The Month That Was: the Toronto restaurants and bars that opened and closed in January

Opening

• Porzia—Chef Basilio Pesce’s homey southern Italian restaurant will likely be Parkdale’s last opening until the restaurant ban on the strip gets lifted. Read our Introducing post »
• Boccone Trattoria Veloce—The restaurants at Pearson Airport are getting a much-needed refresh, and Boccone, a casual Italian restaurant with a menu from Mistura’s Massimo Capra, is first out of the gate. Read our Introducing post »
• Room 203—After bouncing between various consulting gigs, chef Guy Rawlings launched a new hybrid space—at a secret Parkdale location—for catering, classes and food events. Read our Introducing post »

• The Hoof Café—Dundas West’s favourite brunch of 2010 is back as a “permanent pop-up” at the Hoof Raw Bar, just across the street from its old location. Read our Dish post »
• Ryoji Ramen and Izakaya—For its first expansion out of Japan, this Okinawa-based chain alighted on Little Italy. Expect booze, Japanese bar snacks and loud club music. Read our Introducing post »
• The Hogtown Cure—The latest in a long list of recent food establishments with “Hogtown” in the name, this Dundas West spot is part-café, part-artisinal food shop. Read our Introducing post »
• Kupfert and Kim—A trio of Montrealers noticed the financial district lacked vegan and gluten-free grab-and-go lunches, and decided to plug that hole. The result: long lines in the Path.  Read our Introducing post »
• Buonanotte—The newest Charles Khabouth joint is a Toronto edition of a clubby Italian restaurant that’s a fixture of nightlife in Montreal. Read our Introducing post »
• Dyne—Chef Richard Andino took over the Av-and-Dav space that formerly housed Maléna to launch a restaurant whose menu draws from the cuisine of Spain, Portugal and the Philippines. Read our Introducing post »
• Bellwoods Brewery—Ossington’s popular brewpub is now making enough beer to sell it by the bottle and growler in its new full-time retail store next door. Read our Dish post »
• Happy Child—This new Queen West watering hole—communal tables, classic cocktails and bar snacks inspired by fast food— takes over from the Double Deuce Saloon.  [Post City]
• The Red Bench—Not even winter can slow the onslaught of frozen yogurt stands. This new Yonge Street shop, an independent, also serves made-to-order cookies, and has a large selection of loose-leaf teas. [BlogTO]
• Nu Bügel—This confusingly named Kensington Market takeout spot serves Montreal-style, wood-fired bagels that are baked on the premises. [The Grid]
• Bazara Asian Cuisine—A new pan-Asian restaurant launched in the Ossington space that was formerly home to waffle house Goed Eten. [Post City]
• Bazaar Global Food Bar—After closing up shop on Mount Pleasant, owner Hemant Bhagwani reopened his international, family-friendly restaurant on Baldwin. [The Grid]
• The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro—The popular Ottawa-based burger chain opened a new downtown location at Church and Wellington. [Facebook]

Closing

• Prague European Kitchen—After only a few months in business, this new restaurant on the former site of the decades-old Prague Find Food Emporium threw in the towel. The space’s new owners will be opening a restaurant there, but won’t be reviving the Prague name. [Toronto Life]
• Aravind—One of Toronto’s most sophisticated Indian restaurants gave up on its Danforth location last month—but left open the possibility of a relocation further west.  [Toronto Life]

Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments.