Introducing: The Guild, a new contemporary Canadian restaurant on Dundas West
Name: The Guild
Contact info: 1442 Dundas St. W., 647-343-7288, guildresto.com
Owner and chef: Mani Binelli (Centro, Auberge du Pommier)
Neighbourhood: Little Portugal
The food: Contemporary Canadian cuisine using local products and modern culinary techniques. Lunch dishes include confit Ontario pork belly on collard greens ($16) and Yukon gold gnocchi with braised Ontario wild boar ($14), and for brunch there’s a lobster benny on a blini ($16) with eggs that are poached sous vide. The Guild launches a dinner service later this week, and Binelli has plans to bring in guest chefs for an industry night on Mondays.
The drinks: Bartender Alex James’s cocktail menu features drinks like a lobster Caesar ($11) that’s topped with pickled asparagus and butter “air.”
The place: The former flower shop has been entirely gutted and outfitted with tin ceilings and birch bark accents. Little terrariums adorn each of the reclaimed barn board tables, and the chairs are upholstered with old coffee bags.
By the numbers:
• 97 seats
• 3 layers of corrugated walls dismantled in the renovation process
• 2, number of years The Guild’s been in the works
• 1 Larousse Gastronomique used to plaster the bathroom walls
• 1 name change (Dundas West watchers might remember the place was long billed as NoNo’s Pastaria)
197101 Lobster caesar with house lobster-tomato juice, scotch bonnet pepper extract, butter “air” and pickled asparagus ($11) (Image: Karolyne Ellacott) Introducing: The Guild Introducing: The Guild https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-18-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-18.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-18.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/the-guild/slide/the-guild-introducing-18/ the-guild-introducing-18 0 0
(Image: Karolyne Ellacott)
197097 Confit Ontario pork belly on collard greens with yam goat cheese gratin and applesauce ($13) (Image: Karolyne Ellacott) Introducing: The Guild Introducing: The Guild https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-14-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-14.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-14.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/the-guild/slide/the-guild-introducing-14/ the-guild-introducing-14 0 0
(Image: Karolyne Ellacott)
197096 House-made messinesi pasta with various grilled and roasted seasonal vegetables, topped with a basil arugula pesto ($14) (Image: Karolyne Ellacott) Introducing: The Guild Introducing: The Guild https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-13-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-13.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-13.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/the-guild/slide/the-guild-introducing-13/ the-guild-introducing-13 0 0
(Image: Karolyne Ellacott)
197095 Fresh beet messinesi (Image: Karolyne Ellacott) Introducing: The Guild Introducing: The Guild https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-12-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-12.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-12.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/food/the-guild/slide/the-guild-introducing-12/ the-guild-introducing-12 0 0
(Image: Karolyne Ellacott)
197098 Yukon gold gnocchi with roasted garlic porcini cream, braised Ontario wild boar and rapini ($13) (Image: Karolyne Ellacott) Introducing: The Guild Introducing: The Guild https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-15-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-15.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-15.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/the-guild/slide/the-guild-introducing-15/ the-guild-introducing-15 0 0
(Image: Karolyne Ellacott)
197093 Binelli making gnocchi (Image: Karolyne Ellacott) Introducing: The Guild Introducing: The Guild https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-10-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-10.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-10.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/food/the-guild/slide/the-guild-introducing-10/ the-guild-introducing-10 0 0
(Image: Karolyne Ellacott)
197092 Chef and owner Mani Binelli (Image: Karolyne Ellacott) Introducing: The Guild Introducing: The Guild https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-9-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-9.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-9.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/the-guild/slide/the-guild-introducing-9/ the-guild-introducing-9 0 0
(Image: Karolyne Ellacott)
197099 Nitrate-free house-smoked bacon (Image: Karolyne Ellacott) Introducing: The Guild Introducing: The Guild https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-16-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-16.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-16.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/food/the-guild/slide/the-guild-introducing-16/ the-guild-introducing-16 0 0
(Image: Karolyne Ellacott)
197091 The bathrooms at The Guild are wallpapered with a copy of the <em>Larousse Gastronomique</em> (Image: Karolyne Ellacott) Introducing: The Guild Introducing: The Guild https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-8-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-8.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-8.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/the-guild/slide/the-guild-introducing-8/ the-guild-introducing-8 0 0
(Image: Karolyne Ellacott)
197090 Each table has a little terrarium on it (Image: Karolyne Ellacott) Introducing: The Guild Introducing: The Guild https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-7-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-7.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-7.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/the-guild/slide/the-guild-introducing-7/ the-guild-introducing-7 0 0
(Image: Karolyne Ellacott)
197089 (Image: Karolyne Ellacott) Introducing: The Guild Introducing: The Guild https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-6-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-6.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-6.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/the-guild/slide/the-guild-introducing-6/ the-guild-introducing-6 0 0
(Image: Karolyne Ellacott)
197088 (Image: Karolyne Ellacott) Introducing: The Guild Introducing: The Guild https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-5-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-5.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-5.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/the-guild/slide/the-guild-introducing-5/ the-guild-introducing-5 0 0
(Image: Karolyne Ellacott)
197087 (Image: Karolyne Ellacott) Introducing: The Guild Introducing: The Guild https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-4-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-4.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-4.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/food/the-guild/slide/the-guild-introducing-4/ the-guild-introducing-4 0 0
(Image: Karolyne Ellacott)
197086 (Image: Karolyne Ellacott) Introducing: The Guild Introducing: The Guild https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-3-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-3.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-3.jpg 420 624 [] https://torontolife.com/food/the-guild/slide/the-guild-introducing-3/ the-guild-introducing-3 0 0
(Image: Karolyne Ellacott)
197100 (Image: Karolyne Ellacott) Introducing: The Guild Introducing: The Guild https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-17-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-17.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-17.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/the-guild/slide/the-guild-introducing-17/ the-guild-introducing-17 0 0
(Image: Karolyne Ellacott)
197084 (Image: Karolyne Ellacott) Introducing: The Guild Introducing: The Guild https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-1-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-1.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/the-guild-introducing-1.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/the-guild/slide/the-guild-introducing-1/ the-guild-introducing-1 0 0
(Image: Karolyne Ellacott)
Congratulations! All of your hard work, passion and dedication has paid off! We can’t wait to fly home to Toronto to sample the wares surrounded by thoughtful local decor.
You guys should really add opening days and hours.
Morning coffee 8am Lunches 1130 Dinners 5 Closed for lunch/dinner Monday and Tuesday.
Brunches Sat/Sun 11