half of the night.
When the music picked up a bit we started dancing. The music was more or less bad. There were lots of old house and dance tunes you might remember from when you were a little kid, but nothing new. They played a tiny little hip hop and reggae set, featuring more played out or old songs.
Highlights of the night included: a drunk porn-star-looking-Gina who was dancing with the back of her tight black pants undone—charming, a group of girls with bizarre—thought I imagine stylish—haircuts, and a older lady who was trying to dance up on everyone.
Beba was fun, though I’m not sure if I would go back. Butt’r is definitely worth checking out again.
Both restaurants/bars sounds GREAT. I love going to new places to eat or drink just to check out the atmosphere.
I went with a friend to a place over here called The Melting Pot last Sunday. Very cool bar. But, the best part was how isolated most of the tables were. The backs were higher than I’ve ever seen. They even had some tables that were behind drapes that you pulled aside.
It’s a fondue place. I’m not a huge cheese fan, but this place rocks. The serving staff does most of the work (which is fortunate as they have a long wine list that will impair your fondue skills), but it feels as if you’re participating.
And the desserts… wow. Smooth, simmering chocolate to dip a variety of succulent fruit before eating (or feeding a partner :)
Only bad part about The Melting Pot… there wasn’t the proverbial drunk porn-star-looking-Gina trying to “dance up on everyone.”
Brrrr…. (grin)
Cool description of Butt’r and Bebe, by the way. Sounds like a LOT of fun, even though I’ll likely never see it (I’m in California).
by Tim on August 5 2004, 9:17 pm #