Open/Closed: Toronto Restaurant News January 3-9, 2019

 With the new year comes a flurry of new destinations - 15 to be exact.

Lucky for us, many offer oodles of noodles to help get us through the rest of winter. #goals

Here’s the latest: 

OPEN

Fruit and bubble tea have arrived at Answer Tea (439 Spadina Ave.), complete with requisite Instagram interior: brass, marble and teal fixtures, flower wall, and neon sign in which to hold your drink in front of.

Watering hole Apollo (358 Broadview Ave.) in East Chinatown (358 Broadview Ave.). is now open. 

Sister to Canis Restaurant (746 Queen St. W.), natural wine bar Après (1166 Queen St. W.) quietly launched before Christmas.

Chopstick on Bloor (561 Bloor St. W.) brings Hakka-style Chinese food to the Annex.

Koreatown’s Do Eat (623 Bloor St. W.) offer a similar menu of noodles and dumplings to the previous eatery, Chinese Dumpling House.

East-Coast Donair & Grill (664 Bloor St. W.) - former home of Greek In The Village in Koreatown - has a fresh new look and new menu item: Halifax donairs. 

Just prior to the holidays, Flame Plus Design (2197 Bloor St. W.) launched their design store on the second floor. Flame Restaurant and Grill Bar on the main floor opened on Boxing Day. The menu features Anatolian fare from the Asian region of Turkey. 

Fort York Tavern  (92 Fort York Blvd.) in the heart of CityPlace offers a bit of everything, including: burgers, pizza, fajitas, steak frites, and fish tacos.

There’s no wondering what’s on the menu at HuaJia Rice Noodle (487 Bloor St. W.) in the Annex.

Shhh… Pastiche (59 Ossington Ave.) opened on Friday. To keep things hush-hush, there will be no sign with the restaurant’s name anywhere. The location is being identified only by an outdoor light.

After many delays, Pho Pas Social Bistro (480 Parliament St.) in Cabbagetown is finally opening. The French/Vietnamese eatery founded by Hieu Tran (Ginger Restaurant, Saigon Lotus, Saigon Sisters, Hue Kitchen) with Tim Fray and Jason Maw (FRAY|MAW Hospitality) and Patrick McMurray (Ceili Cottage, Starfish) launches on Wednesday.

Shi Miaodao Yunnan Rice Noodle (318 Spadina Ave.), home of “Crossing the Bridge Noodles” in NYC, is now in our very own Chinatown. 

If you love tacos, tapas, tequila and mezcal, you’re gonna love Viajero Cantina (1661 Bloor St. W.). Doors open Saturday at 5pm.

Dig into ddukbokki (spicy Korean rice cakes, also known as tteokbokki) at Koreatown’s Yupdduk (612 Bloor St. W.). 

Zakkushi on Queen (620 Queen St. W.) debuted right before Christmas. The Japanese yakitori izakaya is by the folks behind Zakkushi on Carlton, Ramen Raijin, and Jugemu Sushi.

CLOSED

Caribbean Sunset Restaurant and Bar (753A Queen St. E.), which opened summer 2017, has a ‘For Lease’ sign in the door.

Rosen’s Cinnamon Buns (825 College St.) shuttered just before December 25. A relaunch with new products is to take place early this year - without a storefront. Stay tuned.

NEWS

Chef and restaurateur Jonathan Poon (Superpoint, Paris Paris) announced this week he sold Bar Fancy back in July. Watch this space - he’s got some exciting new projects in the works for 2019.

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Hear of a place that’s about to open or just closed? Have an upcoming food or restaurant event? Let me know – writerscramp@stephaniedickison.com.

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