The other night we received a note in the mail from some concerned neighbours about Hawker Bar, the new occupants of the unopened space just north of Foxley previously occupied by Crepes and More (and prior to that Bar a Soup). They are looking to bring Singapore Street Food to Ossington. (see video described by Anthony Bordain)
To keep you as informed as possible, we’re sharing the letter from the concerned citizens as well as the local information package from the team behind Hawker Bar. Share your thoughts in the comments.
Anticipation is often the best part of life’s experiences – think Christmas, sex, and the opening of a new restaurant on Ossington. There are a number of places in the neighbourhood that we’ve been watching for a while which haven’t opened yet, but we’re looking forward to them. Sometimes it takes a long time to open a restaurant and many impediments can slow down the process, from city permits to obtaining financing.
Working backward from the most recent additions to this list of upcoming restaurants are:
1) Hawker Bar. The sign announcing this upcoming opening came on Jan 27th and we posted about it then. According to their blog and the sign in the window, they will be a location with drinks as well as food inspired by Singapore street food – a combination of Malaysian, Chinese and Indian. Since that time the exterior has undergone a nice transformation and they look like they are making speedy progress toward their opening.
2) The Grove is around the corner on Dundas and looks like they are moving quickly toward opening. The construction was underway late last year and even today there are people in the location working away building a nice bar and kitchen. This restaurant aims to bring English cuisine to the neighbourhood. According to a Jan 9th article in the Grid some of the menu items will include Black Pudding and pigs cheeks.
3) Going further back in time we continue to monitor the slow progress of Amaya, which we originally wrote about last March. Amaya is going to be an addition to a chain of Indian restaurants with other locations in the First Canadian Place and on Bayview in Leaside. We have often wondered what the hold-up is on this location, as this chain should be able to put a restaurant together quickly.
4) Topping our list for the most delayed, and/or most anticipated Ossington restaurant has to be The Saint. A full three years ago we assume their PR folks talked Toronto Life into a nice puff piece describing the food and interior of an incomplete restaurant which included “reclaimed wood, marble bar tops and sumptuous oxblood banquettes …[and] promises that there will still be a down-to-earth feel.” In August of that year, David Hayes of the Globe and Mail went along with that myth and named Michael King the new “Wizard of Ossington,” despite the existence of an open business on the street. However, we are hoping it is close to opening at Ossington just south of Dundas. There has been progress on the location. A few months ago we were excited to see a new facade on the location as well as signage go up. So we believe the end of the beginning is coming soon. The street has been vastly changed since the articles were written and places like Salt Wine Bar, Yours Truly, Fishbar, Union and Bohmer have all managed to launch to continued success in the meantime.
Maybe we should have a pool to see whether we can guess the order of these restaurants to open up. Anyone care to try?
Signs posted at 164 Ossington signal the impending opening of Hawker Bar. The space, which used to house Crepes and More, and before that, le Bar a Soupe, is adjacent to Ideal Coffee and, with good management, should do well in the location.
According to a posted sign written to the neighbours, Hawker Bar will be a full-service restaurant serving lunch and dinner. The menu will be an “exciting mix of Malaysian, Chinese and Indian flavours… inspired by the local street food… of… Singapore”. Opening date TBD.
Soon-to-open new restaurant The Grove, next to Churchill on Dundas at Lakeview, is already getting preview attention for its English menu.
The local art scene is also getting some coverage, starting with a story about art which mentions some street art on Queen near Ossington. It’s a cool picture – definitely want to check it out!
About this time of year, we like to look back and see what people have been reading on the site and highlight the most popular posts of the year by traffic.
The list is interesting, reflecting not only what’s been popular, but also highlighting places and events we have covered first, been the only ones to cover, or which do not have their own web presence.
1) The Port – updated local spot keeps traditional Beef Shishkabob The first on the list is actually a post written in 2010 about The Port on Dundas. They did an overhaul at the end of last year but decided to keep the one menu item the new managers thought would sell, a delicious beef shishkabob which comes to the table on a sword.
2) Fishbar Opens their Doors – In second place was our post about the long awaited Fishbar, which opened in May and has been going strong ever since. We especially like their Oyster matinee on weekend afternoons.
3) Havana Cultura Starts Today! – This post, written in 2010 for the first edition of the festival, is still more popular than the post we wrote about this year’s festival in July. We’re looking forward to many more years of this Cuban cultural festival remaining in the neighbourhood.
4) Beau Lieu Bistro is Now Open – We wrote this post in September 2010 and it’s still popular. It’s probably because this quiet French bistro hasn’t had much publicity in other media and audiences online are looking to know more.
5) The evolution of Dundas off Ossington – Another post from October 2010 remained popular through 2011. As the moratorium came to a close in 2010, we noticed the quick transition of Dundas to a more food-centric strip. At that time, many new places were opening, including Churchill, Enoteca Sociale, Brockton General, The Red Light, The Port, Camp 4, and more, all taking the local food and drink culture which had started on Ossington to a new place around the corner on Dundas.
6) Opening Soon: Amaya Express – There’s no doubt it takes a long time to get a restaurant open. We wrote about this Indian restaurant chain soon-to-be opening in March. Here it is December and we’re still waiting.
7) Cosmopolis shoot brings stars to Ossington and Dundas – It seems vampires are popular. When we wrote in May about how Robert Pattinson was filming in the neighbourhood, his fans immediately retweeted and shared our post. The day we posted this was one of the busiest days this year for traffic on the site.
Psst – There’s an Ossington Village Alleyway Party – In early August, local musician and bartender at Communist’s Daughter and organizer Michael Louis Johnson organized a party in the alleyway between Argyle and Foxley. This post was shared widely, letting people know of this no-so-secret event.
9) Yours Truly Now Open – Despite only being on the site for about 14 days, this post, written on December 16th about the new restaurant Yours Truly, is still in our top 10. We ended up stopping by later in the week and the food was outstanding. We’ll be back there a lot.
Over the past year, we welcomed a number of new businesses to the neighborhood, not as many as in 2010, but quite a few! We hope they’ll grow and succeed, so to help, we’ll remind you of these restaurants, stores and art galleries. If you haven’t visited them, you can add them to your “check out” list for 2012.
More than Pasta opened it’s doors officially at 121 Ossington in March 2011, but we got an advance look at the delicious pastas, sauces and prepared foods they make in-house.
Fishbaropened in May, serving happy hour and dinner at 217 Ossington Ave, and since then they’ve added a lunch menu for all the fish lovers around. Also in May, the Lakeview Storehouse opened, selling produce and groceries, along with poutine, adjacent to the Lakeview Restaurant on Dundas.
Just in time for summer, Eagle’s Nest Espresso and Ice Cream opened at 1199 Dundas Street West.
November was a busy month for openings: we noted the return of Lennox Contemporary, now at 44 Ossington, and the opening of The Dog Bowl at 984 Dundas West. Also new is G Gallery in the back at 134 Ossington.
In December we welcomedtwo of the newest businesses on the street: Yours Truly is now open 6 nights a week (closed Tuesday) for dinner at 229 Ossington, and Don’t Tell Mama is a gallery and art space.
There are also a lot of places we’ve been talking about opening but are still waiting for - like Amaya, The Saint and Bellwoods Brewery. More to look forward to in the new year!
We continue our series of “buy local” gift ideas in Ossington Village with another easy and plentiful option: a gift certificate for dinner.
With the plethora of restaurants in our neighborhood, you can buy a gift card to suit anyone’s tastes. All you have to do is stop by one of these establishments one night this week and buy a gift certificate, put it in a card, and you’re done. Maybe if you’re lucky, the recipient will take you for a meal! Bon appetit!
The gift: Restaurant gift certificate
Where to get it: Fishbar for seafood lovers, Boehmer for the traditional, Union for the meat eater, Delux for Cuban, Foxley for Asian tapas, Salt for Portuguese tapas, Pizza Libretto and Enoteca Sociale for Italian. If you want to introduce them to somewhere they haven’t tried, Yours Trulyjust opened, and don’t forget Beau Lieu Bistro for the Francophile. The list goes on and on.
Price range: Up to you
Who would like it: People who like to eat out. The range of choices in our neighborhood make it easy to please the people on your list.
New restaurant Yours Truly opened quietly this week at 229 Ossington, just south of Dundas. The menu is posted in the window, and it starts with a prix fixe card offering seasonal meat and veggie options. There is also a section of small plates. When we dropped by and spoke to a hostess, she told us they will soon show their menu online as it will change often.
We took some photos of the menu for your reference. You can also stop in and taste for yourselves! Let us know if you do go: we have some holiday parties this weekend, so won’t be able to try right away.
It’s only a few weeks away, and you still don’t have plans for New Year’s? No matter how cold it is, at least on Ossington you know you’ll find a cab home! Here are some great ways to celebrate the start of 2012.
Bohmer Restaurant is holding a Speakeasy New Year’s Eve, with a 5 course tasting menu with a glass of bubbly, for $75 pp.
At this year’s Dakota Tavern New Year’s party, CATL will have everyone dancing with a show starting at 10PM.
The Painted Lady sticks to what it does best, with music by Salazar and burlesque from Anastasia Burlesque.
The Ossington is planning an 80s boogie funk New Year with “Love Handle NYE Edition” with DJs starting at 10PM.
Opera Bob’s is hosting their 3rd Annual New Year’s Eve-Stravaganza, with live music from The Unknown Culprits and guests. Admission is $20 but go buy tickets in advance as they sold out well before the big night last year.
The Garrison‘s Annual New Year’s Eve party features Chronologic and Shit la Merde and tickets are available at Soundscapes and Rotate This for $20.
Lower Ossington Theatre‘s new event space, LOT, is hosting a New Year’s party for $10 with dancing all night. Tickets on sale now and the party starts at 10p.
UPDATE: Fishbar has announced their dinner menu for New Year’s (scroll down) and for $55 pp they are offering a 4 course meal, drinks not included.
People will be dancing at Levack Block. Featuring DJ Dougie Boom in the backroom with special guests in the front. Entry is $20 in advance, $30 at the door, plus there’s a $40 VIP wristband = entry to second floor & champagne toast at midnite. Doors open @ 10pm, serving till 3AM.
Tickets available at the bar from Thursday to Saturday from 5pm or through PayPal via levackblock@yahoo.com
We’ll keep updating this post as we learn of more happenings in the neighborhood.
Toronto weekly Now Magazine has released the results of its annual poll of the “Best of Toronto” and this year they shook things up with neighborhood awards and a few city-wide prizes. The awards are based on a reader survey, and we’d like to congratulate those local businesses who won kudos in 2011. Our coverage area gets divided between the “Queen West” and “Dundas West” neighborhoods in the poll.
Gallery TPW tops the Art category as Best Independent Art Gallery citywide and for Queen West. Show & Tell Gallery won the same category for Dundas West.
Not surprisingly, our neighborhood had a few Citywide Winners in the food category: Pizzeria Libretto for best pizza, The Dakota Tavern for best bar and pub, The Lakeview for best diner/greasy spoon. All three are also the tops in the Dundas West neighborhood. Pizzeria Libretto, The Lakeview and The Dakota are repeat winners in these categories – they were voted Toronto’s best in 2010.
2011 is a good year for The Dakota Tavern, which won a second award as the Best Blues Club city-wide.
There are many more winners now that they’re awarding every category in every neighborhood, so to see if your favourite is there, just look up Dundas West or Queen West. Congrats to all the winners!
New restaurant 
