The latest resto news hot off the burner.
CHA CHA CHA
Temporarily shuttered last summer when its lease ran out, Yonge and Eglinton’s Cha Liu is set to relaunch as Cha Lau (476 Yonge, at Alexander, 647-344-6578, chalaudimsum.com) this Monday April 23rd. The name might have changed but the agenda remains the same: mainstream dim sum like har gow and siu mai at slightly higher price points than Chinatown but minus the grungy Spadina veneer. It wasn’t for nowt that the original was known almost universally as “that nice place on the second floor with the tablecloths.”
FRESH GINGER
David Tran and crew have just opened the ninth (!) location of Ginger (355-1/2 Yonge, at Elm, 416-694-3278,gingercuisine.ca) in the old Mariko space. Not much on the inexpensive pan-Asian menu’s unfamiliar but the new room’s trendy look is a move upmarket, no doubt to do better battle for the Ryerson student buck with the similar Salad King (340 Yonge, at Elm, 416-593-0333, saladking.com) directly across the street.
EASY DOES SIT
Watch for Peter Morrison of long-running lunch ‘n’ brunch spot Easy (easyrestaurant.ca) to launch a second all-day diner in the unfortunately named and now-defunct Sit in Bangkok at 713 College. The opening’s expected for mid-May in time for patio season.
“After 12 years, we’ve finally figured out what works best – breakfast!” says Morrison.
TACO TIME
A couple of blocks west, the crew behind La Carnita (lacarnita.com) pop-up taco joint go permament with the imminent takeover of Charles Khabouth’s doomed Briscola (briscola.ca) at 501 College. Next door at Grace (503 College, at Palmerston, 416-944-8884, gracerestaurant.ca), owners Leslie Gibson and Chris Hoffman have named ex-Woodlot sous-chef Kevin Castonguay as Top Chef season-one runner-up Dustin Gallagher’s replacement.
