Advertisement

Food & Drink

Soma heads west

There’s no question that Soma (55 Mill, bldg 48, unit 102, at Trinity, 416-815-7662) is one of the best – if not the number one – chocolatiers in town.

Problem is, the specialty shop’s location in the Distillery District is off the eaten path for most other than busloads of Japanese and German tourists. That dilemma’s solved now that husband and wife owners Cynthia Leung and David Castellan have just softly opened a second Soma at the far more accessible corner of King West and Spadina.

“The space used to be a high-end kitchen place,” says Leung. “But it sat empty for three or four years and was in kind of rough shape.”

Not really suitable for a restaurant or a lounge, the oddly shaped storefront is a perfect fit for Soma, with a fancy-pants coffee bar and retail space up front, and a bakery out back. Who did the design?

“I did, thank you” laughs Leung, a former architect and graphic designer.

Leung also reveals that there’s now a third Soma at 35 Golden Street near Dundas West and Roncesvalles.

“We call it our cocoa lab,” says Leung. “It’s the heart of Soma, really. So, we’ll be roasting the beans there and processing them into cocoa nibs which we then take down to the Distillery and turn into chocolate bars.

“We’ve picked up a lot of vintage chocolate making equipment in Italy a couple of years ago but we haven’t had anywhere to set it up until now. They’re these really big, gorgeous machines.”

Sadly, the lab isn’t open to the public.

“But we will be doing periodic chocolate tastings in the factory. Where else can you do that other than Willy Wonka?”

Soma Chocolate King West, 443 King W, at Spadina, 416-599-7662. Open 8 am to 8 pm, 11 to 8 Saturday, closed Sunday

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Recently Posted