What’s on the menu at Bar Reyna, a new Mediterranean lounge with a year-round patio

What’s on the menu at Bar Reyna, a new Mediterranean lounge with a year-round patio

By | Photography By Caroline Aksich |  

By | Photography By Caroline Aksich |  

Name: Bar Reyna
Neighbourhood: Yorkville
Contact: 158 Cumberland St., 647-748-4464, barreyna.com, @BarReynaTO
Previously: Carens Wine and Cheese Bar
Owner: Nicki Laborie
Chef: Omar Ma (THR & Co., Cava, Buca Yorkville)

The food

Greek, Spanish, Turkish snacks and sharing plates—and a burger, of course. There are lighter vegan options like zucchini crudo spiked with piquillo pepper, as well as heartier (and meatier) stuff: the cataplana, a stew for two, is chock full of shrimp, clams, lobster, mussels, monkfish and comes with hunks of sourdough.

Eggplant byaldi with tomatoes, pine nuts and pomegranate seeds. $8.

 
The veggie flower pot comes with a tray of heirloom carrots, blanched broccoli, pickled fennel and cauliflower, and a trio of dips (tzatziki, hummus, green olive tapenade) in teeny planters. $18.

 

Reyna Salad: tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, beets, Napa cabbage, quinoa and red kale, topped with crispy chickpeas and shallots. Served with a Serrano-chili dressing. $16.

 
Zucchini fritters in a roasted tomato aïoli. $9.

 
Merguez pide with preserved lemon–herb salad and yogurt. $16.

 
Octopus is cooked sous vide with white wine before hitting the grill. It’s served on romesco sauce with fried shishito peppers. $22.

 

The burger (a mix of brisket and 32-day aged rib-eye) is piled onto a house-baked sweet potato bun and topped with Muenster cheese, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato and chipotle aïoli. $18.

 
There are five different types of fries: Greek, Arabic, French, Italian and Spanish. Each comes with their own distinct toppings. $10.

The drinks

Specialty cocktails, like Her Royal Highness (the crown jewel of them all), a $30 citrusy vodka-and-rum concoction served in a copper pineapple; and a list of international wines that includes a $42 bottle of Greek sauvignon blanc, a $63 bottle of Kiwi pinot noir and, for the high rollers, a $650 bottle of Dom Pérignon.

King Arthur’s Concubine: Botanist gin, strawberry, basil, lime, rhubarb bitters and sparkling wine. $14.

 
5 a.m. in Mykonos: Mount Gay Black Barrel, Averna, orgeat, espresso, coconut cream andmole bitters. $16.

 
Poseidon’s Poison: Metexa, Oloroso sherry, Lillet Rouge, Luxardo Maraschino, Campari and cherry bitters. $16.

 

Her Royal Highness: Elyx vodka, Mount Gay XO, saffron, cardamom, rosewater, orgeat and citrus. $30.

The space

Solid Design and Build (the team behind La Carnita and Valdez) transformed this two-storey Victorian row house in Yorkville. Both the main and second-floor dining rooms have their own bar, and out back there’s a 48-seat enclosed patio with a retractable roof—one of the city’s few year-round patios.

Here’s the main floor.

 
And the bar, also on the main floor.

 
This is the second-floor dining room.

 
On the second floor, Moroccan lanterns project light patterns across the ceiling and walls.

 
And here’s the back patio.

Photo by Caroline Aksich

There’s a small street-facing patio, too.

 

More New Restaurants

Topics: Bar Reyna Mediterranean Openings Yorkville

 

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