In a city where a new restaurant goes viral every other week, it takes something special to get people genuinely excited. Shay Ristorante managed it long before the doors opened.
The project has been in the works for more than a year and finally opened on Thursday, October 1. At the stoves is chef Justin Friedlich, formerly of Buca Yorkville, whose name alone was enough to put the restaurant on the watch list of Toronto’s dining crowd. He is joined by creative director Rayana Dilawri, who shaped a palatial, rural-Italy-inspired room, and by Adam Halpern of Halpern Wine Enterprises, a name that signals serious attention to the wine list.
Shay bills itself as the new neighbourhood hot spot for Rosedale, and it arrives at a good moment for the area. Stylish openings like Seahorse and Manita have been giving this part of the city fresh street cred, and Shay adds another reason to head north of the usual downtown dining circuit.
That is the bigger story here. Toronto’s restaurant energy is no longer concentrated in a handful of downtown strips. Neighbourhoods like Rosedale and Summerhill are now drawing the kind of anticipation once reserved for King West and Ossington, and chefs with proven track records are betting that locals want a polished, destination-worthy dinner close to home.
If you are planning a date night, a birthday or a client dinner, a new Italian room with this kind of pedigree deserves a spot on your list.
Book your table at Shay Ristorante before the weekend reservations disappear, and tell us in the comments what you ordered.