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Handsome Devil Bistro has been running on Metcalfe Street in downtown Elora since 2019. The room is a casual upbeat bistro built around quality local ingredients, with a menu that changes regularly and a habit of rotating daily features. The food spine is comfort-bistro with range — the kind of room where the brisket sandwich and the biryani are both honest moves rather than one being a stunt.
The smokehouse side carries most of the weight. The Smoked Brisket Sandwich runs house-smoked brisket with caramelized onions, horseradish mayo, grainy mustard and pickles on brioche. Smoky BBQ Ribs come as a half-rack with smoky Kansas City BBQ sauce and fries. Smoked Sausage Poutine layers smoked sausage, beef gravy, caramelized onion and Quebec cheese curds on fresh-cut fries. The Smoked Salmon Plate runs house-cured and smoked salmon with assorted house pickles, dill sour cream and crackers. Beside that smokehouse lane, the broader menu carries Saidul's Chicken Biryani with tamarind chutney and cucumber raita, Seared Tuna Bowl with mango and daikon, Sesame-Crusted Salmon, Flatiron Steak Frites and Cajun Mac & Cheese.
Bistro Wings deserve their own beat. The current menu runs eight sauce and rub paths: house BBQ, hot chili, brisket buffalo, maple-roasted garlic, old bay, lemon-pepper, salt and pepper, and cajun. That breadth turns the wing order into a real menu decision rather than a default. Beside the wings, the appetizer page carries Feta Honey Dip with crostini, Crispy Brussels with remoulade and chili gastrique, Breaded Brie with red pepper compote, Black Tiger Shrimp Cocktail with house seafood sauce, and a Charcuterie for 2 with house pickles, warmed bread and spicy mustard.
The visit changes week to week because the kitchen runs a real rotating-features program. Past rotating features have run to oven-roasted sea bass with lemon-chili beurre blanc, smoked Arctic char rillette with warm baguette, fried calamari and shrimp platter with chili crisp slaw, marinated chili shrimp tacos with pineapple salsa, creamy gnocchi with duck breast and smoked duck leg, and creamy Tuscan chicken pasta. Beside the features run five rotating Ontario craft taps and a signature cocktail program — the drinks side gets the same treatment as the food side.
Handsome Devil Bistro has been part of Elora's restaurant circuit since opening. The village's Burger Battle in 2022 put the room beside Elora Mill, Elora Brewing, The Friendly Society, The Badley and The Evelyn. Eloralicious 2024 ran the same shape, with eleven participating Elora rooms over three weeks of prix-fixe service. Elora's Longest BBQ for Food Day Canada 2025 followed. The pattern is consistent: when the village runs a food event, the bistro is on the list.
The room works for a wider table than the smokehouse framing suggests. The Little Devils kids menu carries chicken tenders, grilled cheese, butter noodles and mac and cheese; tofu substitutions sit on the Greek Chicken Pita and the Seared Tuna Bowl; the Handsome Burger takes a Beyond burger swap at no extra cost. Open every day of the week, lunch through late evening, with longer hours on Fridays and Saturdays. Six years in, the bistro has settled into being a dependable Metcalfe Street room — and one that still surprises the table now and then.
The strongest identity is a comfort-bistro menu that can move from house-smoked brisket, wings, ribs, and Cajun mac into biryani, seared tuna, salmon, and rotating features without feeling like a single-cuisine room.
Smoked Brisket Sandwich and Saidul's Chicken Biryani give the menu its two clearest poles: one smoky and familiar, the other more unexpected for a downtown Elora bistro built around casual comfort.
Five rotating Ontario craft taps, signature cocktails, and a real habit of daily features make the visit more flexible than a static dinner menu. The best order starts with the menu, then adjusts to what is running now.
Handsome Devil is strongest when it leans into smoke, sauce, cheese, and comfort. Brisket, Cajun mac, ribs, wings, poutine, and grilled sandwiches give the bistro a clear hearty-food centre.
The Ontario taps are not decoration; they give the room a natural partner for brisket, wings, and share plates. Five rotating craft lines and named cider choices make the drink side part of the casual bistro rhythm.
The bistro has specific dishes that can carry an order. Smoked Brisket Sandwich brings the smokehouse lane, while Saidul's Chicken Biryani gives the menu a more personal and unexpected signature.
Handsome Devil works as a casual night-out room because the food and drinks both invite lingering. Cocktails, Ontario taps, wings, share plates, and rotating features make it easy to start with snacks and stay for dinner.
The menu has more range than a narrow comfort-food bistro. Diners can move from brisket and ribs into biryani, seared tuna, feta honey dip, salmon, and rotating features without leaving the room's casual register.
Me and the family went for the Elora Candlelight event. I had the house special beef brisket and shrimp gnocchi. It was quite good with the Cajun spice cheese and parsley mix added to the flavor. My son had the Mac and cheese, he enjoyed it. The menu caters for kids which helps families. Not many tables inside but heated patio out front adds extra tables.
