Growing tired of the same old, same old? Then you don’t get out enough, you f*cking hermit! Too many new restaurants are opening up, seemingly on the daily, for you to ever grow weary of your nighttime nosh. With that in mind, make it a personal goal to get to at least one of these fine new establishments in the next week. It won’t necessarily improve your social life (hermits are terrible at small talk), but at least it’ll jazz up your digestive system…
Colette Grand Cafe
The Parisian trend is bolstered by today’s opening of Colette Grand Cafe in the Thompson Hotel. A new opulent setting on the King West strip? Sign us up! Check out our preview piece with more 411.
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Little Sister
Coming at us from the owners of Quince Bistro, this new Toronto restaurant brings us an interesting cultural cuisine that’s totally under-represented in the city: Indonesian. For more information, read our review of Little Sister.
Braised Restaurant & Bar
Found at 896 Queen Street East, Braised comes to us from the same owner as the Danforth’s beloved Lolita’s Lust. The name gives insight into the menu, wherein many of the dishes offered have some sort of braised element to them. While there’s no patio, the functioning garage door at the front of the house opens to reveal a subtle summer breeze.
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Eastside Social
You know this one has to be good, given its owners formerly had a stake in Ruby Watchco. The menu at this new Leslieville restaurant reflects an east coast comfort: homemade hamburger helper; yorkshire pudding poutine; and clam chowder are just a sampling of the down-home good eats found at Eastside Social.
Tilde
Well, the taco joint that enlisted the help of neighbourhood do-gooders to get off the ground has finally opened on the Danforth. Tilde has unique menu of tacos that are far from the ordinary. Think: grilled steak with blue cheese slaw and crispy onions; crispy curried fish with raita and coconut salsa; and Korean chicken with avocado aioli.
Cellar Door
Could the opening of Cellar Door mean the revitalization of Etobicoke’s dining scene? Likely not, however this new barely-Toronto restaurant does pump out some otherworldly wood-fired pizzas, whimsically plated grilled octopus, and hand-crafted pastas. PS: The chef (Robert Rubino) has pedigree including Michelin-starred restaurants Ristorante San Domenico (Bologna) and L’Atelier Joel Robuchon (Paris).
Rush Lane & Co.
We already mentioned that Simon Hooper was on the team behind the newly-opened Rush Lane & Co., a cocktail and snack bar at Queen and Denison. What we haven’t shared, yet, is that in addition to Simon’s world-class (literally, he won a global Disaronna competition) cocktails, Rush Lane has a fanciful snack menu including pig’s head corn dogs and ash-crusted halibut fritters.
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Black Irish Whiskey Bar & Oyster Saloon
We never thought the opening day would come for Black Irish, given it looked ready to open for weeks before it finally unlocked the doors. It occupies a sketchy corner at Queen and Sherbourne to be sure, but with a rather quaint backyard patio and menu items like lobster poutine, lobster gnocchi, and lobster nachos, we’re thinking Black Irish will do just fine… once people realize they don’t need Kevlar to wander ’round the area.
Honourable Mention: Bar Negroni
While not at all a new restaurant, Bar Negroni is totally a “new experience” now that former DYNE chef/owner Richard Andino has taking the reigns in the kitchen. He’s basically made it a DYNE pop-up, with former fan favourites like the lobster salad on the docket, as well as cheap ($2 and $3) pintxos.
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What new restaurant are you ambling to eat at this weekend? Comment below or tweet us @ViewTheVibe.