It may have been a relatively slow week for restaurant openings, but we did hear about several new ones that are in the planning stages. We’re looking forward to more Uncle Tetsu, Holy Chuck and Top Gun in the near future.
Just Opened
- Popbox MicroMrkt opened back in May on Dovercourt, near Bloor and advertise themselves as: “your A.M. cup of coffee and your P.M. grocery run – it’s Toronto’s first vital bodega.” [Facebook]
Coming Soon
- We broke the story this week that Holy Chuck will open their third burger shack this October. The plan is for it to share the space at 586 Yonge St. with Northbound Leather.
- News came by press release that Uncle Tetsu’s Japanese Matcha Cafe will open next to the hyper popular cheesecake shop next week.
- I remember wondered when Top Gun Steak opened if steak sandwiches could really be popular enough to support a whole restaurant operation. Well, sure enough, the owners have now opened Top Gun Burgers, a sister restaurant that serves the proletarian version of the original offering.
- Word this week was that Marben chef, Rob Bragagnolo, has plans to open Carver, a casual sandwich joint. He will preview the menu at this year’s Taste of Toronto.
Restaurant Coverage
- Not all of the vendors are technically restaurants, but you’ll still want to check out our guide to Toronto’s night markets for tips on where to eat al fresco, after dark this summer.
- Toronto’s best known ice cream sandwich specialists, Scoop Shop and Moo Milk Bar, duked it out in this month’s Too Close to Call.
- As our First Look at Pho King Fabulous detailed, midtown Toronto now has a local option for pho and other Vietname staples.
- On one hand, Porchetta and Co. is known for doing one thing — their namesake sandwich — right. On the other, the occasional specials, like the fried chicken club can also be mighty delicious.
- Our restaurant critic, Joanne Kates, loves the food at Bar Raval, but isn't sure the lack of chairs will fly in Toronto.
- Dry aged steaks and seafood towers now have a home north of the city at the newly renovated XXI Chophouse.
- Finally, we also got a First Look at Kasa Moto, the newest spot from the Chase Group that serves contemporary Japanese food.
Changes and Other News
- David Chang has momentarily regained his spot as the most-talked-about New York restaurateur with the opening of Fuku, his spicy fried chicken sandwich joint. We reached out to his Toronto reps and asked if there are plans to bring Fuku north of the border and they said that NYC is the focus right now. Well, at least that’s not a “no”.
