The 10 biggest Toronto restaurant trends of 2014
The 10 biggest Toronto restaurant trends of 2014
In 2014, it happened: after three out-of-control years, Toronto’s tacoverse started to contract. (In 2013, we profiled 10 new taquerias. This year, there were only four.) Then, just as the tequila hangover was beginning to subside, a new wave of food obsessions rushed in to fill the void. Menus exploded with za’atar-dusted hummus plates and gourmet falafel wraps; with gargantuan seafood sandwiches and artfully skewered Spanish hors d’oeuvres. Suddenly, “bar snacks” were the new code word for “dinner,” and not just in Parkdale—hangouts around the city were plying diners with smart riffs on the junky dishes that go best with booze. Next year will bring a new batch of food fixations. (“Souping,” apparently, is going to be huge.) In the meantime, here are the 10 restaurant trends that defined dining in Toronto in 2014.
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- Dollops of labneh and dustings of za'atar were <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/restaurants-dish/2014/08/14/rise-in-the-east-byblos-fat-pasha-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">all over menus</a> in 2014. At <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/04/17/fat-pasha-toronto-restaurants-2/" target="_blank">Fat Pasha on Dupont,</a> Anthony Rose drowned heads of cauliflower in tahini and garlicky skhug, transforming the humble veg into a triumphantly messy statement dish. Chef Stuart Cameron <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/03/24/byblos-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">refined the trend at Byblos</a> with fragrant rice pilafs and whole lobsters bathed in harissa butter and preserved lemon.
- Byblos's mejadra basmati rice with lentils, yoghurt and fried shallots (Image: Gizelle Lau)
- The Middleterranean Craze
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- Clever chefs took pan-Asian fusion food in <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/restaurants-dish/2014/11/12/the-critic-china-syndrome-dailo-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">new and unexpected directions.</a> <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/08/08/dailo-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">DaiLo's</a> Nick Liu brought us smoked-meat spring rolls and Big Mac baos, while <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/07/09/patois-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">Patois</a> chef Craig Wong debuted Asian-Caribbean flavour bombs like Cajun fried rice. Meanwhile, <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/05/09/peoples-eatery-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">People's Eatery</a> lured PYTs to Chinatown with fried-tongue sandwiches and Peking duck.
- Singapore curry cauliflower at DaiLo on College Street (Image: Renée Suen)
- The New Chinese Hybrid
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- In 2014, chefs <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/05/02/introducing-farmers-daughter-eatery-pescatarian-destination-junction-triangle/">garnished burgers with fried fish fillets</a> and made lobster rolls with <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/10/21/little-fin-toronto-restaurants/">buns dyed inky-black with bamboo charcoal.</a> At the top of the seafood heap was <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/10/16/buca-yorkville-toronto-restaurants/">Buca Yorkville,</a> chef Rob Gentile's impeccable fish-focused spin-off, where diners found charcuterie boards loaded with smoked eel, dry-cured halibut and octopus salami.
- Hamachi is expertly sliced tableside at Buca Yorkville (Image: Renée Suen)
- The Fish House
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- In 2013, mustachioed bartenders lulled the city into an absinthe-soaked stupor at 1920s-inspired bars like the enchanting <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2013/08/19/geraldine-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">Geraldine</a>. This year saw more Capone-era hangouts, like Queen West snack bar <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/08/25/linwood-essentials-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">Linwood Essentials</a>, downtown banker refuge <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/04/08/speakeasy-21-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">Speakeasy 21</a> and moody hideout <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/03/20/east-thirty-six-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">East Thirty Six</a> on Wellington Street. The latest is <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/restaurants-dish/2014/11/18/civil-liberties-toronto-bars-restaurants/" target="_blank">Civil Liberties</a>, an antique-strewn bar on Bloor Street West.
- A drink and snack at Civil Liberties, Toronto's newest speakeasy. (Image: Caroline Aksich)
- The Modern Speakeasy
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- A proliferation of trendy tapas rooms ensured that words like "pintxos" and "aperitivo" became part of our culinary lexicon. <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/05/29/introducing-barsa-taberna/" target="_blank">Barsa Taberna</a> brought Spanish fusion food to Market Street; the colourful <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/10/10/tinto-bar-de-tapas-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">Tinto Bar de Tapas</a> landed on Bayview; and King West welcomed <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/06/24/portland-variety-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">Portland Variety,</a> a surprisingly low-key addition to the clubby strip. Next up: <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/restaurants-dish/2014/12/11/grant-van-gameren-meathead/" target="_blank">Bar Raval,</a> Grant van Gameren's new Spanish snack bar at College and Palmerston.
- A selection of pinxtos at Portland Variety.
- The Spanish Invasion
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- Latkes and chopped liver got trendy makeovers at <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/05/09/peoples-eatery-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">People's Eatery</a> on Spadina and <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/10/02/essen-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">Essen</a> on Dundas West (where where matzoh ball ramen made its triumphant Toronto debut). At <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/10/28/introducing-schmaltz-appetizing-jewish-fish-shop-behind-fat-pasha/" target="_blank">Schmaltz Appetizing,</a> the new Jewish fish shop on Dupont, Anthony Rose had bubbies clutching their pearls with a $45 bagel sandwich topped with sliced eggs and caviar.
- The matzoh-ball ramen at Essen on Dundas West (Image: Caroline Aksich)
- The Jewish Deli
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- Palatial French restaurants signaled a new era of bistro dining. <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/07/31/colette-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">Colette Grand Café</a> brought buttery lobster spaghetti and frog-leg lollipops to the Thompson Hotel on King West. In the Distillery District, <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/restaurants-dish/2014/09/17/french-immersion-cluny/" target="_blank">Cluny</a> elevated the neighbourhood's less-than-stellar restaurant scene with its expert steak frites and luxurious add-ons, like seared foie-gras and shaved black Périgord truffles.
- Colette, the new French restaurant at the Thompson Hotel (Image: Renée Suen)
- The Big Bistro
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- Two years post-Bellwoods, the microbrewery-plus-restaurant formula has taken off, with new brewpubs landing <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/tag/duggans-parkdale-brewery/" target="_blank">in Parkdale</a> and <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/11/03/louis-cifer-brewpub-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">on the Danforth.</a> Several more are set to launch in 2015, including <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/restaurants-dish/2014/10/22/new-brewpub-coming-soon-dundas-landsdowne/" target="_blank">Lansdowne Brewery</a> on Dundas West, <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/restaurants-dish/2014/08/12/two-new-brewpubs-coming-liberty-village/" target="_blank">Big Rock in Liberty Village,</a> and a <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/restaurants-dish/2014/08/06/bellwoods-brewery-expanding-dupont-dovercourt/" target="_blank">second Bellwoods location</a> at Dupont and Dovercourt.
- The bar at Louis Cifer Brew Works on the Danforth (Image: Gabby Frank)
- The Indie Brewpub
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- Why start from scratch when you can keep a good thing going? This year, The Chase spawned seafood-sandwich shop <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/10/21/little-fin-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">Little Fin,</a> Buca expanded to <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/01/30/bar-buca-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">Bar Buca</a> and <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/10/16/buca-yorkville-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">Buca Yorkville,</a> and Farmhouse Tavern begot fish-focused <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/05/02/introducing-farmers-daughter-eatery-pescatarian-destination-junction-triangle/" target="_blank">Farmer's Daughter.</a> Meanwhile, Queen West restaurants <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/03/14/county-cocktail-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">The County General</a> and <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/06/12/rock-lobster-leslieville-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">Rock Lobster</a> both opened near-doppelgangers on the other side of town.
- The Chase's new seafood-sandwich spin-off, Little Fin (Image: Renée Suen)
- The Spin-Off
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- This was it: the year Toronto earned its stripes as a go-to destination for food-focused vanity projects. Just in time for TIFF, <em>Ghostbusters </em>director Ivan Reitman <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/restaurants-dish/2014/10/15/the-critic-california-dreaming-montecito-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">opened Montecito,</a> a sprawling King West room decorated with movie paraphernalia and looped videos of the vistas from his California home. In November, actor Mark Wahlberg jetted in to launch Canada's first <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/openings/2014/11/13/wahlburgers-toronto-restaurants/" target="_blank">Wahlburgers, </a>an offshoot of the Boston-based burger shop he co-owns with brothers Donnie and Paul. The next celeb to land in Toronto? Brit chef Jamie Oliver, whose <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/restaurants-dish/2014/06/25/jamie-oliver-will-open-10-restaurants-canada-including-one-yorkdale/" target="_blank">first North American restaurant</a> is set to open in Yorkdale Mall next spring.
- Burger, tater tots and boozy milkshake at Wahlburgers (Image: Renée Suen)
- The Celebrity Restaurant
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 Then, just as the tequila hangover was beginning to subside, a new wave of food obsessions rushed in to fill the void. Menus exploded with za'atar-dusted hummus plates and gourmet falafel wraps; with gargantuan seafood sandwiches and artfully skewered Spanish hors d'oeuvres. Suddenly, "bar snacks" were the new code word for "dinner," and not just in Parkdale—hangouts around the city were plying diners with smart riffs on the junky dishes that go best with booze. Next year will bring a new batch of food fixations. ("Souping," apparently, is going to be huge.) In the meantime, here are the 10 restaurant trends that defined dining in Toronto in 2014.
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