Open/Closed for the week of May 19-25

The city is revving up for patio season and a summer bursting with new places. Check out this week's latest additions:

Barsa Taberna
26 Market St.

A luxurious patio space outside and a swank inside (designed by award winning John Tong at Tong Tong), located on Market Street across from the St. Lawrence Market, has been tempting the fooderati with its impending opening for some time now. And then it ever so quietly opened on Friday night.

Serving modern tapas dishes, influenced by Barcelona, seems like the cherry on top.

Expect this to be one of the busiest places this summer.

Serendipity Bistro
393 Jane St.

Serendipity Bistro at the corner of Jane and Annette focuses on fresh, local, seasonal, organic and whole ingredients.

Their meat comes from small farms and is free of antibiotics and all ingredients are free of processed and genetically modified foods (GMOs), with an evolving menu focused on superfoods .

Healthy eating arrived just in time for summer. And in the up-and-coming Baby Point ‘hood to boot.

Kanga Aussie Meat Pie Shop
65 Duncan St.

Friday’s official opening of Kanga Aussie Meat Pie Shop is very exciting. The fact that the pies are mini and handheld makes them a great option for those of us on the go (this is how they’re done down under, by the way). 

Meat (all local, and no, there’s no kangaroo anywhere) rich gravy, and fresh vegetables are all encased in an all-butter puff pastry. The selections are fantastic: Traditional Aussie (minced beef in a rich beef and vegemite gravy), Canadian (steak & bacon, braised with Amsterdam Downtown Brown Ale), and Creamy Zucchini (roasted zucchini and caramelized onions in a garlicky cream-cheese sauce), to mention just a few.

You can also “poutine your pie,” by getting it topped with gravy and cheese curds, and frozen pies are also available to take home.

Something tells me these Aussie snacks are about to become a Canuck fave. 

Expansions

Fancy Franks opened at 940 Bloor Street West, their second location, Friday night.
I Went to Philly found a second home on Eglinton West.
Jimmy's Coffee landed their third location, this time in a three-storey house on Gerrard.

Closed

Bristol Yard served its final brunch this week. But if you’re a fan, you can visit them at their new digs at The Great Hall starting June 7th.