The official opening with a full menu is Saturday the 13th, but today gave a good indication of who the crowd is and what the restaurant is about. The interior is beautiful in an industrial kind of way, with soft woods contrasted with hard painted concrete and glass and crystal in the floors and chandeliers.

The people who came to the soft-launch opening were among the Toronto beautiful -  a quick sighting of Shinan Govani, the National Post gossip columnist was among the famous people (if you’d call him famous – and keep in mind, I’m not a star finder). I ended up talking to a few interesting local artists, musicians and business owners, there by invitation who, while they may not be back after opening, are excited to have a new place in the area.

Service wasn’t extremely fast, but everyone who was working the pre-show evening was very friendly and I ended up in the back sharing a few oysters with some attendees and a chef who was only too willing to share his food knowledge with whoever was there to listen.

We’re looking forward to the ‘real’ launch on Saturday and hoping that Boehmer adds a new and unexpected dimension to Ossington.