Open/Closed: Toronto Restaurant News September 24-30, 2020

OpenClosed September 24-30 2020 Toronto Restaurants Stephanie Dickison.png

🕒 10.5 min read

Speechless. 30 arrivals, 11 closures and a whack of news and events.

If you need me, I’ll be on the floor underneath a mountain of burgers and cocktails.

Here’s the very latest:

OPEN

The Alley just landed at Square One (100 City Centre Dr.) Enjoy 10 per cent off drinks during soft opening festivities until October 7.

Doors opened July 1 for Almadina Bistro (10 Edward St.). The Halal eatery near the Eaton Centre is brought you by the folks behind Al Madina Pizza (2683 Lawrence Ave. E.) in Scarborough.

Anglr (1054 Gerrard St. E.) offers pescatarian and vegetarian fare in the Gerrones (Gerrard + Jones) vicinity.

Ottawa’s Big Rig Kitchen and Brewery touched down in Mississauga last month, but they didn’t waste any time in launching another spot in the GTA. Visit their new digs in Richmond Hill (125 York Blvd., Unit 135).

Meat lovers, get your fill at Kensington Market’s Birria Catrina (214 Augusta Ave.).

Liberty Village’s newest cocktail bar Black Sheep (165 Liberty St. E.) debuted a few weeks before lockdown. Brazen Head’s li’l sis is located on the third floor.

Bom-Bay Snack Bar (1595 Bayview Ave.), the newest concept by restaurateur Hemant Bhagwani (Amaya, Goa, Good Karma, Pōpa), “pays reverence to Bombay street food and Irani cafes.” I got a sneak peek of the extensive menu. Expect vegan tiffin boxes ($16-$17), non-traditional naan (Bacon $10, Sausage $10), kebabs ($16-$18), and big plates (Dhansak with Brown Rice $19, Butter Chicken Tikka Masala $19, Black Dal with Cheese Naan $17). Watch this space: BSB replaces Egg Bird - which just launched two months ago and will reopen downtown next month.

Bar Neon just launched a little takeout spot and bottle shop in Bloordale. Bread & Wine boasts takeaway, wine, beer, bread, oysters, dip, and other goodies in a laneway north of Bloor St. W. between Brock & Margueretta (at Cosmos Nature Lane and Susan Tibaldi Parkette).

CHKN (1208 Bloor St. W.) in Bloordale does birds every which way: Fried ($15), Roasted (half $19/whole $34), with Waffles ($18), Wings ($14). et cetera.

Traveling to Italy right now may not be possible, so head to North York’s new Italian café and market Cucina Mauro (76 Densley Ave., Unit 3) instead.

Enjoy Four Seasons Gourmet Dining (7270 Woodbine Ave., Unit 102) in Markham is serving their Cantonese fare in the dining room or out on the patio.

At the beginning of the month, I told you about Haidilao Hot Pot in Scarborough. So nice they made it twice, say hello to their Markham outpost at 5328 Highway 7.

The grand opening for the first Honeymoon Dessert (3828 Highway 7 E) in North America is Saturday. To get your hands on their HK desserts and drinks, head to their Markham HQ this weekend for free Mango Pillows (50 on Sat) and Mango Pomelo (50 on Sun).

Doors opened earlier this week for burger/waffle/crepe/ice cream joint iBurger Toronto (1316 Bloor St. W.) at the corner of Bloor and Landsdowne.

Jin Korean Noodles (230 Commerce Valley Dr. E., Unit 9) in Thornhill offers winter warmups of kalguksu, dumplings and hot pots.

Spanish wine and tapas bar La Flaca (920 Queen St. W.) put down roots at Queen and Shaw.

Le Viet’s second outpost has settled in at Thornhill’s Commerce Gate (505 Highway 7E, Unit 50).

Midtown’s dinner-and-a-show The Medley (2026 Yonge St.) takes over the former home of Mysteriously Yours. Doors open tomorrow at 7:30pm.

Sichuan eatery Miss Fu in Chengdu (5441 Yonge St.) celebrated their soft opening just days before lockdown.

Rotisserie chicken and smoky BBQ ribs can be had at Montreal Style BBQ’s two new venues: 768 Wilson Ave. and 1707 Jane St. Stay tuned. More are on the way.

Head to NaiNai Noodles (852 King St. W.) for the “first Indonesian noodles in Toronto.”

Attention shawarma lovers: Osmow's (3210 Lake Shore Blvd. W.) has landed in Etobicoke.

The Chase Fish and Oyster Bar (10 Temperance St.) may be gone, but Chase Hospitality Group’s (The Chase, Kasa Moto, Planta, Planta Burger) latest reimagination, Planta Cocina, is sure to be popular. The vegan Mexican resto debuts tonight.

Playa Cabana just added another taco joint to the fam: Bar Esquina (8 Eglinton Avenue E., Mezzanine).

Doors opened Tuesday for the fourth outpost of burger haven Rudy (168 Eglinton Ave. E.) in the Y&E ‘hood near Redpath. Psst. If you know, you know. They’ve got their own OnlyFans account.

ISO milk tea, fruit tea, or fruit yakult? Shuyi Tealicious (2359 Yonge St.) in Midtown has got you.

Rock-music-meets-burgers is the idea at East York’s newest arrival, Slayer Burger (1400 O’Connor Dr.). Grand opening celebrations take place Monday.

Spice 505 (505 Danforth Ave.) checked into Greektown Tuesday. The former home of Logo Bar & Café is serving up Indian and Nepalese fare.

West Gate Canton Eatery (8362 Kennedy Rd.) in Markham is all about classic Cantonese: congee, rice noodle rolls, claypot rice, rice noodles, and snacks.

CLOSED

Bake Shoppe (859 College St.) at College and Ossington closes for good at the end of the month.

Bar Fancy (1070 Queen St. W.) is shut for renos. They hope to reopen “soon.”

Outlets have recently reported Greg’s Ice Cream (750 Spadina Ave.) closure. In fact, the shop closed after last summer’s service. Shutting down every winter definitely contributed to the confusion.

Tuesday is the last day for Chinatown’s iconic Furama Cake & Desserts Garden (248 Spadina Ave.).

Glass Onion Bistro (836 Dundas St. W.) is just one of many recent closures at Bloor and Landsdowne.

COVID-19 closures are coming in fast and furious. Riverside’s I’ll Be Seeing You (747 Queen St. E.) announced their last day will be October 24.

Short-lived Lil’ Joe Cucina & Bar (1054 Gerrard St E.) - and before that Pollyanna - by the owners of Eastside Social, has already been replaced.

Chains of all sizes are having to scale back locations due to the pandemic. (Even success story David Chang had to do it.) On Tuesday Mean Bao announced they’ve closed their Roncesvalles (2210 Dundas St. W.) and St. Clair (1440 Yonge St.) outposts. Five locations remain open.

The Ossington (61 Ossington Ave.) is shutting down Sept 26, but set to reopen in another location. Watch. This. Space.

Midtown’s The Pan Seared Inc. (2038 Yonge St.) has fizzled out.

The massive space that was Pizzeria via Mercanti (1501 Gerrard St E.) in Gerrard India Bazaar has been cleared out.

EVENTS

Today’s the last day for Milky’s Pop-Up at Holt Renfrew (50 Bloor St. W.).

Black Foodie Week – a week-long event dedicated to celebrating Black chefs, food, and culture – continues until Sunday.

AsialiciousTO continues until October 11.

This weekend’s STC x Street Eats Summer MRKT Series celebrates all things ramen.

Countylicious offers culinary events September 27 - October 26, and prix fixe dining from October 30 – November 22⁠.

Café Boulud’s ‘By The Books’ Collaboration Dinner on Wednesday features chef Nicholas Trosien and guest chef Michael Hunter, chef/co-owner of Anter Kitchen + Bar.

Don’t sleep on Hawker’s Dessert Tasting Takeaway Pop Up happening Tuesday at Oyster Boy. The elevated five course dessert tasting for two - complete with bubble tea - by extraordinary pastry chefs Farzam Fallah and Louis Lim is sure to be fire.

NEWS

Good news for Elias Caribbean Restaurant Bar + Grill.

The Toronto Christmas Market isn’t happening this year, but Christmas themed cocktail pop up bar Miracle, and Sippin’ Santa will be back.

Reports on Chubby’s closure due to an employee testing positive for COVID-19 made the headlines this week, but the cases at MARBL and Calii Love went largely unnoticed. (CL has since reopened.)

PSA: Black licorice can be deadly.

Have you seen Paradise on Bloor’s Insta story effect, Theatre Lobby? What fun.

ICYMI

Giulietta’s pastry chef Jessica Martineau tells all.

Bar Isabel’s epic Isabel Fashioned is a must. Now you can make it home.

Check out the kind words in Ariel Teplitsky’s A-1 newsletter, Uncultured.

If you haven’t heard The 4am Report podcast, How to Stop Covid-19’s Culinary Devastation with Stephanie Dickison yet, you really should.

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Things change quickly these days. Follow Toronto Restaurants on Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter for breaking news, updates, interviews + more.

Hear of a place that’s about to open or just closed? Have an upcoming food or restaurant event? Need help to spread the word about your business without spending $$$? Get in touch.

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