Antylia brings a taste of Latin America to Bloorcourt

Name: Antylia Contact: 1059 Bloor St. W., Toronto, Ontario, M6H 1M5; antyliatoronto.com, @antyliatoronto
Neighbourhood: Bloorcourt Owners: Aldo Camarena, Ashley McKay and Tunnel Vision Chefs: Aldo Camarena and Ashley McKay Accessibility: Not fully accessible

Aldo Camarena took a winding path to get to where he is today. “I was born in Mexico City and moved to East Los Angeles when I was a toddler,” he says. “I remember the first time I was called Latino and realizing, suddenly, that I was from somewhere else. That feeling has always stayed with me. Food from local migrant communities was one of the only things that connected me to my identity. It was always a mix: a little northern Mexican, a little southern, a little American—maybe not authentic, but authentic enough for us.”

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Camarena spent much of his childhood moving around—from Mexico to the US and back—eventually settling in Canada. “We never spent more than a year in one place until we moved here. Even when I moved back to Mexico, I felt like a migrant—I spoke my native language with an East LA accent. I always felt out of place.”

Camarena grew to love Toronto’s multiculturalism. “Seeing neighbourhoods like Kensington Market, Little Jamaica and Chinatown, where people were showing where they came from and who they were through the foods of their cultures, made me feel alive again,” he says. When he was just 13, he started cooking for his family to take the load off his hard-working parents—and in the process, he found his passion. “I realized I could make memories through food, and that was something I needed.”

Camarena met his wife, Ashley McKay, whose family is Ecuadorian, while working in the kitchen at Parallel on Geary Avenue. Together, they launched their Latin American pop-up, Xolo, and later, in 2022, they took over the kitchen at the Little Jerry, the city’s first listening bar.

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When offbeat cocktail bar Slice of Life opened across the street, co-owner Eric Pan became a fan of the couple’s cooking. He liked their food so much, in fact, that he decided to back them on their dream project.

For Camarena and McKay, Antylia is about establishing a sense of place—a definition of who they are as both people and chefs. “My whole life, I’ve had to find ways to explain to people who I am,” says Camarena. “For Ashley and me, Antylia is another outlet to share our cultures and our backgrounds. Sometimes it’s easier to do it without words.”

The Food

The menu showcases the soul of Latin American cuisine from a fluid, pan-American perspective. The only rule: every dish must be crafted with integrity and must carry a story worth sharing. House-nixtamalized tortillas are pressed from heirloom corn purchased directly from small farms. Vibrant tiradito pairs seasonal peaches with line-caught BC swordfish and popped sorghum (an ancient grain central to many Latin American recipes). And Ecuadorian ceviche is made using a cherished recipe from McKay’s grandmother.

The Drinks

There are a few house cocktails—including a pre-batched one that blends Altos Plata tequila with Campari, Cocchi Torino and preserved Ontario strawberries—but the real spotlight is on the wine program. Led by sommelier Adrian Marquez, the list focuses on bottles that harmonize with the spices of Latin American cuisine while highlighting grapes from emerging regions such as Slovenia, Romania, Nova Scotia and Mexico.

The Space

Warm woods, homey tchotchkes and an autumnal faux-flower light installation surround the room’s centerpiece: a circular bar designed to close the distance between chef and diner. The result is a space that feels less like dining out and more like gathering at an intimate dinner party.