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

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

Santouka Ramen was one of the many ramen shops to open this month (Image: Karolyne Ellacott)

Opening

  • Skin and BonesDaniel Clarke and Harry Wareham, both formerly of Enoteca Sociale and Pizzeria Libretto, have opened the doors to Leslieville’s newest wine bar with chef-nomad Matthew Sullivan (Boxed, Maléna) in the kitchen. Read our Introducing post »
  • A-OK Foods—Yes, it’s another spot serving ramen, but this Queen West snack bar is owned by the trio behind Yours Truly and serves house-made ramen noodles. Read our Introducing post »
  • Rose and Sons—The first of Anthony Rose’s promised trio of restaurants opened with little fanfare and no liquor licence last week on Dupont. Rose is still tinkering with the menu, offering only brunch and lunch, but he’s launching a full dinner service on December 6. Read our Dish post »

  • The Whippoorwill Restaurant and Tavern—New owners Shawn Creamer and Tyler Cunningham took a mere 10 days to turn Bloordale Pantry into the Whippoorwill, which has brunch, dinner, happy hour and late-night menus. Read our Dish post »
  • Mr. Pong’s—The trio behind Cold Tea opened a new Dundas West bar inspired by the classic Queen Street cheap Chinese food restaurant Mr. Pong’s Real Food, serving creative takes on spring rolls by Robbie Hojilla (Ursa, Woodlot). Read our Introducing post »
  • Go Lounge—Toronto’s newest board game café opened just before the ban on new restaurants and cafés in Parkdale took effect. Bonus: there’s no cover charge. Read our Introducing post »
  • Retsina—Named after the Greek pine resin–flavoured wine, Retsina trades in Greek standbys like moussaka and souvlaki. Read our Introducing post »
  • Santouka Ramen Most ramen places claim to serve an authentic broth identical to the Japanese stuff, but the Santouka chain’s head office, in Hokkaido, claims its Toronto version is actually better. Considering the lineups at lunch and dinner, they may be right. Read our Introducing post »
  • JaBistroJames HyunSoo Kim is on a roll; he brought Vancouver’s Guu to Toronto, opened Kinton Ramen in May and has now launched JaBistro, a new “modern Japanese” (mostly sushi) restaurant in the Entertainment District. Read our Introducing post »
  • Rashers—Classic bacon butties inspired Richard Mulley and John Clark to open their tiny four-seater sandwich shop in Leslieville. According to them, it’s North America’s first all-bacon sandwich shop. Read our Introducing post »
  • Ramen Raijin—This new ramen joint, opened by a Vancouver ramen pioneer, boils 300 litres of broth a day and offers an unusual, smoky bamboo-charcoal dark miso. Read our Introducing post »
  • Shogun Ramen—Taking note of the rise of ramen in Toronto, Jimmy and Sophia Im switched up their five-month-old Richmond Hill sushi spot into a noodle house. [Post City]
  • Two Bite Saloon—Does the city need another burger joint? Two Bite’s ownership team would say yes, but with one caveat: that those burgers are small enough to let you try all of them. [Post City]
  • Chop Steakhouse and Bar—The Canadian steak house chain opened its first location in Ontario right next to Pearson.
  • Wallflower—The owners of Bloordale’s Three Speed opened a homey, chandelier-lit and wallpapered bar near Dundas and Lansdowne. [BlogTO]
  • Archive Wine Bar—This small space next to Saving Grace offers small plates and more than 20 wines by the glass. [BlogTO]
  • Sabai Sabai—This Thai restaurant, whose menu is designed by Nuit Regular of Sukhothai and Khao San Road fame, soft-launched over the weekend.
  • Le Neuf Café–Parisian expats imported some of their home city’s charm to Spadina and Wellington Street, opening a classic street side cafe overlooking Clarence Square. [Facebook]

Closing

  • Vecchio Frak—The College Street Italian family eatery closed this month. [Chowhound]
  • Bloordale Pantry—The Pantry offered one of Bloordale’s more popular brunches, but not much has changed; new owners flipped the space into the Whippoorwill Restaurant and Tavern (see above) and still offer brunch, with much of the same staff.

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