GALLERY: Nick Liu’s GwaiLo pops up at Soho Metropolitan’s Senses

GALLERY: Nick Liu’s GwaiLo pops up at Soho Metropolitan’s Senses

Chef Nick Liu in the kitchen (Image: Gizelle Lau)

It’s been almost a year since we first told you about GwaiLo, a new restaurant from chef Nick Liu (Niagara Street Café) and Christina Kuypers (Splendido) that’s been perpetually “coming soon.” Since an initial preview dinner back in March, the pair have been appearing around the city at events like the Banana Mafia dinner and Soupstock, and have now landed at the Soho Metropolitan’s Senses restaurant for a month-long pop-up engagement. We went for a preview dinner yesterday to see what you can expect.

From now until November 24, on Thursdays through Saturdays, the GwaiLo Pop-Up will be operating out of a specially decked out space in Senses, complete with lucky cats and a fresh new dragon mural. The $75 six-course tasting menu, featuring Liu’s modern Asian cuisine, will change each week, and be accompanied by an additional wine and cocktail pairing option for about $45. On Sundays, Kuypers will be hosting “Sunday School” in the pop-up space with cocktail seminars for industry folk and general booze-lovers alike. To finish the month-long residency with a bang, GwaiLo and other young Asian chefs in the city (the aforementioned Banana Mafia)—along with some NYC chefs—will be throwing one last party as a fundraiser for The Stop. And what of GwaiLo’s never-quite-ready-for-prime-time restaurant? Liu and Kuypers are crossing their fingers for a February 2013 launch, just in time for Chinese New Year.

GwaiLo Pop-Up at Senses, Soho Metropolitan Hotel, 318 Wellington St. W., 416-489-8922, gwailo.ca, @gwailotoronto