Queen West is getting a Rose and Sons

Anthony Rose is at it again, but this time he’s moving away from the empire he’s set up on Dupont. His new spot will be in the space left empty by Swan Restaurant. Just as he did with the 40-year-old People’s Diner, Rose is taking the iconic Queen West spot and making it his own, while leaving the old name intact (it will now be Swan by Rose and Sons). “It’s essentially got the same feeling as Rose and Sons,” says Rose. “You walk in, it’s old and it’s a little bit falling apart, but it’s just perfect.” The food will be a “lighter, more feminine” version of what’s on offer at his Dupont diner, and it will be more “California-driven,” whatever that means. “That’s where my roots are,” Rose says, “I learned to cook in San Francisco, so it’ll be a little San Franciso, California-dreaming kind of diner.” How does that translate on the menu? “Like, delicious.” The new Swan is scheduled to open this summer, which is great timing for the restaurant’s one new addition: a Trinity Bellwoods–facing patio out back. This isn’t the last project for Rose, though: he’s already in the midst of opening yet another spot. Bar Begonia will find a home on Dupont (of course) and will be within walking distance of Rose’s existing “holy trinity” of restaurants.
Absolutely marvelous news. I live near the Holy Trinity on Dupont and insist that Rose’s spots are serving among the best food in the city, but can’t always convince my die-hard downtown friends to schlep north of Bloor. A great addition to Queen West and glad to see Rose is branching out. That patio is going to be sick in the summer.
West: 84
East: 4
Yes.
The real news here is that Anthony is opening up another concept on the Dupont Strip. Did I miss that announcement?! What is Bar Begonia? Where will it be? When is it opening?
Darren Robinson…
Do you have nothing better to do?
Nobody cares about the East vs. West thing.
Who says? Are you arbiter over what the rest of us are interested in?
It’s an interesting project that Darren is undertaking. You, of course, are entitled to agree or disagree, and to be interested or not interested in it, but you don’t get to decide what everyone else, including Darren, thinks about it. And it’s unclear how it impacts you in the least.