A clue to the name of the new place just popped up in a food event release featuring several chefs including Leemo Han, in which he is referenced from Swish by Han and Oddseoul.

With all the new restaurants that have opened recently on the strip, we still don’t have Korean, so that coupled with the good reviews for Swish by Han, makes us eager for the opening, which is planned for August.

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?

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.

Academy of Lions, a local fitness club, is relocating from their spot on Dundas West which is going to become condo residences built by stylish local builder RAW Design.

However we are also excited to see that a new Espresso and Ice Cream Bar called Eagles Nest will be moving in along Dundas in a space previously held by an import kitchen housewares shop right close to The Garrison. Our research suggests that it’s the same owner as the kitchen shop, but they have decided to go in a different direction.

We will keep an eye on both spaces and let you know how they evolve.

Other Rumours and Notes:

• There is discussion about a small brewery looking to locate in one of the local Ossington spaces. Nothing is set yet, as it’s early stages.
• Gallery 129 Ossington is closed for the summer for renovation. Looking to be open again in the fall.
• City Store Grocery on Dundas closed their doors and the space is now for lease.

There was also press this week that the LakeView Storehouse was set to open on Monday. We poked by and it looks like this rumour is true. The paper is finally off of the window, the shelves are stocked and they looked like they were doing final cleanup before opening. This little convenience store/deli, like the Lakeview Diner it’s an extension of, is going to be open 24/7.

There was also a note in Eye Weekly that Amaya Express, which put up their sign a few weeks ago, is set to open in a couple weeks. We also walked by Fishbar this morning. Although they are about a month behind schedule, it looks like they are putting final touches on the decor for an opening very soon.

Also coming soon, Bohmer is going to be opening for brunch. They have decided to open on the busiest brunch day of the year, Mother’s Day. They won’t be taking reservations, so show up early and get some of that great food.

Now we’ll just have to spend our time wondering when The Saint, a restaurant that has been ‘opening soon’ for the past couple years, will finally move forward and let us in, or move on and let someone else open.

There are a few Amaya Express locations already in Toronto, so, by going through websites and reviews for the other locations, I now have an idea of what we can expect on Ossington.

First, they offer delivery, which isn’t that common in the neighborhood. It’s Indian food, which is a new cuisine for our neighborhood. Take note, this is “express” and offered in food courts downtown, so I am not expecting fine dining. Still, the opening of Amaya Express will fill a new niche in the area. We don’t have a wide variety of quick take-out lunch or dinner options, so this will be another option.

Yelp reviews don’t really provide a lot of insight, as they are all over the place, with a 3 rating, which is average. This does depend upon the location, however, so let’s hope we get a good one!

From the looks of the interior of the restaurant, Amaya won’t be open for at least a few more weeks. There was a pile of dry wall on the floor, and then after they install that, I imagine counters, lighting, floors, etc will need to be installed.

Since there are several Amaya Express locations around town, some of you must have tried their food. Let us know in the comments what you think.

Their website had indicated that they were leaving to pursue other goals as of a month or so ago.

As of January 2011 C1 art space will be taking an indefinite hiatus on all adult classes, kids classes and parties, as we pursue other teaching and art related projects. We thank everyone for your interest and attending our little school over the last 6 years.

It has been an incredibly rewarding experience. If you need any suggestions on where to take classes just send us a quick email and we will forward you a list of places to possibly check out.

Happy creating!
With warmest regards,
Sandra Tarantino and Ross Bonfanti Co-Directors

This is what is on the front door of the space as of last night:

We’re looking forward to our new Ossington tenant.

The happy hour menu has some nice bar snacks as well as some drinks that are priced very competitively. (I mean, $3 beers, who can beat that?!)

The dinner menu they’ve posted offers similar smaller-item fare as Salt Wine Bar, but also includes some larger non-fish items like a skirt steak as well as leitao – a portuguese version of suckling pig.

We are excited for the opening. What will you be trying when they open?