A Financial District kitchen is getting a second life as an Italian bar and restaurant
The Lost Land is now Bar Filo
While the Financial District is packed with sleek destinations for power lunches and spendy tasting menus, Bar Filo is taking a different route, offering Italian small plates with a strong focus on cocktails and wine.
If the setting feels familiar, that’s because the space at Yonge and Temperance previously housed the Lost Land, a short-lived farm-to-table restaurant backed by considerable pedigree.
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Chef Cesar Karanapakorn (Judaline, Florette) opened the Lost Land with Chicago’s two-Michelin-starred Oriole alum Larry Feldmeier and Pidapipo Gelato owner Edison Xue. The concept generated buzz but didn’t last long. This time around, Karanapakorn continues to lead the kitchen, but he’s reshaped the restaurant into something he hopes will stick. “We wanted to do more approachable food than what we were doing before,” he says. The interior remains mostly unchanged, but a new mural of a Venetian gondolier marks the adoption of la dolce vita.
Instead of playing by strict Italian rules, the rotating menu revolves around seasonal produce and fresh seafood. Guests can expect starters like ahi tuna crudo with zippy blood orange, silky pastas tossed with seasonal vegetables and fish grilled with minimal fuss—food designed to pair naturally with what’s in your glass.
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The cocktail list leans Italian but isn’t rigid, with drinks like the citrusy Malfy Sour, the smoky Famoso, and riffs on classics such as the Brandy Crusta and the Torontonian New Fashioned. “We’re trying to focus more on the wine and cocktails, then make dishes that pair well with the drinks,” says Karanapakorn.
For the downtown lunch crowd, Bar Filo now offers a midday prix-fixe menu: $35 and ready in 35 minutes. Diners can choose either strawberry salad or crisp zucchini fritti for their antipasto (with the option to upgrade to tuna crudo or burrata for a few extra bucks). For the main course, there’s a choice of paccheri or cavatelli (with heartier add-ons like beef tenderloin or pork chop). Built for speed but still focused on quality, it’s a practical option for the neighbourhood’s time-pressed lunch crowd.
Bar Filo, 146 Yonge St., barfilo.ca, @barfilo.toronto
Jessica Huras is a freelance writer and editor with over a decade of experience creating food, travel and lifestyle content. She’s a content editor for the LCBO’s Food & Drink magazine, and her work has appeared in the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Chatelaine, Toronto Life and Elle Canada, among other publications.
