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Food & Drink

10 new restaurants to check out in December

Where to eat pasta, pizza and vegan pastrami, right now

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Amano
Union Station, 65 Front St. W., 647-350-0092, eatamano.com

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What's on the menu at Amano, a sit-down Italian restaurant in the newly renovated Union Station
Food & Drink

What’s on the menu at Amano, a sit-down Italian restaurant in the newly renovated Union Station

From the team behind Union Chicken, comes Amano—Union Station’s first sit-down restaurant. Commuters and tourists can now have a plate of pasta or a glass of vino, before or after boarding a train (which is a few steps up from Egg McMuffins and Double Doubles).  

Annabelle Pasta Bar
909 Davenport Rd., no phone, annabellerestaurant.com

This two-level trattoria at Davenport and Christie, from the owner of Lil Baci, serves up house-made pasta (three different $10 bowls daily) and snacks like deep-fried baby octopi. To drink: wine, of course, and six different takes on the negroni.  

The Civic
106 Broadview Ave., 416-362-8439, thebroadviewhotel.ca

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The Broadview Hotel’s stunning new restaurant offers takes on Victorian-era dishes that executive chef John Sinopoli found listed on vintage Toronto menus: red-deer tartare, braised rabbit leg and even an elk chop. A short menu of boozy cocktails use ingredients similar to those found in drinks between 1850 and 1920.  

General Assembly
331 Adelaide St. W., no phone, gapizza.com

Anthony Falco, the former pizza guru of Roberta’s in Brooklyn, worked with Cale Elliot-Armstrong (Village Pizza, Terroni) to compose a menu of made-to-order 10-inch pizzas, salads and snacks like warm olives, cheesy bread and salumi plates. There’s booze, too, including local beer and some batch cocktails.  

Hello 123
1122 Queen St. W., 416-532-3555, hello123forever.com

The all-vegan menu features a couple of Kupfert and Kim’s quick-service classics (like the Oaxaca bowl), along with a bunch of new dishes including small plates (hummus and seed-oat toast), a DIY lettuce wrap platter, noodle bowls and a burger. Bonus: weekend brunch.  

Mad Crush Wine Bar
582 College St., 647-350-8111, madcrushwinebar.ca

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Breaking away from his typically Bristish fare, chef Andrew Carter (Queen and Beaver, The Oxley, The Wickson Social) ventures into French territory at his new College Street wine bar. And speaking of wine, the bar stocks more than 120 kinds of the stuff, all available by the glass thanks to an Enomatic system.  

Mythology Diner
1265 Queen St. W., no phone, mythologydiner.com

From the people who brought Toronto Doomie’s (Parkdale’s vegan junk food spot) comes Mythology, a neighbouring diner specializing in veganized diner classics, like a realistic reuben, Salisbury steak and boneless wings.  

Omai
3 Baldwin St., 647-341-7766, omairestaurant.ca

Inspired by the small izakayas found in Japan, chef Edward Bang’s short menu features a whole bunch of temaki (hand rolls) made-to-order with fresh seafood. To drink, there’s beer (some Japanese imports, some from Leslieville’s Godspeed) and a variety of sakes, all available by the glass.  

Pollyanna
1054 Gerrard St. E., 647-352-6969, thepollyanna.ca

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At this eclectic Leslieville spot from the owners of Eastside Social, the menu bounces around the Mediterranean from Spain to Tunisia, with the odd detour to Asia. In true nouveau-Canuck style, no particular dish has just one influence: a typically Italian plate of black fettuccine, for instance, has both Spanish (chorizo) and Japanese (tempura-style octopus) elements.  

Roywoods
198 Ossington Ave., 416-546-2941, roywoods.ca

Owner Regis Jay loved Donald Simpson’s North York lunch counter, Allwyn’s Bakery, so much, he lured the chef into the city. At Roywoods, Simpson cooks up Jamaican dishes, like jerk wings, cod fritters and, the restaurants number-one seller, a coco bread lobster sandwich. Unsurprisingly, the drinks menu involves a whole lotta rum.

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