The Queen West strip just got a lot more exciting with Nota Bene’s 4-7 Snack Bar Menu and G&T program.

We know, it sounds too good to be true. How can one of the city’s most prestigious restos be serving gourmet bar snacks for $4? We’re happy to report that there’s no catch (unless we’re talking ‘bout calamari, har har), this is real life, and it just got a whole lot more affordable and delicious!

We recently got a chance to sample many goodies from the menu, which is available every Monday to Friday from 4-7pm (after 7pm, prices go up a wee bit to $7) and it was pretty much the best afternoon of our lives.

Over the course of two hours, my trusty lunch companion, Dustin, and I ate all things, which we cleansed with the fanciest G&T’s known to Man.

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Fully customizable, the G&T program allows you to craft your perfect G&T! First, you can pick between 12 premium G&T brands (we went with Hendricks). Next, there’s a choice of 3 tonics (Fever Tree, Schweppes and a house tonic); we chose Fever Tree which came in an adorable little glass bottle I contemplated stealing for a DIY flower vase project until Dustin said I was embarrassing. Me!

For the last step, you have your pick of ice (large, cubed or crushed) and garnish made up of sliced cucumbers, hibiscus petals and lemongrass. You can really choose your own G&T adventure!

When it came to the snacks, there was no holding back. We started with the Burrata Pugliese with grilled miche and olive oil, Porcini Arancini with truffle aioli and Parmigiano and Buttermilk-fried chicken with smoked oyster mayonnaise. All three were absolutely delightful, and we were quite surprised by the sizeable servings.

notabenesnackmenuNext we tried Cumbrae Farms Beef Sliders with Havarti cheese and maple bacon; every order comes with two succulent sliders. So yum!

slidersThe Belly Buster Slider with pork belly, frites, ketchup and pickle was next, it was also quite possibly the best thing I’ve ever put in my face. The pork belly was delicate and smoky while the fries added the perfect crunch and saltiness to the mix. I had pretty vivid dreams about this little guy for days to come.

porkbellySomehow, we still found room for another round of orders. We went for the Shosito Peppers with lemon and Maldon salt (OF COURSE I managed to find and bite into the spiciest one) and the Truffle popcorn with Parmigiano, which we considered our dessert. I also insisted on ordering another round of the Porcini Arancini because they were the best I’ve ever had.

popcornWe really enjoyed this fun new spin at Nota Bene and will definitely be coming back very soon! For more information check out Nota Bene online, on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook!

dustinolga