Our trust issues start with spring. We have whiplash from the constantly changing weather. But when the sun does come out, all feels right with the world. The flowers and warmer temperatures aren't the only things that are new this season — a slew of new restaurants are popping up all over Toronto. From an experiential casa on Wellington Street to a house of super salads, we're beyond ready to shed some layers and check out these awesome new Toronto restaurants.
While we've loved cooking at home and trying new recipes, nothing beats a night out at a new restaurant in Toronto. We've missed eating our way through the city's best restaurants, whether that means putting our pinkies up at Toronto's best afternoon tea or learning how to eat oysters properly. There's so much to see, do and eat in Toronto.
Spring has sprung and so have our appetites. Gather your group, pack something waterproof (you never know) and hit up some of these new Toronto restaurants this spring.
Best new restaurants in Toronto for spring
1. Orote
276 Havelock St.
At the corner of Bloor and Havelock Street lies Orote, Dufferin Grove's shiny new gem serving up inventive takes on Korean flavours. Chef Kwangtaek Lee beautifully blends his Korean background with both underrated and much-adored local ingredients, giving patrons a taste of something familiar but totally unexpected. On the seasonally-focused six-course tasting menu, fermentation, imagination and precise technique bring complexity and playfulness to each vibrant dish in the stunning slate-gray space.
2. Casa Madera
550 Wellington St. W.
There are restaurants, and then there's the experiential Casa Madera located at 1 Hotel Toronto (but more like somewhere between Miami and the Riviera Maya). Enter through the giant wooden doors (Casa Madera means 'wood house' in Spanish) and get transported into a world of abundant greenery, cocktails more extra than an episode of Love is Blind — and is that Drake?
The entire casa feels like you're dining in the breezy outdoors, especially when you post up at a sunlit table near the wall of windows. As for the food, Mexico-born chef Olivier Le Calvez has put together a bold menu brimming with brightness and pizzaz: seasonally rotating tacos, grilled pacifico striped bass with a trio of house-made salsas, and seared Japanese wagyu with barrel-aged soy air — huh? But, yes, more air, please.
3. Vilda’s
209 Dovercourt Rd.
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Tavern Bernhardt's, with their exceptional rotisserie chicken, farmhouse vibes and local veg, is one of our top Toronto restaurants, and now you can get a slice of more good stuff just down the street at sister spot Vilda's. This sandwich shop inside an old grocery and variety store serves up loaded sandwiches and heavenly salads so good you could have them for lunch and dinner all in the same day. After you tuck into a baked egg brekky bun or a schnitzel club with matzah-breaded chicken schnitzel, all the fixings and jalapeno mayo, make sure you save room for their tasty baked goods.
4. Ration Beverly
335 Queen St. W.
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Zero waste doesn't mean zero fun, especially at Ration Beverly (originally Ration Food Lab), the Beverly Hotel's new, innovative tasting menu restaurant. Foraging, fermentation and preservation are at the heart, which allows chefs to explore a variety of tastes and textures that will leave you feeling like you just stepped into a scientist's lab (they actually have a lab in the basement). The six-course tasting menu will change frequently to reflect the seasons but expect lots of plant-forward dishes that push the boundaries of vegetables, house-cured charcuterie and a signature katsuobushi cabbage that might just be the best darn bite in the city.
5. Neon Tiger
14 Dupont St.
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From the creative minds who brought us Korean snack bar OddSeoul on Ossington comes its ultraviolet sister spot at Dupont and Avenue Road. Neon Tiger bellies Oddseoul's pocket-shop space with its three stories and three patios (hello, 90-seat back patio). The food is pan-Asian tapas-style so except palm-sized beauties like curried veg tacos and bulgogi cheesesteak with sambal mayo.
6. Mandy's
52 Ossington Ave.
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Whoever said salads are boring (we said that), has yet to try the green dreams at Mandy's. The much-hyped gourmet salad shop and restaurant from Montreal has landed on the iconic Ossington strip — you can't miss the sparkling, pastel blue rowhouse — and the salads put our package of wilting spring mix to shame.
You can choose from a menu of bright signature salads (Endless Summer is our fave so far) as punchy and bright as the shop's interior, or create your own. They also have hearty and healthy soups and bowls, smoothies and fresh-pressed juice.
7. BB’s diner
1566 Queen St. W.
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BB's is back, baby! We were crushed when our fave Filippino-inspired brunch spot closed at the start of the pandemic (the building got sold). But now we can tuck into a heaping plate of their Silog (sinangag is garlic fried rice; itlog is egg) at their new Parkdale spot on hungover Sundays before the scaries kick in. Their house sausage is amazing, but you gotta try the house corned beef hash. For caesar lovers, BB's has the Tito Caezar with sweet and sour tamarind and a tajin rim.
8. Bar Chica
75 Portland St.
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From the people who brought us Patria and Toronto Beach Club (and a bunch of other T.O. hot spots) comes a hideaway dedicated to Barcelonian-inspired bites. Look for the decaled windows on Portland Street and you'll find Chica, a sultry, late-night tapas bar. Snack on small plates of playfully remixed classic Spanish tapas alongside creative cocktails and interesting Spanish wines and sherries. Snap a pic of the handmade mosaic wall — looks like you're in Barcelona after all.
9. Osteria Giulia
134 Avenue Rd.
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The success of Italian eatery Giulietta on College Street could intimidate some from opening a sister spot, but not chef Rob Rossi. The chef's latest endeavour, Osteria Giulia doesn't steal the spotlight from Giulietta, but it does shine on its own. The new Yorkville trattoria is all about the culinary delights of Italy's coastal Ligurian region: simple yet elegantly prepared fish, hand-shaped seafood pasta, and a glorious stracchino-stuffed focaccia we can't stop thinking about.
10. Pizza Wine Disco
788 King St. W.
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Pizza Wine Disco just took our ideal night in and turned it into a night out on King West. So it's slippers off and sequins on; we're ready to load up on carbs and dance in public again at this super fun restaurant and discothèque. Besides glorious pies, PWD has comforting pastas and shareables like doughy oven-baked garlic knots. Catch us bobbing our heads while sipping some pinot grigio like an elder-millennial in the neon disco room.
11. Adrak Yorkville
138 Avenue Rd.
Indian food always brings a few favourites to mind: comforting chana masala, fluffy naan or potato roti drenched in curry sauce… The stuff of daydreams. While those dishes are classics, a meal at Adrak Yorkville will open your eyes to the wonders of contemporary Indian cuisine set in a plush atmosphere. The new Avenue Road spot is striking: Dine under hatched arches, enveloped by golden-brown lighting and ornate wallpaper. The menu elegantly balances sophisticated and accessible, with familiar favourites like tandoori and biryani appearing beside knock-out dishes like the shelled, whole bhatti lobster. Order one of the cocktails, each based on a different region of the country, and prepare for some smokey and fiery presentations.
