Just in time for Spring, the Grange of Prince Edward is launching a French Country dining room. Lunch and dinner service are coming to its trademark renovated barn with fireplace across the three weekends of Countylicious — and throughout the year.

Seating for 80 runs across the dramatic main space and up into the loft. “It’s the culmination of a lot of effort to build a dining program at the winery. Now we have the food to match the wine,” said CEO Michael Leskovec. Grange estate wines inform a French-inspired menu prepared by Chef Paul Tobias.  

Equally big news is the re-opening of a beloved neighbourhood institution, The Bloomfield Public House, with a transformed interior space featuring a long, curving counter bar and expanded formal seating. Chef Elliot Reynolds and partner Laura Borutski are preparing a new menu in their favourite style: simple, essential, and delicious, based in the seasonal and local.

Not to be outdone, Merrill House has transformed its restaurant into the Brasserie Alexandria. Dining now spreads over two levels. Still down below is the inn’s legendary wine cellar, which seats 24 and opens to a large, three-season conservatory called Bar Atlas, for drinks and lounging. New upstairs is a second dedicated dining space in an art-filled, colour-drenched library, which opens to an enclosed porch and seats another 24.

The brasserie is inspired by Alexandria, birthplace and seat of Queen Cleopatra. Founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great, Alexandria was a Greek city in the middle of Egypt: it stood for cosmopolitanism, culture, and learning. “The Great Library of Alexandria was the largest of the ancient world, and had 700,000 volumes,” enthuses owner Jordan Martin de Rosales. “It was the ancient world’s version of  having the internet at your fingertips.”

Chef Michael Sullivan is preparing an expanded menu of French Country favourites, including steak frites, escargots, and moules marinière alongside Merrill House’s traditional menu of seasonally inspired fine French cuisine. 

Brasserie Alexandria, The Grange of Prince Edward, and The Bloomfield Public House all open the first weekend of Countylicious.