The Roundup: This Week in Toronto (February 21-26)

Written By

TasteToronto

2 years ago

Check out what's happening in Toronto this week, from highly anticipated openings, closures, events, pop-ups and more -- the round-up is your number one source for staying up to date with Toronto's fast-paced food scene!

1. Fresh Restaurants rebrands as Fresh Kitchen + Juice Bar

Fresh Restaurants recently revealed its new brand identity, Fresh Kitchen and Juice Bar, paying homage to its history as plant-based trailblazers.

While there have been other goals through the years, the leading principle has always been to produce great-tasting food. Fresh Kitchen and Juice Bar strives to do just that: producing food that is nutritious, balanced, unique, good for the planet and most importantly — delicious.

Ruth Tal, the original founder of Fresh, started Juice for Life, a pop-up juice bar, in 1991. Fast forward 30 years, and that vision to create a vibrant, fun and friendly restaurant and juice bar has evolved with the return of fresh juices, rotating soup features, five new menu items and new smoothies, shakes and cold drinks.

Some of the returning juices include "24 Karat" (carrot juice), "The Glow" (carrot, apple turmeric, ginger lemon) and "Energy Elixir" (mint, cucumber, kale, grapefruit, apple.)

New craveable menu items include The Botanist Salad, The Favourite Bowl, BBQ Cauliflower Bites, 9 Layer Burrito and Cali Burger.

Fresh Kitchen and Juice Bar can be found at eight locations around the city. Dine-in guests during February will receive a bounce-back offer with free juice for their following visit, while supplies last.

2. Kinton Ramen unveils first Newmarket location

Executive Chef Aki Urata is bringing 20 years of ramen experience to Newmarket with Kinton Ramen's first outpost in the city. This location is special in other ways as well, as it marks the restaurant group's first spot under its Employee Franchise program which is dedicated to partnering with current and past employees.

Throughout the years, Kinton ramen has earned its reputation for curating memorable dining experiences by serving up a plethora of authentic Japanese-style ramen dishes that have come to be synonymous with the restaurant. The latest location will bring the same experience to a new community, allowing the people of Newmarket to enjoy the delicious dishes without having to travel far.

"We are grateful to Chef Aki for all he has brought to us, and we can't wait for the Newmarket community to experience the exceptional food and hospitality that Kinton Ramen is known for,” James Kim, CEO of Kinka Family, said.

Check out the brand new Kinton Ramen location at 18185 Yonge St., Unit 1, East Gwillimbury, ON.

3. A new Japanese tapas bar in Thornhill serves Toronto's most extravagant sushi roll

A new Japanese bistro and tapas bar recently opened in Thornhill. Azabu Toronto is quickly making a name for itself thanks to a mix of exquisite plating techniques and high-quality ingredients. Along with assorted sashimi and seafood crudos, there are plenty of shareables, like truffle mac n’ cheese and beef tongue steak. But the star of the menu is the 24K Roll—hamachi, scallop and salmon delicately wrapped in a 24K gold and squid ink rice roll, then topped with uni, toro, and caviar!

4. Kost new Winterlude experience, prix-fixe menu for lunch until the end of the month

Kost, located on the 44th floor of the Bisha Hotel, is offering a new Winterlude menu, serving guests a prix-fixe menu for both lunch and dinner. The $45 lunch menu includes dishes like a Burrata Salad, Baby Gem Salad, Beef Tartare, Cioppino Cod, Ricotta Agnolotti, Kost Burger and a Tres Leches Cake for dessert, while the prix-fixe dinner menu also includes a Striploin Steak and Seared Salmon as additional main course options. Lunch is available Monday to Friday, and dinner is available Sunday to Thursday.

5. Wild Blue Bakery opening near St. Clair West

Opening at 366 Oakwood Ave. (near St. Clair West Village) this April, Wild Blue Bakery is a 100 per cent gluten-free bakery that sells a mix of savoury and sweet. Run by owner and founder Rikki Cohen, the spot’s bestsellers include their hand rolled, molasses-boiled bagels, gooey cinnamon rolls, braided challah, and Bagel Bombs—bagel dough buns stuffed with a variety of savoury fillings.

6. Check out The Weekender Cafe pop-up brought to you by Patois and friends

This weekend, February 24 to 26, check out The Weekender Cafe pop-up located at 796 Dundas St W. Hosted by Toronto restaurant Patois and friends like JunePllum, Barbet, Sundays Coffee Club, Thinker, Nonny, Mmann, clover, Wong's Ice Cream and Repurpus for plenty of coffee, snacks, cold drinks, bubbles, merch, rare books and more!

7. Crafty ramen opening first Toronto restaurant location

Crafty Ramen, popular Guelph-based ramen shop founded by husband and wife team Jared and Miki Ferrall, is bringing their bowls to downtown Toronto. Known for their unique take on classic ramen and their at-home ramen meal experience, Crafty Ramen’s first Toronto restaurant location will open its doors on Thursday, March 16 at 217 Ossington Avenue.

8. Toronto is getting its first stock market-themed bar and premier cocktail lounge

As Toronto’s first stock exchange cocktail lounge, Torontonians can soon observe the prices of items from appetizers to cocktails rise and fall with the interest of their fellow patrons (or “traders”) in real-time, through a unique software designed to mimic the stock exchange and create a dynamic market pricing system.

CKTL & Co., aptly named after the ticker symbol for cocktail, will feature a cocktail-forward beverage menu with an impressive beer and wine selection, available on tap. And, with a food menu equally diverse as the stock market, CKTL & Co.’s fare will draw on international inspirations while remaining approachable with recognizable bar favourites.

Located at 330 Bay Street in the Financial District, CKTL & Co. will open sometime in March, 2023.

9. Lao Lao Bar is set to open at the end of this month

Owners Jason and Seng are widely known in the Toronto restaurant scene as previous owners of the beloved Sabai Sabai, alongside Jeff and Nuit Regular. Lao Lao’s vision is to nourish the senses, and to allow guests to slow down, connect and revel together amongst the Laotian-inspired dishes and breathtaking decor.

Find Lao Lao Bar at 5 St. Joseph Street.

9. 915 Dupont slated to open in March

A hi-fi listening bar specializing in Japanese whisky, coffee and cocktails is set to open sometime in March, 2023, located at 915 Dupont.

10. Vela is teaming up with Tachi and Sushi Masaki Saito to bring a limited sushi pop-up next week

Vela has announced a limited-time pop-up event starting on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 featuring chefs from Tachi and a special sushi menu designed by the renowned Michelin Chef Masaki Saito. The pop-up event will be running from Tuesday to Thursday from 5:30pm to 7:30pm so be sure to secure your spot!

11. Celebrate National Margarita Day for an entire month at Baro

While margaritas are generally considered a summertime classic, the very existence of National Margarita Day on Feb. 22 alludes to the fact that these delicious and highly-versatile drinks can be enjoyed all year long.

Tapping into the staunch following that the cocktail has garnered, Baro has created three new Patron-based cocktails to celebrate the margarita. The three offerings will be on the menu from Wednesday until March 22.

The three limited-time offerings are as follows:

Margarita Rosa: made with Patron Silver, it’s a deliciously-sweet cocktail with hints of grapefruit and lime and is topped with Maraschino.

Classic Margarita: the drink that started it all, this version is made with Patron Silver, boasting of fresh lime and agave flavours mixed in with Cointreau.

Spicy Margarita: if you’re someone who’s always looking for the next hottest thing, both figuratively and literally, look no further than this concoction infused with Scrappy’s Fire Tincture and mixed with Cointreau with agave and lime.

Located in the heart of Toronto’s King West neighbourhood, Baro was named one of the top 100 restaurants in Canada for its electric Latin cuisine and reimagined dishes and cocktails with a distinct modern Mexican flair. This limited-time margarita menu merges the creativity of Baro's traditional Latin tastes with renditions of everyone’s beloved libation comprised simply of triple sec, tequila and lime juice.

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