Some of the best restaurant stories start with someone just trying to watch a game. That’s exactly how Maria’s Sports Bar in Brockton Village ended up under new ownership. Last summer, sous-chef Mikel Nieces brought Graham Pratt — one of the minds behind Bar Bowie and Milou — to Maria’s to catch a game. Pratt […]
Since opening on Queen West in 2018, Agora has built a loyal following as the go-to stop for picnic-lunch staples — puffy pita, charred kebabs, and a lineup of decadent dips. Now, from the team behind Mamakas and Bar Koukla, the brand is opening a second location in Yorkville. The new spot came together in […]
The Esplanade has quietly built a reputation as one of downtown Toronto’s best-kept secrets — a strip with a genuine neighbourhood feel despite sitting minutes from the core. This July, that strip is about to get a lot louder. Dolly’s, a massive new country bar inspired by Dolly Parton and opening where Bier Markt stood […]
The bookstore-meets-bar concept has already taken off in several major North American cities, and Toronto’s version has officially arrived: Book Bar, the latest addition to the city’s newly developing Mirvish Village, is open. Located at 600 Markham St. — just a few doors down from the recently opened Badiali pizzeria location — Book Bar describes […]
Sweet Minis has been quietly building a following since 2024, but this summer the mobile dessert business is having a genuine moment — and the timing isn’t a coincidence. The brand set up shop at Harbourfront Centre from June 11 through July 11, a stretch that happens to overlap almost exactly with the FIFA World […]
Banana pudding fans, take note: the cross-border road trip you’ve been making for years might soon be unnecessary. Magnolia Bakery, the West Village institution that opened in 1996 and became a cultural touchstone after appearing on HBO’s Sex and the City in 2000, has announced plans to expand into Ontario with 10 new locations. The […]
Most people spend their retirement slowing down. Gianni Bardini spent his deciding to open a restaurant — despite having zero prior experience in the industry. Bardini spent decades as an Italian diplomat, posted in Tunisia, Australia, Brussels, Colombia, Mozambique, and eventually Canada. Born in Tuscany, he built a career introducing the world to Italian culture, […]
Some small businesses fade quietly into memory. Others get stopped on the street for years by customers still asking when they’re coming back. Bar32 is firmly the latter. Sisters Chloe and Sydney Carron built Bar32 from a converted horse trailer in Port Carling, Muskoka, back in the summers of 2021 and 2022 — hand-dipping chocolate-covered […]
If you live anywhere near Queen and Pape, you already know Leslieville doesn’t exactly need another burger joint. Between plant-based favourites, brewery kitchens slinging thick smash patties, and a rotating cast of pubs and quick-service spots, the neighbourhood’s patty game is about as competitive as it gets in Toronto. And yet, a new name is […]
Every September, Toronto changes. The Toronto International Film Festival — TIFF — brings the global film industry to the city for ten days, and the nightlife implications are enormous. A-list celebrities, international film distributors, studio executives, directors, and press descend on Yorkville and the Entertainment District, and the city’s hospitality industry responds accordingly. For those […]