Over the course of its lengthy existence, Yorkville restaurant Pangaea has been the subject of citywide esteem, even if its customer base dwindled in later years. Gina Mallet, the National Post’s late food critic, may have put it best: “Pangaea is so established, so reliably good, that it often seems to be taken for granted.”

Her words were prophetic. Pangaea has announced on its website that it has closed after around 20 years in business.

Pangaea was part of a dying breed of fine-dining restaurant, of the old-school, white tablecloth variety. Its cuisine was seasonal, ingredient-driven and labour-intensive (as one example, the restaurant’s cheese plate was completely made in-house).

Chef Martin Kouprie, who owned the restaurant with front-of-house maestro Peter Geary, told the Toronto Star that several “financial storms” over the years — including recession, SARS and two years of construction nearby — had depleted the restaurant’s coffers.

“Closing is expensive — pay all wages including vacation and tips, taxes, etc. — and we had the money to look after that now, which may not have held true if we continued,” he said.

It’s a loss for Toronto, but the restaurant’s legacy lives on, at least partially, in the Pangaea cookbook.