THE TIP OFF - EDITION 17
🎧 Listen to THE TIP OFF, a supplement to my OPEN/CLOSED featuring breaking exclusives, sneak peeks, hot tips + the week’s top stories and events like you’ve never seen - or heard - before in 3 minutes or less on TORONTO RESTAURANTS | THE PODCAST. Available on YouTube, Apple, Spotify and other platforms.
THE TIP OFF this week confirms the frenzied activity of arrivals and closures is far from over - including in some of the city’s buzziest neighbourhoods.
THIS JUST IN:
East side’s The Carbon Bar is a getting a counterpart right downtown. Get ready for The Carbon Snack Bar 460 about to set up shop at the corner of King and Spadina (460 King St. W.), where Quantum Coffee called home until 2020. TR Trivia: QC returned to the area via The Well (482 Front St. W.) last March.
Warmer temps are finally on the approach, which means prime ice cream weather has arrived. However, you’ll have to cross S’cream Ice Cream + Coffee off your list. Touching down in Yorkville (126 Cumberland St.) at the onset of the pandemic, the coffee and confection shop offered more than just cones - booze floats were just a fraction of their popular lineup and in 2021, added a password protected speakeasy upstairs.
La Mooriyya Markette’s motto? “Explore the world, one shelf at a time” The very recent addition to Kensington Market took over a sprawling grocery space (210 Augusta Ave.),at the corner of Augusta and Baldwin last fall, featuring a variety of vendors and retailers. In fact, Marry Me Mochi, the ever-expanding chain of Japanese mochi donut shops, opened an Insta-ready outpost out front. While La Mooriyya has closed, the pretty in pink doughnut destination is open for business.
Lobby has a long history in the 6ix. Do you remember standing in line to get in back in the day? At Avenue Road and Bloor (192 Bloor St. W.) no less? The nightclub kicked off in September 2003, just in time for TIFF. Thanks in part to its proximity to Yorkville, it drew a steady crowd for some time before doors closed in 2010. Nine years later, it touched down on Queen West (1032 Queen St. W.) and last year added Hamilton to the roster (151 James St. S.). Here’s the thing. The Queen West outpost? Temporarily closed. And you’ll never believe what’s next. It’s about to land right back at Avenue Road and Bloor. At its original address. You can’t make this stuff up. Note: Queen West is slated to reopen “soon” with “a new, sexier experience — all with the atmosphere you still love.”
Think a reprieve from the rush of fine dining ventures has arrived? Think again. Psst. Oro Luxury Dining is scheduled to debut in Little Italy on May 20 with a swanky interior and vibe, in the long-standing, recently shuttered location of La Carnita (501 College St.). Note: As of April 14 opening is now May 21. Subject to change.
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