As the lack of a mid-month T.O. Tidbits post will attest, February was fairly quiet on the restaurant front, with not much action in terms of openings and closures. But there were still a few changes, especially in the last week or two, with several things to report from both sides of the ledger.

On the list of new arrivals, the high-concept Nyood (1096 Queen Street West) and Four (187 Bay Street) have both opened their doors. Nyood was once-upon-a-time supposed to be called Bar Crudo, and opened by Colborne Lane partners Hanif Harji and chef Claudio Aprile, but when that business relationship crashed and burned, chef Roger Mooking took Aprile’s place, and the raw food theme was shifted to small plates (surprise, surprise!) with a Mediterranean influence. As for Four, we profiled them earlier this week just before they opened, so check out that article for the full scoop.

Up in midtown, the location that housed MIMOSA Bistro & Wine Bar until mid-January has undergone a quick change-over into Chakra (2497 Yonge Street), a high-end Indian restaurant with a focus on the Tandoori and Mughlai styles from the northern region of the country. And downtown, there are changes at a couple of hotel restaurants, with Senses in the Soho Metropolitan (318 Wellington Street West) reopening after a month off with a new look and a new menu (look for a full report on Taste T.O. later this week), and the tired JW’s Steakhouse in the Marriott Eaton Centre (525 Bay Street) getting new name - Trios Bistro - to go with chef Morgan Wilson’s new “contemporary Canadian” menu. This latter place offers a unique “5/10/20″ menu, where guests in a rush can get light snacks in 5 minutes, while more leisurely diners can get their meals in 10 or 20.

Saying farewell after over two decades is Peruvian restaurant El Bodegon (537 College Street), with the new owners set to reopen soon as the likely non-Peruvian Corner Stone. A couple of blocks west, Cucina (640 College Street) has also packed it in, although it’s rumoured that the same owner plans to relaunch the space under a different name.

That’s not the case with Izakaya (69 Front Street), the stylish Japanese restaurant that seemed to confuse a lot of diners who didn’t know what the Japanese word izakaya means and expected to see sushi on the menu. Partners John Sinopoli and Erik Joyal are leaving Front & Church, but they aren’t giving up - they’re just changing neighbourhoods (to Queen East) and styles (to European) with a yet to be named bistro set to open in the spring at 782 Queen Street East, previously the home of Food Savvy Eatery.

If you have a scoop to share about the local food & restaurant scene, please let us know so we can include it in a future edition of T.O. Tidbits.