Swan Restaurant goes under
Queen West’s Swan Restaurant, open since 1997, will no longer cure hangovers with its caesars and smoked trout eggs Benny. Owner Damian Heath tells us that the restaurant was operating at a loss and it officially closed yesterday. Two very harsh winters in a row didn’t help much. “Torontonians aren’t very apt to go outside in cool climes like their Saskatchewan relatives,” he said. Heath opened the spot after the owners of the diner previously in Swan’s space died, and he has watched Trinity-Bellwoods go through plenty of change over the course of 17 years. “It was a rough neighbourhood and it’s been a long journey—there was a crack house where Fonda Lola is and the Candy Factory wasn’t even built yet when I started. It’s been interesting to watch. I didn’t want this to end, but it has.”
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/food/swan-restaurant-goes/&title=Swan Restaurant goes under&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Swan.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_308946" align="aligncenter" width="656"] (Image: Rebecca Fleming)[/caption]
Queen West's Swan Restaurant, open since 1997, will no longer cure hangovers with its caesars and smoked trout eggs Benny. Owner Damian Heath tells us that the restaurant was operating at a loss and it officially closed yesterday. Two very harsh winters in a row didn't help much. "Torontonians aren't very apt to go outside in cool climes like their Saskatchewan relatives," he said. Heath opened the spot after the owners of the diner previously in Swan's space died, and he has watched Trinity-Bellwoods go through plenty of change over the course of 17 years. "It was a rough neighbourhood and it's been a long journey—there was a crack house where Fonda Lola is and the Candy Factory wasn't even built yet when I started. It's been interesting to watch. I didn't want this to end, but it has."){kind=link}
To Damian and team, I thoroughly enjoy enjoyed visit. I won’t forget little details like the warm olives (orange peel, spices) or celery root mash. So well done and satisfying. Scratching my head as to why a place that is quaint, cosy, good kitchen, good service, can’t survive. Newer residents that are house rich, cash poor; I don’t know. I hope you join your next stop in life, and wish everyone there the best.
I don’t care that you make excuses. I just hope that someone reading this doesn’t adopt the same cop out attitude for their own retail location. You failed to pull it together and made bad choices. Own it, grow, and move on. The Swan should still be afloat!
West: 43
East: 3
Sorry to hear. I worked at this place and ate very well even as a dishwasher. Great place, greater people.
Cop out attitude? Failed to pull it together? The Swan was opened for 17+ years. In an industry that is at the mercy of fickle customers who want the next new thing. That’s a success story. Not a failure.
I’ll miss your roast beef sandwiches. I need the recipe.
Swan did not last 17 years by not updating the menu and environs. They did not become an institution on a never changing menu. They did not gain long-standing respect by putting untrained cooks at the helm during peak times!
They stopped giving a shit 2 years ago.
A restaurant winding down after an extended time like a Penrose Fish is a success story. Being evicted is not.
They did NOTHING to try to stay relevant and they did EVERYTHING to die.
It’s pretty simple. Don’t make excuses for the decision makers.
maybe that they weren’t open for breakfast in the week might have been an issue? It is a small place, and after a few attempts at getting a table failed, I stopped bothering and went to one of the many other places in the neighbourhood. Competition is a bitch.
This is a real shame; such a great wee place. I was a dishwasher here for a few months when I first arrived in Canada back in 2007. Everyone was great, very calm a professional no matter how busy it got. Good luck to all those who were working there until the closure.
Since Swan re-opened, I was thrilled to go for my first time. It’s a devastating shame that the serving staff was a bunch of millenials who decided to have their own dance party to the embarrassingly chosen ABBA record and have private conversations louder than any one else in the restaurant. The food was outstanding, as were the cocktails, but in a place that charges $30 for a meal, the staff should behave accordingly.