The Old Spaghetti Factory is getting a sister restaurant and speakeasy

Toronto has some restaurant royalty hiding in plain sight. For over 50 years, the Old Spaghetti Factory has dished out meatballs, marinara and maximalist kitsch from the heart of the Esplanade. Now, brothers Graham and Dan Hnatiw—heirs to that red-sauce empire—are trading in the telephone booths and Tiffany lamps for something sleeker: Eloise, a refined 85-seat restaurant, and Bar Cart, a sort-of-secret cocktail lounge tucked just behind it. Both sit next to their Italian sister restaurant and the Hnatiw’s other venue, Scotland Yard.

The family name can be a double-edged breadstick. “We figured we’d have some baggage,” says Graham. “People don’t expect us to open something like this.” That’s why, when they hired a publicist to announce the launch, their hospitality lineage was glossed over. They’re hoping Bar Cart and Eloise can stand on their own—not as spin-offs but as breakout hits.

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The brothers grew up in the industry, working in the dish pit and bussing tables before they were old enough to drink what they were serving. “The heart of a restaurant is the hospitality component,” Graham says. That mindset helped make the Old Spaghetti Factory a long-standing staple. Now they’re betting the same spirit—polished for a new crowd—can anchor something different.

They’ve watched the Esplanade evolve from lake views and expressway frontage to glass towers and deep pockets. “Our postal code has one of the highest household incomes in the country,” Graham notes.

When Shoeless Joe’s shuttered last spring, they jumped on the lease. After decades on the strip, they knew the crowd, knew the gaps and knew they could make it work. “We know the fish that swim by our dock,” says Dan. “And we know what we weren’t catching.”

Bar Cart, which is now open, fills what the brothers see as a void on the strip. “Everything else on the street is beer,” says Graham. “Cocktails were missing.” Enter a railcar-inspired lounge with moody lighting, velvet banquettes and a wink of old-world glamour. Montreal cocktail savant Andrew Whibley built the drinks program, and guests can expect playful spins on the classics, like the Espresso Ghost, a clarified espresso martini destined to haunt social feeds.

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The food at both Bar Cart and Eloise is from chef Akhil Hajare (Alo, Le Sélect Bistro). At the speakeasy, his menu lists global comfort food dressed to impress: foie gras parfait with maple bourbon sauce, chicken 65 with lemon aïoli and pão de queijo gussied up with parmesan.

Eloise, set to open mid-August, is Bar Cart’s graceful foil. “It’s softer, lighter, airier,” says Graham. “Bar Cart is darker, more sultry.” The two rooms, each designed by Westgrove and Made by Emblem, share visual DNA: sculptural curves, burl walnut, silk upholstery and bold contemporary art.

At Eloise, Hajare (who recently returned from a multi-month stage at Bangkok’s Gaggan, currently ranked sixth on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025 list) gets to flex with things like hand-made pasta, tableside Dover sole, house-baked bread and seafood-forward starters. It’s what the brothers call “elevated contemporary,” a term that means everything and nothing, conveniently allowing them to cherry-pick the best from every cuisine.

Over the years, the Hnatiw brothers have modernized menus, rebuilt kitchens and quietly pushed boundaries within the family’s legacy spots. But Eloise and Bar Cart aren’t extensions of the old guard—they’re the first places the brothers have built from the ground up. “We’ve always worked within something inherited,” says Dan. “This time, it’s entirely ours.”