Posted by Greg Clow in restaurant closings, restaurant news, restaurant openings on July 13, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Barely a year after the opening of their original location, the folks behind Amaya - and the more recently opened expansion, Amaya Express - have branched out again with Bread Bar (3305 Yonge Street). The menu at the new spot retains the upscale Indian theme that's been very successful for them so far, with dishes such as lobster naan (yes, please!), crab kulcha and lemon sole served up in tapas-style portions meant for sharing.
On the more casual and downtown side of things, the fittingly named Midpoint (1180 Queen Street West), which sits pretty much exactly halfway between the Drake and the Gladstone, has been valiantly opening for the last few weeks despite the delay in receiving their liquor license (it should finally arrive later this month, they hope). Being boozeless is obviously not an ideal state for a place to be in along that increasingly bar-cluttered strip of West Queen West, but the eclectic and in-flux menu featuring influences from Mexico, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and beyond has proved to be a hit with the beer-soaked masses looking for late night nosh that's a step up from a stale pizza slice.
One new place that definitely does have the booze flowing is The Ossington (61 Ossington Avenue), where microbrews and wines start at a reasonable $4 and $5 respectively, and the food menu is limited to a few small plates, making it obvious that this is meant to be a place to get your drink on. If it's food you're looking for on Ossington, the list of options will soon be expanding with the opening of Pizzeria Libretto (221 Ossington Avenue), a traditional Italian eatery from chef Rocco Agostino (Silver Spoon).
Things have gotten a little sweeter in Little Portugal with the recent relocation of fancy cookie bakery Messa Bites from their Mount Pleasant storefront to 913 Dundas Street West. A bit northwest of there, the neighbourhood now has a sort of mini-Pusateri's in the form of Pantry (974 College Street), which does triple duty as a cozy café, fine food grocery and gourmet take-out counter.
Walking home from the Liberty Village Market each Sunday morning, we've been trying to peek through the papered-up windows at Mildred's Temple Kitchen (85 Hanna Avenue), the new incarnation of the much-missed Mildred Pierce, to see how close they might be to opening. Sadly, no clues have been forthcoming, but we remain hopeful that it'll be soon. In the meantime, renovations at Mildred's old home are also progressing, and will soon result in a new fine dining restaurant named Oasi (99 Sudbury) featuring the involvement of Albino Silva (Chiado, Adega) and sommelier John Szabo.
Finally, a closure to announce: gimmicky "kids food for adults" spot Picnic (2411 Yonge Street) was suddenly shuttered last month. Perhaps the opening of the similarly named but quite differently themed Pic Nic (747 Queen Street East) caused some sort of cosmic imbalance that the restaurant gods had to put right. Or maybe people finally realised that how lame it is to spend 6 bucks on a mini PB&J sandwich.
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.
