Lucky Red reopens as a licensed, late-night snack bar

After Banh Mi Boys co-owner David Chau shut down his Spadina Avenue spot, Lucky Red, last September after just a few months in business, he admitted that the concept was rushed and needed to be refined further before it could compete in Chinatown’s changing dining scene. On April 1, the now-fully-licensed restaurant reopened as a sit-down restaurant and cocktail bar. Its revamped menu is full of bar food favourites, each with its own twist: sticky tamarind wings, eleven-spiced fried chicken, a Vietnamese take on tartare and a game-changing nacho dish that subs in fried pork dumplings for chips. (And there are baos too, of course.) Cocktails with Asian flavours and a selection of local and imported beers round out the drink list. Fans of the fried s’more bao will be happy to know it’s still on the menu, but for those who want to try something different: durian tarts.

318 Spadina Ave., 416-792-8628, luckyredshop.com, @LuckyRedShop