Lai Wah Heen will close after Valentine’s Day—and hopefully reopen two weeks later

When Metropolitan Hotels announced the sale of the Metropolitan Hotel Toronto to the Bayview Hospitality Group last week, many diners were worried about the fate of Lai Wah Heen, the high-end dim sum restaurant on the hotel’s second floor (sister restaurant Lai Toh Heen closed in 2011). Bayview president Alnoor Gulamani told The Dish earlier today that the restaurant will most likely remain open, even though his group will not continue to operate it. Instead, Gulamani said, Lai Wah Heen’s current chef and management will probably end up leasing the space out from the hotel. While plans have yet to be finalized, the restaurant will shut down on February 15 for a post-Chinese New Year clean-up, and should be ready to reopen under the new management arrangement on March 1. Hemispheres, the other restaurant in the Metropolitan, remains unaffected by the hotel’s change in ownership.