What’s on the menu at the Lost Land, a new farm-to-table restaurant in the Financial District
Including an over-the-top cocktail served in a smoking treasure chest
Name: The Lost Land
Contact: 146 Yonge St., unit 101, thelostland.ca, @thelostland.ca
Neighbourhood: Financial District
Owner: Edison Xue
Chef: Cesar Karanapakorn (Florette, Judaline)
Accessibility: Not fully accessible
With a menu featuring a bounty of local ingredients and a dining room brimming with greenery, the Lost Land offers downtowners a chance to reconnect with the natural world—in the Financial District. “We wanted to create a restaurant that brings nature into the heart of the city,” says chef Cesar Karanapakorn.
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Karanapakorn spent his early career cooking in kitchens around Mexico and the US, eventually meeting the chef who would become his mentor, Larry Feldmeier, at the Bristol restaurant in Chicago. Feldmeier, though still based in Chicago, is lending his expertise from afar to help Karanapakorn develop the Lost Land’s seasonally driven menu.
The Food
“I like to focus on making good food rather than tying myself to a specific kind of cuisine,” says Karanapakorn. The menu is indeed a globetrotting affair that includes French classics like foie gras, Italian-style pastas and Latin-influenced mains like chicken tinga.
Karanapakorn works with Ontario producers (Bondi Produce, ClearWater Farm, Marc’s Mushrooms, White Lily Farms) to shape the menu around locally grown ingredients. Soon, the restaurant will take its commitment to fresh, sustainable ingredients to the next level—literally—with the launch of a large rooftop garden to grow produce destined for Lost Land dishes.
The Drinks
Bar manager Vitus Wight brings an equally borderless approach to the bar’s cocktails. Staying true to the restaurant’s earth-focused ethos, Wight prioritizes sustainability, using inventive techniques to minimize waste and repurpose ingredients, all while maximizing flavour.
The Space
The dining room is equal parts contemporary and—in keeping with the whole nature theme—earthy. Lush greenery spills down the walls, softening the industrial feel of exposed brick and ductwork. And a bustling open kitchen and chef’s counter offer a front-row seat to the action.
Jessica Huras is a freelance writer and editor with over a decade of experience creating food, travel and lifestyle content. She’s a content editor for the LCBO’s Food & Drink magazine, and her work has appeared in the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Chatelaine, Toronto Life and Elle Canada, among other publications.
