Food & Drink in Barrie

Monsoon Lounge & Sushi crafts a wide array of artful sushi creations for diners to sample from within the eatery's lively, stylish space. Chef Meaghan Kemper's menu offers fresh maki rolls bedecked with sustenance both raw—such as the butterfish maki adorned with masago rice pearls ($10)—and cooked, such as the chicken pad thai roll, which reincarnates the popular noodle dish in circular, bite-size form, right down to the spicy peanut sauce and production numbers from The King and I ($8). House specialty rolls include the Monsoon Rainbow, a prismatic display involving crab, cucumber, asparagus, and Japanese mayo topped with tobiko, avocado, and assorted sashimi ($14). The sashimi platter, a 12-piece chef's choice selection of thinly sliced sea tasties satisfies diners with an assertive helping and handshake ($21).

The British Arms Pub replicates an English-style pub experience, with dark woods and warm hues surrounding visitors as they nosh juicy burgers handcrafted from half-pound patties. For the pub's flagship B.A. burger ($9.49), grill gurus tailor hand-formed ground beef to suit hand-sewn kaiser buns before accessorizing their creations with cheese or bacon ($0.99 each). More gussied-up variations include the swiss-and-mushroom burger ($10.99), with bacon and caramelized onions, and the Cajun BBQ burger ($10.99), which seals in taste-bud-scorching spices before tempering them with barbecue sauce, onion rings, mozzarella, and cheddar cheese. Though not included with this Groupon, diners can wash down protein patties with pints of imported brews straight from the British and Emerald Isles while keeping eyeballs occupied with the pub's flat-screen TVs and magic-lantern shows relating the Battle of Hastings.

Spice quiets stomach rumbles with traditional Indian-Nepalese dishes accompanied by a panoply of fine wines. The menu hosts a ticker-tape parade of spices, imbuing appetizers and main dishes with fiery flavour adjustable to individual taste buds. Awaken slumbering mouths with an order of vegetable samosas or a Spice salad with mango and baby spinach (both $5). A tandoori clay oven delivers deep flavours to entrees starring chicken ($16), lamb ($16), and salmon ($15), and fish and coconut linger past curfew in the goan fish curry ($16). Spice’s award-winning wines complement mealtime flavours, conversation, and tiddlywinks championships.

It's easy to identify a youngster who has recently paid a visit to BeaverTails—their chins are often covered in chocolate and their expressions are fixed with dreamy, satisfied grins. The source of these chocolaty smiles is the shop's namesake pastry, a whole-wheat pastry hand-stretched to look like a beaver tail. A marginally healthier alternative to deep-fried donuts, the pastries shallow-cook in soya or canola oil before dessert-smiths top the buttery confections in decadent toppings, such as candy, chocolate, and icing.

When it comes to other sweet treats, BeaverTails embodies a thoroughly democratic attitude. The shop lines its colourful shelves with chocolate and bottles of candy, carving out space for the self-serve frozen-yogurt station that pumps swirls of the 98% fat-free treat. Patrons may also indulge in fresh gelato or sorbet. The private party room plays host to decorating workshops that invite participants to top their own BeaverTails.

Sigrid's Café & Fine Bakery fashions fine ingredients into belly-warming baked goods such as breads, torts, cookies, and cake. Experienced European dough punchers bake healthy versions of sweet treats from scratch daily, using minimal salt, unbleached flour, and real whole grain. Allow loaves of rye bread ($5.95 each) and herb-onion bread ($4.95 each) to invade olfactory systems with intoxicating aromas before plunging into them teeth-first. Taste buds are playfully tickled by the flaky texture of florentiners ($3.15) or with the luxurious touch of a vanilla custard-infused Bienenstich ($9.95), which comes crowned with crumbly almond, glistening honey, and an innate sense of superiority. Whole cakes, such as an eight-inch Black Forest ($28.95) and strawberry mousse ($33) star during birth-week celebrations, and the traditional chocolate cake ($11.95+) delivers linearly sound shots of time-tested flavour. Customers can complete bakery bundles with a wide selection of buns, bretzel, and baguettes, as well as a variety of gluten-free goodies and sweets for diabetics.

Internet Cafe connects surfers to the Web with 16 high-speed Internet workstations, wireless Internet, and a friendly and knowledgeable staff. Sign in to browse to your virtual heart’s content ($2 for 15 minutes, $3.25 for 30 minutes, $6/hour) or to challenge co-clickers to a gaming match using a LAN and a 64-bit operating system (up to $6/hour). Word-processing software aids in compiling dissertations on keyboard evolution ($6/hour), and printing services in black and white ($0.25/page) and colour ($1+/page) put philosophies to paper. Candy bars, chips, and sodas fuel mouse fingers so their wielders need not miss a single update on joystick-revivalist message boards ($1).