My iconic OPEN/CLOSED is THE most comprehensive resource of restaurant openings (virtual/brick-and-mortar/popups/allll the things) and food/drink news in the city. No one does it bigger or better. Watch for the drop every Thursday. (unless there’s a holiday.) #ifyouknowyouknow

🕒 16 min read

The province moved to stage 2 on Wednesday, which for you might mean finally getting a haircut or tattoo or heading to a local shop that’s been closed for months. For restaurants, it means only one small change: moving the number of guests permitted for outdoor dining per from four to six, with exceptions for larger households and other restrictions. Indoor dining has been closed for over a year, and Ontario remains the only jurisdiction in North American with indoor dining still prohibited.

 After last week’s madness of arrivals and the shortened week, I thought I was in for a bit of a break. Instead, I discovered not only a record-breaking number of arrivals, but more power players and heavy hitters in one fell swoop than the eons I’ve been writing this column. Am I saying the most monumental edition E-V-E-R is this one documenting 32 arrivals in a single week during the height of summer during a pandemic? YASSSSS!

So get out your calendars. You’re going to need them to try and fit just some of these in. That said, please support local businesses that aren’t new and/or don’t have patios whenever possible.  

Here’s the very latest:

OPEN

York’s Afro-Caribbean Farmers’ Market (1531 Eglinton Ave. W.) kicks off Sunday at Eglinton and Oakwood in the Green P Carpark. The fresh market runs weekly 11am-3pm until October.

The second Aloette opened in Liberty Village (171 E. Liberty St., Unit 127A) on Wednesday, four years after the flagship location known for its cheeseburgers and lemon meringue pie at Queen and Spadina. Owner chef Patrick Kriss (Alo, Alobar Yorkville, Salon) is set to follow with additional locations next year.

Grand opening celebrations for Etobicoke’s newest patisserie, Aster's Refined Cakes (2358 Lake Shore Blvd. W.), begin Saturday at 10am.

Martine Bauer, Jonathan Bauer, and Maxime Hoerth - the brilliant team behind French reverie Pompette (597 College St.) – just debuted Bar Pompette (607 College St.) a few doors west.

The Black Pony (1481 Gerrard St. E.) in Gerrard India Bazaar has it all - cocktails, wine, beer, coffee, snacks, and patio. Fun fact: Though it may sound similar to previous spot The Flying Pony Café, it isn’t connected, though the baker’s stayed on.

Oyster and martini bar Blue Bar (873 Pape Ave.), located behind Tzatziki on Aldwych, is by the owner of the Greek spot out front.

Coffee and Clothing (841 Gerrard St. E.) brings together your two obsessions - roasted coffee and stellar vintage threads - in one expansive spot at Gerrard and Carlaw. This marks the second east end outpost for the brand, with the first just a couple blocks away (348 Pape Ave.), across from Gerrard Square.

The County General (3550 Victoria Park Ave., Unit 100) held down the fort at Queen and Shaw for a decade before uprooting to North York, of all places.

Did you catch my sneak peek of the new Dave’s Hot Chicken this morning? The midtown location (2066 Yonge St.), the second in Toronto, opened to the public today at 11am. Next stop: Leslieville.

Thonhill’s Duo Patesserie (230 Commerce Valley Dr. E.) has launched Duo Café (9206 Leslie St., Unit 1) with an array of cakes and ice cream in Richmond Hill. 

Friends Burgers (1922 Queen St. E.) has been in the works for yeaers. The comfort food spot in The Beach opened Saturday. Bonus: Customers receive 10 per cent off all pickup orders. 

From the folks behind Greek restaurant Tzatziki (873 Pape Ave.) comes Gianni's Pasta + Italian Sandwich (877 Pape Ave.) in East York. The new casual eatery debuted earlier this week.

The fifth Gyubee Japanese Grill in the GTA was set to launch mid-May but was delayed due to lockdown. The Mississauga branch (4559 Hurontario St., Unit A02), complete with patio, opened Wednesday. 

George Brown Culinary Management grad Ashae Jean-Baptiste was working as a line cook when the pandemic hit. Thus, work ceased soon after. After making ice cream for a small dinner with a family friend (The flavour? Just a little Smoked Tea & Candied Ginger!), she realized, “It was so good!,“ and “One thing sort of lead to another, and I started to get excited and creative with ice cream.” She played with textures and mixed savoury and sweet ingredients - Coconut Curry with Raisins, Maple Candied Bacon – and launched I SCREAM: for Ice Cream from home in October. Since then, she’s rented commercial kitchen space from Manning Canning to create her unique and custom flavours. Pickup is available in East York, with delivery through U A Snack.

Jops Creamery at Yonge & College (437 Yonge St.) is “Canada’s first” Ecuadorian-style ice cream topped with fresh “Latino cheese” and homemade whipped cream, Flavours include Coconut, Strawberry, Pistachio-Almond, and Cappuccino, and can also be served with a fruit base.

Kung Fu Tea has set up shop in Rutherford Marketplace (9360 Bathurst St., Unit 4F/106) in Vaughan. The newest satellite in a long line of stoes launched over the last two years guests is offering 20 per cent off all drinks and a large 38 Milk King for $4.88 until July 15.

The Lobster Roll (160 Baldwin St.) did a summer pop-up last year at Unit 7 in Kensington Market. They just moved into permanent digs a few doors down at Unit 5. 

Mataan Restaurant debuted in York yesterday at Lawrence and Weston Rd. (2075 Lawrence Ave. W.). Dig into Somalian fare such as grilled steak served with seasoned rice and salad, and Suqaar Digaag - a chicken and vegetable dish seasoned with Xaawash, an exhilarating, fragrant spice mix.

The Ascari family grows again in Leslieville, just steps from the place that started it all - Ascari Enoteca (1111 Queen St. E.). Meet Mercatino E Vini (1091 Queen St. E.), a neighbourhood shop filled with wine, groceries, and prepared items.

Chef Andrew Carter, owner of British gastropub The Oxley in Yorkville and Italian-inspired SALVO downtown, quietly debuted Middle8 (119 Yorkville Ave.) on June 16 in the space formerly home to Amber nightclub. The cocktail/wine bar features “hand-crafted liquor-forward cocktails, a focused wine list of wines and wine styles we love, alongside an eclectic small plates menu centered around oysters and charcuterie,” says Carter, who brought in Chef Chris Wilkinson (Sofia, à toi, The Broadview Hotel), Aleks Russell at the bar, and sommelier Julie Garton (Wine Director, Four Seasons Toronto) to consult on wine. Carter who ““basically built the bar I want to drink - and eat – at,” named the spot after the English term for the bridge in a song, so stay tuned for live music by way of soul blues, R&B, with some jazz, in the intimate, speakeasy style space.

ISO honey marinated Taiwanese fried chicken, fluffy bao, and multicoloured sweet potato balls? Check out Monga Fried Chicken’s newest outpost in Mississauga (561 Curran Pl.).

Mooby's, the renowned fictional fast food resto featured in actor/director Kevin Smith’s Dogma, Clerks II, and Jay and Silent Bob flicks returns to the 6ix on July 14 for a quick pop-up (250 Adelaide St. W.), but buy tickets now as they’re sure to sell out. Psst. Here’s a first look, courtesy of none other than actor/director/producer Jason Mewes, aka the infamous Jay. 

I alerted newsletters subscribers to Myth Restaurant (522 King St. W.) replacing The Citizen a month back. To get caught up, it’s a Greek-inspired spot thatstarted out on the Danforth long before moving to the King and Brant ‘hood. Doors (read: patio) opened Saturday.

Tropical vibes ahead! The Palm, a pop-up piña colada bar has touched down at Cacao 70 in the Distillery District (access from 33 Mill St.). Brian Gibson launched the pop-up last year at College and Spadina as a way of bringing a taste of the islands to the city while travel was limited. On the menu: Tropical Smoothies ($7.25), freshly made Limeades with fruit infusions ($5.50); Coconut Water beverages; Piña coladas, Mango Coladas and Daiquiris ($7.25). The pop-up is open Thursdays to Sundays until early fall. 

Rabbit! Rabbit! Rabbit! (461 King St. W.) takes its name from the superstitious phrase “Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit,” spoken out loud upon waking on the first of the month for good luck for the following 30 or so days. The new cantina offers Southwestern casual eats from brunch to late night, organized into ‘Tacos’ and ‘Not Tacos’ sections for supreme ease.

Marben (488 Wellington St. W.) has a new addition: Rodie by chef Chris Locke and team. The new “takeout-only restaurant and pop-up brand” is all about handhelds, perfect for whatever road you’re taking. Think: burgers, shawarma, hand pies, and boozy sodas.

Rosie’s Burgers debuted in Port Credit (61 Lakeshore Rd. E.) last June, so how fitting their first Toronto spot at Queen and Portland (573 Queen St. W.) followed almost exactly a year later on July 1.

Summer House launches today at Hotel X (111 Princes’ Blvd.). The spot consisting of three-storey rooftop, restaurant and patio across 75,000 square feet with uninterrupted views of the city, has been given a Hampton-esque update courtesy of Harlo Entertainment, Honeycomb Hospitality, and Adrian Niman, Owner and Executive Chef of Food Dudes, who reimagined the menus at Prime Grill and The Peak.  

Surreal Sweets debuted over a decade ago, followed with a brick-and-mortar bakery (2831 Bathurst St.) in North York two-and-a-half years ago. Sister shop, Surreal Food Co (973 Eglinton Ave. W.) in York, is a kosher bakery featuring exquisite bread (Confit Garlic and Herb, Honey Spelt Porridge, Challah) and other drool-inducing items including Blueberry And Sheep's Feta Tartines and Chocolate Morning Buns.

TP Tea (3278 Midland Ave., Unit D110) opened in Scarborough on Saturday. Did you know? The ‘Taiwan Professional’ tea chain is home of the “world's first pearl milk tea”? 

Grand opening celebrations for Markham’s Tsuyoi Sushi (190 Main St., Unit 2) took place Monday.

Officially slated to open last May, it seemed like forever before VELA (90 Portland St.) was finally unveiled on Monday for reservations. The wait was worth every second. A revelation and one of the most breathtaking destinations in the city, (no spoilers here, just go see it for yourself), brought to you by industry powerhouses Robin Goodfellow, co-owner of Bar Raval and PrettyUgly (RIP), and Amanda Bradley, co-creator and former General Manager of Alo and previous GM of GEORGE Restaurant. Executive Chef Jeffrey Lapointe (ex-Soho House Toronto, Piano Piano, Splendido) is whipping up all the classics you’ve been aching for: Wedge Salad, Shrimp Cocktail, Steak, Caviar Sandwiches. The patio - choose Pergola or Garden seating - is ready to welcome you until indoor dining returns. See. You. There.

CLOSED

Chantecler’s address (1320 Queen St. W.) is changing after almost a decade - not by choice.

The County General debuted at Queen and Shaw (936 Queen St. W.) in Fall of 2011 before shuttering during the pandemic. TR Trivia: Do you remember The County General Riverside (798 Queen St. E.)? It opened March 14, 2014 and closed January 31, 2017.

EVENTS

The Depanneur + The Bentway Communal Picnic dinner series gets underway this week.

Food Truck’n Friday kicks off tomorrow, running until December 3.

Mississauga’s Celebration Square is home to a number of food trucks this summer starting Saturday.

This is the final weekend to catch Night Market Toronto at Square One.

Street Eats Night Market at Scarborough Town Centre runs every weekend until September 5.

NEWS  

A constitutional challenge by Adam Skelly, owner of Adamson Barbecue was dismissed earlier this week by a Superior Court Judge. 

ICYMI 

Last winter I noticed a proliferation of restaurant chefs launching their own ventures in ice cream/gelato, of all things. It seemed an insanely arduous task to take on in regular times, never mind during a pandemic, and in a climate that seems cold six or seven months of the year. Working in the industry for years and aware of at least some of the risks and pitfalls of such a peculiar business, these passionate pros pursued their dreams with aplomb anyway. I had to know more, so I interviewed seven top Toronto chefs and industry vets who either launched their enterprise during lockdown while still working at a restaurant or ditched their full-time job FOR THE LOVE OF ICE CREAM. Their answers are absolutely fascinating. Get the Inside Scoop now.

Eimear De La Rosa-Brazil runs the world. Or at least a big portion of it, in her role of Operations Chef of Ascari Hospitality Group’s three restaurants (Ascari, Ascari Enoteca, Gare de L’Est Brasserie), Hi-Lo Bar, virtual events. online shop, and brand new IRL store Mercatino E Vini. She shares the fascinating setting of her first job, career advice she thankfully didn’t heed, her advice for chefs just starting out + much more in this week’s compelling At The Pass.

And stay tuned – more news ahead in The Tip Off, exclusively available in the TR Newsletter. 

Please support local businesses whenever possible.

 Life moves fast. (I wrote about +100 new arrivals in June alone.) Catch up on previous editions of the OPEN/CLOSED.   

Things change quickly. Follow Toronto Restaurants on Instagram and Facebook 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? Get in touch.

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