Whether you’re treating visiting family to a sit-down dinner or hosting an intimate celebration with friends, St Veronus Café and Tap Room and Bijoux Bar in downtown Peterborough have you covered this holiday season.
Owned and operated by husband-and-wife Roland Hosier and Shannon Mak, the restaurant and its sister bar are conveniently located side by side at the corner of Hunter and Water Streets.
St Veronus has been a downtown staple since 2002, when Hosier founded the space to share his interest in Belgian beer and cuisine. After living across Europe as a kid and regularly visiting as an adult, he found a passion for Belgian beer culture — a cultural heritage recognized by UNESCO — and its tradition of cooking with beer, and he wanted to bring that back to Canada.
At St Veronus, you’ll find a Belgian-inspired menu complete with four varieties of the national dish “moules frites” (PEI mussels served with Belgian fries and housemade mayonnaise), as well as mains including Flemish meatballs, schnitzel, fish and chips, and more, as well as a minimum of eight daily specials.
The restaurant’s knowledgeable staff will help you identify (and taste) the beer that will best match your meal. That could be a monastery-brewed Trappist ale whose roots can be traced to the 12th and 13th centuries, or the rare lambic beers brewed using the lost method of spontaneous fermentation.
As for Bijoux Bar, it’s an ideal space for hosting intimate holiday celebrations with family, friends, or co-workers.
Mak, who is a certified sommelier, opened the venue (originally called Le Petit Bar) in 2012 to focus on serving wine, cheese, and charcuterie. Today, Bijoux Bar offers an extensive wine list as well as Belgian beer and cocktails, all served in a cozy space inspired by the warm “brown bars” of Antwerp. The bar also offers a twist on classic cocktails, with everything made from scratch — from the fresh-pressed juice to the bitters and syrups.
While St Veronus is a great choice for holiday lunches and dinners, Bijoux Bar offers full-service cocktail parties including hors d’oeuvres, snacks, cheese, and charcuteries for up to 25 people between Monday and Saturday.
St Veronus and Bijoux Bar also host regular public events like poetry nights, tastings, and oyster nights, as well as private events including celebrations of life, intimate wedding receptions, and cocktail parties.
Further celebrating the holiday season, Hosier and Mak will be participating in the 2025 holiday market hosted by First Friday Peterborough and The Neighbourhood Vintage. St Veronus and Bijoux Bar will be serving up hot cider and hot pretzels for the outdoor event, which takes place from 5 and 9 p.m. on Friday, December 5 in the Bankers Commons Courtyard.
“We are so pleased to be downtown,” says Hosier. “There are so many fantastic independent businesses that deserve patronage and attention, and there’s a lot more going on than you might imagine.”
To book a group or party, email roland@stveronus.com. To stay in the loop on upcoming events, sign up for the newsletter at www.stveronus.com/newsletter.
Shop The Boro is a branded editorial feature series about locally owned independent businesses in downtown Peterborough, created in partnership with the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA).
With a Boro gift card, supporting locally owned businesses in downtown Peterborough has never been easier. Buy a Boro gift card for your family, friends, or co-workers and let them choose their own adventure. Whether it’s a delicious meal and a night out, a one-of-a-kind find, or a day of relaxation, it’s truly the gift of possibility. You choose the value, they choose the gift.
With a Boro gift card, you are giving more than just a gift — you’re also supporting the people and places that make Peterborough/Nogojiwanong a truly special place to work, live, and play. Shop, dine, and explore the core with Boro gift cards, available online at theboro.ca/product/the-boro-gift-cards/.
