Queen West's Ultra new `it' spot

[Urban Eyes]

Dec. 7, 2003. 08:47 AM

CHARLA JONES/TORONTO STAR
Bartender Charlotte Singmin shakes a martini behind at the Ultra Supper Club. The swank new nightspot is in the space that used to house the legendary Bamboo.

Queen West's Ultra new `it' spot

Is Queen St. West neglected? At least, that's what Charles Khabouth thinks.

The man who owns the Guvernment complex on Queen's Quay has set his sights and his money on the district and has turned the former Bamboo into the new Ultra Supper Club.

"All the action for the last little while has been on College and King St. I wanted to do something up here," says Khabouth. "I want to make this the first real supper club in Toronto."

So, after the fashionable people polish off their French-inspired dinners, they can hit the dance floor from Thursday to Saturday, after 11 p.m. That's the plan, anyway.

At the opening party on Wednesday, however, the throng of people crammed at the bar made it seem it will more likely be a place for mingling, not boogying.

Khabouth says he loved the old Bamboo, but any nostalgic feelings didn't keep him from completely redesigning the space.

"We demolished about 80-90 per cent of the building," says Khabouth, who adds he's sunk more than $1 million into the renovation, which was done by Munge//Leung. The design firm also worked on the Guvernment/Koolhaus complex.

The entrance is still a walk down the narrow corridor by the Lush store, but it opens up to a wood-panelled courtyard. The entrance is all glass and once inside, you'll be pretty amazed at what they've done to the place.

All of the walls are exposed brick and the ceiling has been raised from 8 feet to 14. Large, oddly shaped lamps and several glass "candle-liers" hang from above. The old bar has been completely removed, making the space much more open.

On the right wall, there is a slightly raised seating area, next to what likely be the main dining room/dance floor. The long main bar runs across the back of the room. Four tables separated by ceiling-to-floor fabric panels provide a semi-private dining experience. And to the left, couches and seats make up the lounge area.

Next to the main bar, there is a small corridor lined with glass cabinets holding wine bottles. The hallway leads to the bathroom — of course there's an attendant — and a small room that serves as another lounge and another bar. (Tip: When the main room is busy, the back bar seems like a good bet for a quick drink.)

A sneak peek at the patio — perhaps the most beloved part of the place's old incarnation — shows that though it is missing its old dilapidated charm, it is now double the original size.

Khabouth says that the Ultra will play "eclectic world music" and he cited the Café Del Mar and Buddha Bar CDs as the kind of music he'd like to hear.

The transformation is amazing, and it was all everyone talked about on Wednesday night. It's very Los Angeles, many said.

"I think it's sexy," says TV producer Jay Levine. "My first reaction is it's breathtaking what's they've done to the place. And it's good that you have to walk down the alley. Having no front door is cool."

While it remains to be seen if the focus will be on eating or dancing, Khabouth is right about one thing. It really has been a long time since there's been a major change on the Queen West drag.

And with the Ultra, he's likely got the city's new "it" spot.

For now.

 

[fiendishlibrarian]

That Metropolis section of the Star is annoying. Every week they have an "article" for another bar or club that places image and exclusion above all else. Articles like this are really paid advertsing. Like Toronto really needs another pretentious, over-priced, golddigger-filled broom closet where women won't give you the time of day unless they think you're flush with cash. Might as well open a whorehouse since it's more or less the same thing, only without the pretense. At a whorehouse at least the women are honest about what they're after. This place would be at the top of my car-bombing top-ten list. :evil

 

[ecsider]

Toronto really needs another pretentious, over-priced, golddigger-filled broom closet where women won't give you the time of day unless they think you're flush with cash

whoa there, we need these pretentious places! where would the superficial, players and wannabes go to for fun? I have no problems with these places. But you obviously won't see me sipping a mojito at the Lobby.

 

[spmarshall]

It reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Moe upgrades his tavern into some post-modern establishment called "m".

We need more of these places, so the rest of us can enjoy everything else the city has to offer.

 

[SD2]

That Metropolis section of the Star is annoying. Every week they have an "article" for another bar or club that places image and exclusion above all else. Articles like this are really paid advertsing. Like Toronto really needs another pretentious, over-priced, golddigger-filled broom closet where women won't give you the time of day unless they think you're flush with cash. Might as well open a whorehouse since it's more or less the same thing, only without the pretense. At a whorehouse at least the women are honest about what they're after. This place would be at the top of my car-bombing top-ten list.

lol

Do I sense a little bitterness?

 

[fiendishlibrarian]

I just can't stand the attitude of so many women in this city, and places like this set a tone that panders to their vain, selfish instincts. Then the media picks up on it, and too many of these dimwits think that if they're not into that social scene they're missing something. There are way too many women in this city who think they're hotter than shit on a grille, and places like this only feeds that self-delusion.

 

[cassiusa]

I will admit that women in this city can be a real piece of work. Moreso than what I've found in other places.

 

[SD2]

Well, you'll find women like that everywhere. Not all women in clubs "think they're hotter than shit on a grille". And the ones that do...let them think that. Not like Im forced to pay attention to them.

Who would put shit on a grille anyways?

 

[fiendishlibrarian]

But you are forced to pay attention to them because even if they're not club-goers per se, far too many women, I find, have the same attitude, which is that they demand and expect more from men than they themselves are willing to give. Most are hustlers and opportunists, especially in Toronto which is where most people come to make a name for themselves. The media plays to this, and these clubs are a part of it. Even girls who may not be into that scene necessarily by default all adopt a narcissistic, Sex-in-the-City type of attitude to men because that's the message they get, from everywhere. They would be horrifed to be on the receiving end if the tables were turned, but hypocrisy and women are like white and snow, you can't separate the two.

And if these women didn't think they're hot, then why all the ceremony? Why the hair and the makeup and the attitude and the lemming-like devotion to these places? Whole industries are devoted to female vanity, and places like this are no different. That's what grates me. It's all false, it's all fake, and fake and false is what they begin to expect in return simply because they have no experience with anything else. Everyone feels they need to adopt this because the media likes pretty shiny things, and you can't escape it. So even a girl who doesn't like clubs will still think like one who goes to one. Where does that leave a guy who doesn't want to date a storefront mannequin?

:brickwall :brickwall :brickwall :brickwall :brickwall

 

[andreapalladio]

If you don't want to meet the kind of women who hang out in the cheesy dance clubs downtown, then, don't hang out in the cheesy dance clubs downtown.

 

[SD2]

But you are forced to pay attention to them because even if they're not club-goers per se, far too many women, I find, have the same attitude, which is that they demand and expect more from men than they themselves are willing to give. Most are hustlers and opportunists, especially in Toronto which is where most people come to make a name for themselves. The media plays to this, and these clubs are a part of it. Even girls who may not be into that scene necessarily by default all adopt a narcissistic, Sex-in-the-City type of attitude to men because that's the message they get, from everywhere. They would be horrifed to be on the receiving end if the tables were turned, but hypocrisy and women are like white and snow, you can't separate the two.

And if these women didn't think they're hot, then why all the ceremony? Why the hair and the makeup and the attitude and the lemming-like devotion to these places? Whole industries are devoted to female vanity, and places like this are no different. That's what grates me. It's all false, it's all fake, and fake and false is what they begin to expect in return simply because they have no experience with anything else. Everyone feels they need to adopt this because the media likes pretty shiny things, and you can't escape it. So even a girl who doesn't like clubs will still think like one who goes to one. Where does that leave a guy who doesn't want to date a storefront mannequin?

No one forces anything upon anyone. You're choosing to make an issue of it. You can escape it if you so choose. Not all women are as you describe. And industries devoted to male vanity aren't to far behind those catering to females. Much of our consumer society is "false" and misleading...not just women. And I wouldn't dismiss makeup and nice hair as a sign of vanity...what do you expect if they're going to a club? What of people who dress well to the office? Why does anyone bother with different kinds of clothes at all? We should all just wear the exact same thing and do our hair, etc. the exact same way.

I've met women who don't at all fit your stereotype, both in and out of clubs. You're probably looking in the wrong places.

 

[building babel]

You can meet the nicest people in the strangest places.

 

[fiendishlibrarian]

I've pretty much written off Toronto women anyway. The ones that aren't full of shit are just plain nuts.

 

[sdoody]

Wow...you've obviously had one (or more) bad experience(s) with 'Toronto women', but a statement like that is just ridiculous. Some of my best friends are women (women that have lived in Toronto all their lives, as I have) and I don't think I would be able to categorize them as either 'full of shit' or 'just plain nuts'.

 

[fiendishlibrarian]

Then you're lucky. More power to you, then. Just don't dismiss as "ridiculous" an assessment borne of ten years-plus of various relationships with various types of women in numerous areas (school, work, etc.). All I'm saying is that far too often the ones I've come across are either self-absorbed, career-obsessed and looking for someone to give them a leg up, or they're neurotic and have more baggage than a Hermes shop. They're the kind who whine to me about how badly men treat them but then won't return my calls when I ask them out for a lousy cup of coffee. They're pathetic. Plus, in Toronto, I find most women are extremely cliquish, in that they will not date anyone outside a narrow socio-economic spectrum. Same jobs, same friends, same class: unless you satisfy that criteria, they are very timid and have limited horizons in that regard. They're almost tribal in their dating patterns and many will not take a chance at someone they can't pin down based on past experience. In other words, Toronto women are very myopic socially. I don't fall into any identifiable group, either by social circle, ethnicity, or income (i.e low). And so most university-educated, middle to upper-middle class women always date up or at their level, not down. And that's something I've had to deal with. And so all this attention paid to shitholes like that place on Queen just reinforce the cycle. More lies, more empty appearances. Add the fact that it gets worse as you get older (29) because around 26-27 I find that a lot of women either resign themselves to their career to the exclusion of everything else, or have a need to pair up with somebody, the more money the better. So when I meet someone who says, well, what you do for a living doesn't matter to me, excuse me if I take it with a boulder of salt. I just don't believe what they say anymore because by their actions I know they don't really mean what they say. And this has happened to me time and time again.

So hey, if the chicks dig you, great. Some of us haven't had it as good, and either you try even harder or you decide to walk away from the whole mess for awhile. For now, I've just decided to focus my energies elsewhere, and I don't buy into the lies that are put out there.

****, too much information for a Sunday morning. >: