Salt Wine Bar is a spanish tapas restaurant in Ossington, Toronto.
Salt Wine Bar at the north end of Ossington is chef Dave Kemp's Iberian-Canadian tapas room since 2009, Portuguese and Spanish wines by the glass.
Signature dishes: Iberian tapas, Portuguese wine flight
Must order: A round of tapas at the bar with a Portuguese white from the cellar.
Tip: Closed Mondays. The wine list runs deeper Portuguese than Spanish; ask for the natural-wine section.
Address: 225 Ossington Ave, Toronto, ON M6J 2Z8
Buca Yorkville in the Four Seasons hotel is the King Street Food Co.'s northern outpost since 2014, chef Rob Gentile's pasta and crudo plus a wine bar.
Signature: Handmade pasta, Roman-style pizzas, Seafood
Order: A handmade pasta and a wood-fired Roman-style pizza.
Tip: Sister to Buca King West. Reservations on OpenTable; the courtyard entry on Yorkville Avenue.
Akira Back at the Bisha Hotel is chef Akira Back's first Canadian outpost since 2017, the 2nd-floor Japanese-Korean fusion room behind the hotel lobby.
Signature: Tuna pizza, Korean-Japanese plates
Order: The tuna pizza and the AB tacos with hamachi.
Tip: Reservations on OpenTable. Sister Kost on the 44th-floor penthouse upstairs.
Lapinou on King West is a French neo-bistro since 2019, Michelin Guide listed, regional French dishes by chef Jamie Ullrich with a focused natural-wine list.
Signature: French neo-bistro plates, Natural wine
Order: The duck a l'orange and a glass from the Loire section.
Tip: Lapinou rabbit en cocotte the must-order; the bar pours French growers by the glass.
Allen's on the Danforth has run an Irish pub kitchen since 1987, 340 whiskies and 140 beers, the strip's longest pub two stops from Broadview station.
Signature: Irish pub fare, Irish whiskey flights
Order: A shepherd's pie or burger with a flight of Irish whiskey.
Tip: Walk-ins welcome. Live Irish music Tuesday and Friday nights; the back garden runs through summer.
Alo on the third floor of 163 Spadina has run Toronto's reference contemporary tasting room since 2015, a Michelin one-star kitchen under chef Patrick Kriss.
Signature: Contemporary tasting menu, Seasonal Canadian-French plates
Order: The full tasting menu; the kitchen drives the night.
Tip: Reservations open 90 days out at 10:00 EST on the website. Set a calendar alarm; Friday and Saturday seats clear within minutes.
Edulis on Niagara Street has been chefs Tobey Nemeth and Michael Caballo's truffle-and-game tasting kitchen since 2011, Michelin one-star since 2022.
Signature: Seafood tasting, Wild mushroom dishes
Order: Whatever the kitchen sends out; the menu is set per booking.
Tip: Book at exploretock.com/edulis well ahead. The room is small and the menu is tailored, so dietary notes go in your booking.
