Spirit in Niagara Distillery

At Spirit in Niagara, the dining room goes by the Confessional Lounge, and the menu keeps the conceit running the whole way down: small plates arrive under In the Beginning, mains under The Last Supper, dessert under Temptations. SiN — the distillery's own initials, for Spirit in Niagara — shows up in the devilled eggs, the charcuterie board, and the whisky that finishes the short ribs. The theme risks reading as gimmick, but the kitchen treats it as licence to cook seriously. This is a Niagara-on-the-Lake distillery that decided its tasting bar ought to be a full restaurant, and wrote a menu to earn the title.

The cooking is upscale-casual with a distinctly Niagara backbone. SiN Devilled Eggs set free-range local eggs on a crispy leek nest with truffle oil and maple syrup; the Charcuterie Board of SiN gathers local smoked duck, garlic sausage, Genoa salami, Niagara Gold, and Bleu Bénédictin with house dips, naan, and crostini. Duck pâté and a fresh spinach salad fill out the openers. Crab Cakes come with roasted red pepper remoulade and peach salsa, Venison Tartar with pickled shiitake, dried fig, and pretzel bites. The mains range widely: a boneless stuffed Cornish hen over truffle root purée and potato soufflé, duck with creamy corn polenta and red wine jus, Perch Wellington wrapped in puff pastry, ravioli filled with Niagara Gold under a foie gras sauce, and an edamame coconut risotto that lands fully vegan. Lighter plates hold up the middle — Lamb Pops with tzatziki, a SiN Philly steak with cheesy mac, gnocchi in a Heritage Cheddar fondue. The lake turns up more than once, in fresh perch, pickerel, and a shrimp cocktail dressed with house peach sauce, which is the right instinct this close to the water.