No Vacancy is a swanky cocktail bar that serves inventive drinks and snacks. It's the latest venture from the team behind Ghost Chicken, which closed its doors in 2024.

Troy Gilchrist acts as the bar manager, while John Carlo Zabala serves as the executive chef. The staff explains that while their experiences running Ghost Chicken ultimately led to the creation of No Vacancy, the two restaurants couldn't be more different.

While Ghost Chicken was a casual takeout spot, No Vacancy is a moody bar and restaurant with a menu that takes cues from French, Japanese and Italian cuisine.

No Vacancy's deep blues and bright oranges are the exact opposite of Ghost Chicken's ultilitarian blacks and whites. A long bar extends across half the dining room, with the rest of the space being taken up by round tables and rectangular booths.
Landscape paintings line the brick walls, sharing space with potted plants and Japanese-inspired pottery.A Roy Lichtenstein-esque mural can be seen through a small window, creating the illusion of a picture in a frame. Like the rest of the art on display, this piece was specifically commissioned for the restaurant.

No Vacancy’s version of Fish and Chips ($21) consists of confit potatoes covered in hamachi tartare, salmon roe and ao nori.Steak Frites ($21) are prepared in a similar manner, using confit potatoes as the base and sirloin tartare as the seasoning. The final touch is a thin slice of black truffle, which gives the dish a distinctive sharp flavour.The Bucatini ($30) is topped with pork belly, sea urchin roe and pecorino cheese.The Coppa ($42) is a tender dish made with Berkshire pork collar and berry compote. The meal is served on a bed of creamy farrotto, with a herb salad on the side.The Karubi ($48) is a beef short rib cooked sous-vide in red wine marinade, then topped with soy demi-glaze and fried shallots. The meat is then placed on a pile of soft, starchy grits, which help to balance out its strong flavour.Flicker Flicker Baby ($22) consists of Espolon blanco tequila, Kikusui sake, Amontillado sherry, and Vida mezcal. Jalapeno, lime juice and grapefruit give the drink a bit of a kick, while chocolate and mole bitters help to keep it grounded.

The final touch is an artfully charred slice of grapefruit, which rests atop a perfectly shaped ice cube.

Smokey Nagata's Supra ($21) combines Vida mezcal, Dillons coffee liqueur and black walnut amaro with pear sake, Hinoki bitters and Choya Kokuto, a type of plum wine made with black sugar and dark rum.

The drink is garnished with a honeycomb on a golden spoon and tastes a little like an old fashioned, despite the lack of whiskey.

Shiso Shiso by the Seashore ($21) is a refreshing carbonated cocktail, made with shiso-infused Citadelle gin, St-Germain elderflower liqueur and Bianco vermouth.

Aloe water, jasmine, lemon juice and wakame are added to give the drink a tangy, herbal flavour that conjures up images of a relaxing coastal vacation.

No Vacancy is located at 74 Ossington Avenue.