Pompette has been through more transformations than most Toronto restaurants experience in a lifetime, and every iteration has made it more interesting. What started as a simple cocktail and wine bar with snacks in April 2020 evolved through pandemic pressures into a French restaurant, then became Vinoteca Pompette with a distinctive green exterior — and now, in early 2026, it’s undergoing its most dramatic reinvention yet: Bar Allegro, an aperitivo bar with a new name, new space and new menu in Little Italy.
Head sommelier Jonathan Bauer describes Bar Allegro as a return to the original vision he shared with chef Martine Bauer and head bartender Maxime Hoerth when they first opened the space. The concept — accessible, easy-going, built around cocktails, wines and elevated snacks — was always the dream. The restaurant’s evolution over five years was shaped by circumstances more than intention; Bar Allegro represents the team finally arriving at where they always wanted to be.
The aperitivo bar format is having a genuine moment in Toronto right now, and Bar Allegro’s positioning — sophisticated but relaxed, food-forward but not formal — feels perfectly calibrated for where the city’s dining culture is heading. An evening here promises good wine, thoughtful cocktails and the kind of small plates designed to extend the pleasure of being out.
Little Italy has always been a neighbourhood that rewards exploration, and Bar Allegro adds a compelling new destination to one of Toronto’s most beloved streets.
Head to Bar Allegro in Little Italy and experience what the team has been working toward since the beginning. Sometimes the best restaurants are the ones that finally become exactly what they were always meant to be.