This hotspot should be named Experience Aperitivo because it’s more than just a bar. David Rocco’s Bar Aperitivo will transport you from Yorkdale to Italy with the decorative photos of Napoli that surround the entrance of the storefront. Bar Aperitivo is the type of place you stop for a Spritz on your way home from

For their second home on Peter Street, Bar Hop Brewco. put Mark Cutrara (Cowbell) in charge of the kitchen. The first floor is open for business, and the vibe is warm and welcoming. There are 36 beers on tap, with draught selections updated weekly, and 1,200 litres of Amsterdam’s saison available for vertical tastings.

Owned by restaurateur and chef Grant van Gameren, Bar Isabel has been a staple on the Toronto food scene since opening its doors in 2013. It can be credited with establishing van Gameren as a unique creative force at the pinnacle of the city’s culinary scene following his rise in the kitchen of the legendary

Grant van Gameren and Robin Goodfellow, of the superb Bar Isabel, opened Raval to mimic the tapas bars of Barcelona. Its look is pure Gaudi, mahogany carved into great swooping curves and cutouts, a triumph of gorgeous whimsy. It’s a bar. You stand. No cutlery save for a tiny fork, mostly finger food — pintxos

If you judge a book by its cover, then this place is dead. It looks like a cheesy, overdecorated ethnic caricature, with more Spanish tchotchkes than any sane person should have to look at. The menu too is off-putting, in its excessive length, which suggests that you can have anything you want — from the

Named for one of the liveliest downtown neighbourhoods of Lisbon, Chiado is bringing a taste of Portugal to Toronto. Albino Silva, one of North America’s most critically acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs, is serving, what he calls, bold “progressive Portuguese” flavours with creative presentation. Fish from the Azores islands are flown in every day to ensure

Translating loosely to “I stay at the sake house”, Kintaro Izakaya is a Japanese restaurant on College Street that specializes in the culture’s version of tapas. The design is very intimate as the floor is filled with booths, allowing you to directly enjoy your company and the time you spend together. They specialize in a

Lobby is an eclectic new Queen West lounge from Reza Abedi (Lavelle, Goldie) and Juno award-winning DJ Nick Fiorucci. With a Lavelle partner and a DJ as co-owners, it’s perhaps no surprise that Lobby straddles the line between restaurant and club, offering bottle service, swanky cocktails, and frequent DJ performances. Abedi was inspired by the

Catalan flavours are flamenco dancing onto peoples palates at the Distillery District’s Madrina Bar Y Taperia. Celebrated gastronome and native Catalan Ramon Simarro has curated a tapas menu that features your favourite memories from the Mediterranean with some international influences. The interior is beaming and whimsical and, in typical Spanish fashion, is fitted with native

For Hanif Harji and Charles Khabouth, it’s all about the details. Originally slated to open properly in time for TIFF — when it did open for a brief stint — Patria officially swung open its doors a few weeks ago. Harji and Khabouth’s latest offering is an ode to all things Spanish. Translating into “fatherland,” the term patria is reflective of the restaurant’s desire to showcase traditional Spanish cuisine.

The slabs of jamón serrano hanging in the window are the first clue as to Pimentón’s offerings. José Arato’s uptown space is part grocery store and part take-out joint, with a dash of cooking school on the side; the essence of Spain links everything together. Fire-engine-red and lime green walls set off rows of high-end products (think homemade strawberry jam and wedges of goat cheese), while salads and sides greet visitors from the countertop display.

These days, Food Dudes Inc. is a booming business. The company caters around 1,000 events per year from its massive kitchen in Toronto’s east end, resulting in millions of dollars of revenue per year. So it may seem strange that the owners have spent the last eight months and nearly half a million dollars setting up a 50-seat restaurant near Harbord and Spadina.

From Yorkville to downtown and now to Corktown, Reyna sure does get around. Bar Reyna’s newest expansion, Reyna on King, operates as a café and restaurant when the sun is out, but when it goes down, Reyna on King becomes a spot for cocktails and snacks. Designed as a grab-and-go daytime lunch spot, Reyna on

Owner Gary Tsang and chef Richard Andino have opened Tapagria on Commerce Valley Drive in Markham as an ode to their shared loved of Spanish food. The menu ranges from tapas and pintxos to full plates to desserts.

Chef Jose Salgado’s expertise has been showcased on various prominent TV shows, from Breakfast Television to ones showcased on the Food Network. Those who want to enjoy his award-winning tapas in person can dine at Tapas at Embrujo, where Salgado makes sure that authentic Spanish tapas classics like tortilla de patatas, Gambas al ajillo and

(Asian food + tapas dining style) X a cool space = a good night: the Opium Bar has solved this equation. The bar specializes in all varieties of Asian cuisine, often fusing more than one together, as is the case with their traditional Japanese snack of grilled octopus tentacle on a skewer but flavoured with

The Shozan Room’s long-anticipated opening has arrived, and the two-storey locale at Ossington and Dundas West is advertising “new wave” Japanese creations that pay homage to their culinary roots while simultaneously breaking all of its rules. “Our starting point was traditional Japanese food,” says CEO, co-owner and co-chef Squid-Ti, “But we completely deconstructed it and