10 new restaurants, bars and supermarkets to check out in April

CRU
100 Yonge St., 647-351-4747, crurestaurant.ca, @crutoronto

Replacing the lobster-focused Lbs. is this restaurant serving a menu of both very meaty dishes (house-cured charcuterie, wagyu beef by the ounce, a honking-huge ribeye) and completely plant-based ones (vegan ’nduja, eggplant Bolognese). A selection of house cocktails includes some on-trend zero-proof tipples.  

Fet Zun
252 Dupont St, 647-352-3337, fetzun.com, @fet_zun

You know what they say: When Anthony Rose closes one restaurant...he opens another restaurant. He shut down Bar Begonia, his French bistro on Dupont, to open Fet Zun, a self-described Middle Eastern extravaganza. Rose describes the flavour-punched fare (baba ghanouj, chicken shawarma, turkey schnitzel) as classic street food that’s light and bright. Coming soon: a babka-fied version of French toast for brunch.  

Goa Indian Farms Kitchen
Bayview Village Shopping Centre, 2901 Bayview Ave., 647-352-1661, goatoronto.ca, @goafarmkitchen

After a two-year break, restaurateur Hemant Bhagwani is back, and this time he’s in Bayview Village. Goa Indian Farm Kitchen, a sit-down spot inside the mall, focuses on dishes from southern India, including regional classics like Goan seafood curry.  

Grand Cru Deli
304 Richmond St W., 416-551-9221, grandcrudeli.com, @grandcrudeli

Equal parts deli and wine bar, Grand Cru serves dishes both lowbrow (a muffuletta for two, ketchup curly fries, pudding topped with sprinkles and Teddy Grahams) and highbrow (house-made country paté, sweetbread nuggets, caviar), alongside excellent bottles of wine, most of them natural and 18 of them available by the glass.  

Green Tea
261 Spadina Ave., 416-519-1073, @greenteacanada

Specializing in Hangzhou-style cuisine, which is known for dishes that aren’t overly spicy, Chinatown’s Green Tea serves things like barbecued chicken and pork belly, a traditional seafood soup and quail eggs served with pork and broccoli. Despite the restaurant’s name, there’s only one green tea on offer: longjing, a pan-roasted green tea from Hangzhou.  

Market 63
1 York St., 2nd level, 416-736-6606 (Market 63) or 416-258-6088 (Nonna Francesca’s), coppas.com/market63, @coppasfreshmarket

Downtown dwellers have a new one-stop gourmet-grocery shop. Coppa’s Fresh Market has opened a multi-concept retail space on the second level of the Harbour Plaza complex at 1 York Street, complete with a hot table (celeb chef Claudio Aprile is in charge of all the prepared foods), a gelato bar and its own on-site eatery, Nonna Francesca’s Ristorante. Also: a fish counter, a butcher and all the usual supermarket stuff.  

Pick 6ix Sports
33 Yonge St., 416-861-9966, pick6ixsports.com, @pick6ixsports

After a flood brought the party to an end last summer, Pick 6ix, the Drake-affiliated hangout in the Financial District has reopened and rebranded as Pick 6ix Sports. There’s a new look, a new patio, new pool tables and a new chef. The (also new) menu is more sports bar than sushi spot, with items like sliders, wings and fried chicken (though there’s also ceviche, bibimbap and a tomahawk steak for two).  

Planta Queen
180 Queen St. W., 647-812-1221, plantarestaurants.com, @plantaqueen

The menu at this second Toronto Planta location (there’s also one in South Beach) concentrates on Asian flavours inspired by chef David Lee’s upbringing: dumplings, plant-based nigiri, a meatless version of Lee’s signature slaw from Nota Bene, dan dan noodles, kung pao eggplant and pineapple fried rice.  

Tora
Yorkdale Shopping Centre, 3401 Dufferin Street, aburitora.com, @aburitora

From the people behind Miku comes Yorkdale Mall’s new sushi restaurant. At Tora, customers place their order on an iPad (every table is equipped with one) and a conveyor belt delivers their nigiri directly to them. Who needs humans? There’s a wide selection of aburi-style (flame-seared) and oshi (pressed) sushi, as well as a new line of edomae-style nigiri flown in from Japan and topped with house-made soy sauces to enhance the flavour of the fish.  

Unboxed Market
1263 Dundas St. W., 416-533-9017, unboxedmarket.com

Toronto’s first waste-free grocery store is like Bulk Barn but without all the plastic bags and tags. Customers are encouraged to bring their own containers, which are weighed before being filled with all manner of goods: produce, milk, olive oil, nut butters, flours, rice. Those who forget their containers can borrow some from the shop for a deposit, which is returned when the containers come back washed.