What’s on the menu at Awai, Nathan Isberg’s new plant-based restaurant
More on Nathan Isberg
Name: Awai
Neighbourhood: Bloor West Village
Contact: 2277 Bloor St. W., 647-643-3132, Facebook, @awairestaurant
Owners: Nathan Isberg (The Atlantic) and Roger Yang
Chef: Nathan Isberg
The food
The convention-defying chef is back after a year’s hiatus from Toronto’s restaurant scene, with a menu consisting of plant-based snacks, soups and wood-fired dishes. The pay-what-you-can tasting menu Isberg first introduced at the Atlantic is back, including a 12-course version on Fridays and Saturdays, with a suggested cost of $80 per person. The word “awai” is a concept Isberg came across in a book on Shinto-Buddhist cooking that referenced ways to cook food without manipulating it too much, allowing its inherent flavours to shine.
The drinks
A selection of wines, many of which are organic; a daily juice; Michel Cluizel hot chocolate; tisanes (herbal tea) and some single-origin premium teas.
The space
A long open kitchen separates the 30-seat dining room in the front from the 26-seat space in the back. The backyard patio will likely become the restaurant’s greenhouse where Isberg will grow food to supplement the ingredients sourced from suppliers.
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Name: Awai
Neighbourhood: Bloor West Village
Contact: 2277 Bloor St. W., 647-643-3132, Facebook, @awairestaurant
Owners: Nathan Isberg (The Atlantic) and Roger Yang
Chef: Nathan Isberg
The food
The convention-defying chef is back after a year’s hiatus from Toronto's restaurant scene, with a menu consisting of plant-based snacks, soups and wood-fired dishes. The pay-what-you-can tasting menu Isberg first introduced at the Atlantic is back, including a 12-course version on Fridays and Saturdays, with a suggested cost of $80 per person. The word "awai" is a concept Isberg came across in a book on Shinto-Buddhist cooking that referenced ways to cook food without manipulating it too much, allowing its inherent flavours to shine.
[caption id="attachment_410942" align="aligncenter" width="1593"] Porcini mushroom and cauliflower soup spiced with a mountain-pepper jerk seasoning. $12.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_410941" align="aligncenter" width="1593"] The endive salad is spiked with slightly dehydrated grapes (that aren't yet raisins), mustard pickles and ras el hanout. $13.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_410940" align="aligncenter" width="1593"] Artichoke barigoule ravioli: braised artichoke ravioli with pea shoots and mustard. $19.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_410932" align="aligncenter" width="1593"] Charcoal gnocchi (made with coal-roasted potatoes), black kale and Baharat spices. $18.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_410928" align="aligncenter" width="1593"] Isberg puts the finishing touches on a shishito pepper coca (Spanish flatbread) with allioli (olive oil and garlic) and Moroccan olives. $14.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_410929" align="aligncenter" width="1593"] Here's a closer look.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_410939" align="aligncenter" width="1593"] Mushroom paella with onions and huitlacoche. $19.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_410936" align="aligncenter" width="1593"] Isberg continues to work with foragers from Quebec's Timiskaming Reserve who supply him with sweet fern, which he mixes in a “forest spice” blend with mountain pepper.[/caption]
The drinks
A selection of wines, many of which are organic; a daily juice; Michel Cluizel hot chocolate; tisanes (herbal tea) and some single-origin premium teas.
The space
A long open kitchen separates the 30-seat dining room in the front from the 26-seat space in the back. The backyard patio will likely become the restaurant’s greenhouse where Isberg will grow food to supplement the ingredients sourced from suppliers.
[caption id="attachment_410931" align="aligncenter" width="1593"] The front dining room.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_410937" align="aligncenter" width="1593"] The open kitchen.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_410927" align="aligncenter" width="1593"] The back dining room.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_410935" align="aligncenter" width="1593"] Isberg and his oven.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_410934" align="aligncenter" width="1593"] Keeping an eye on the fire.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_410933" align="aligncenter" width="803"] Isberg grows microgreens in the restaurant’s indoor hydroponic garden.[/caption]
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