Open/Closed for the week of Sept 12-18
ven despite during the TIFF frenzy, restaurants are opening left and right.
This week, I’ve got eight new spots to try out this weekend. That’s if you’re not at the movies or drinking beer for Toronto Beer Week.
ere’s the very latest.
Open:
Calii Love
367 King St. W.
The newest poké bar lands on King West with poké bowls, acai bowls, superfood smoothie bowls and coffee.
Doors "softly" opened yesterday. Calii Love is set to officially open on September 29.
Gushi Japanese Street Food
238 Queen St. W.
You know Gushi’s fried chicken and other Japanese street fare from Market 707 on Dundas West. Now you can get it on Queen West. Gushi Queen opens today.
Ken Oh
183 Dundas St. W.
Get ready for saucy spaghetti Toronto. Claiming to be the first and only Nagoya Ankake Spaghetti restaurant outside of Japan, Ken Oh opened Friday.
MoRoCo Chocolat
215 Madison Ave.
You know MoRoCo from their Yorkville restaurant/lounge and shop. Their new venture – a retail boutique - opened yesterday in the Annex. The shop features chocolate, macarons and confections.
Planta
1221 Bay St.
The 100% plant-based restaurant (the menu by Chef David Lee includes an 18-carrot hot dog) opens Friday.
Stay tuned. I’ll have a closer look for you soon.
Power Up Bar
38 Wellington St. E.
Tired of playing Call of Duty:Black Ops III alone at home? Get out and play with others. This new bar lit in blue LED offers the latest games on XBOX ONE and PS4, with a menu including Parmesan truffle popcorn and duck confit wings.
Roxy on King
284 King St. W.
Formerly known as Roxy Bar, Roxy on King opened in their new location right near The Princess of Wales Theatre Saturday - just in time for TIFF.
98 Aroma
440 Spadina Ave.
The diverse Northern Chinese menu features dim sum, Steamed Salmon with Chopped Bell Chili, and Stewed Lion Head Meatballs with Brown Sauce, to name just a few dishes.
Closed:
Everest on Bloor at Havelock is papered up and for rent.
Fabulous cocktail bar Linwood Essentials has closed.
MoRoCo Chocolat shuttered their Yorkville lounge, but they’ve reopened a shop in the Annex (see above).
Sabai Sabai will be closing their Church location after Saturday. The new spot at Yonge and Bloor is set to open soon.
Shala-mar on Roncesvalles is no more. Owners sent special thanks to all of their customers, "both old and new, who have followed us from Davenport in the 70’s- Donlands in 80’s and ourfinal location here on Roncesvalles."
Windup on College has officially closed.
Events:
This is the last weekend for TIFF, but don’t worry – we’ve got you covered (see below).
Celebrate Mexican Independence Day tomorrow. We got a sneak peek at the festivities at Fonda Lola taking place tonight. Check out our Instagram for the preview.
Toronto Beer Week offers brews paired with everything from baseball to opera. Celebrations start tomorrow.
There’s a lot of great food at the Ukrainian Culture Festival this weekend.
The Junk Food Festival is happening this weekend in Mississauga.
On Saturday and Sunday, head to the Roncesvalles Polish Festival for fabulous Polish fare.
On Sunday, the Toronto Garlic Festival takes over Artscape Wychwood Barns.
Also happening Sunday, Food Truck Festival Ontario #FTFO.
On Monday, satiate your sweet tooth at the ChocoSol Jaguar Chocolate Workshop.
And in other chocolate news: On Monday and Tuesday, Sergio Shidomi - South American World Chocolate Master 2013 and World Chocolate Masters finalist 2013 - will be teaching a course at the Sambirano Chocolate School. The $800 course will "cover how to design unique and cool patterns on your chocolates and some interesting flavor combinations."
And lastly:
The hottest restaurants, hotels + bars for TIFF 2016? Check out our guide for all the celeb-spotting details.
Heading to a TIFF flick? Grab a quick bite nearby that truly satisfies.
Stay out later this weekend thanks to 4am extended last call for TIFF.
In this month’s Chef Bites: Get to know Chef Kyle McClure of new Leslieville restaurant, brewery + tap room, Radical Road Brewing Co.