More details about La Palette’s new Queen West location

As we reported last week, Kensington Market’s La Palette is opening a new location on Queen West. After a chat with owner Shamez Amlani, we learned that he’s shooting for a mid-to-late-May opening date, since the space formerly occupied by Taro Grill is still in good form. “There’s some gutting, but it’s not a complete overhaul. It’s mostly new floors and changing the decor.”

Amlani quickly snatched up the location when Taro went belly up last month. “I started my career in the restaurant business in 1989 at Le Sélect when it was still on Queen West, so I’ve been trolling the neighbourhood for years and years.”

Not much is going to change in the second location, says Amlani, except that the cooking staff will have a larger kitchen to play in. “It’s not going to have the same intimacy as before, since the place has a 16-foot ceiling, a skylight and a big, open kitchen. It’s still going to be a classic French bistro with Canadian game, but we’re also going to make our own bread and ice cream, because we can stretch out a bit.”

He also found out that the building used to be a stable, so diners can bet that horsemeat will still be on the menu. Says Amlani, “I’m going to try to find old photographs for the new place. The horse theme will be bigger and better than before.”