Yorkvillers have all manner of highfalutin eats a few Louboutin steps from their doorman, but the city’s young restaurant-going public rarely makes time for the neighbourhood – even with a Drake sighting outside Sotto almost guaranteed.
Still, there are rumblings of new life. Last year, Buca outdid itself with its Cumberland location Daniel Boulud freshened up his namesake Café in the Four Seasons and the neighbourhood just welcomed an approachable new entry, Bar Reyna , a Mediterranean-inspired cocktail and snack bar.
Mind you, it’s not Queen West “approachable” – no fried chicken, no DJs, no neon signs, no bargain shots. But Nicki Laborie, a restaurant-industry veteran who until recently ran Toronto lifestyle site View The Vibe, was adamant about making this the kind of place you could hit for casual drinks with friends, as well as wooing a date or taking your mom somewhere nice.
“When I go out, I look for a place that’s cozy, somewhere I’m comfortable,” Laborie says. “There’s not a lot of this in Yorkville.”
Laborie had always had a soft spot for hanging out in Yorkville, but never knew where to go. When Carens Wine Bar announced its intention to move the business to Rosedale, she immediately saw the space’s potential. Now, thanks to wood panelling and a smattering of jewel tones, Bar Reyna is regal, beachy and just the right amount of girly. Upstairs, Moroccan lights cast geometric shadows over the walls in the evening. Out back, there’s an enclosed patio shielded by a roof so it can be used year round.
Shareable snack options at Bar Reyna include internationally inspired shoestring fries and pide topped with lamb merguez.
Chef Omar Ma (THR & Co., Cava, Buca Yorkville) came up with a slate of eats that borrows from Laborie’s native Bordeaux, as well as Italy, Turkey, Spain, Greece and Lebanon. Despite the challenges (“The kitchen is the size of my hand, so it should be interesting,” Laborie cracks), there’s a fairly lengthy menu ranging from small plates to very, very big ones.
Take, for example, the whimsical veggie “garden” platter ($18), which turns the usual plate of dips and crudités – a safe menu bet in health-conscious Yorkville – on its head. Carrots, cucumbers and pickled root veggies sprout up around pots of nutty hummus, tzatziki and olive tapenade. The kicker: pulverized gingerbread “soil” that adds a touch of sweetness.
Smaller appetites can opt for a snackable spinach and feta borek pastry ($9) or a few pintxos. Bigger groups should spring for the show-stopping cataplana ($58), which packs a Le Creuset pot with a half-lobster, shrimp, mussels, clams and monkfish, all a swim in a roasted red pepper sauce.
Starting July 3, diners can stop in for a brunch menu that features a standout Spanish take on a Cobb salad ($18), with chorizo, manchego, avocado, pickled onions and a poached egg all piled on top of a hefty bowl of shredded Napa.
If you’ve been partying into the wee hours – a feat enhanced by drinks like the flagship Her Royal Highness, a $30 4-ounce blend of rum, vodka, saffron-cardamom-rosewater syrup, orgeat and citrus juice – you can avail yourself of a United Nations’ worth of shoestring fries ($10): Arabic with za’atar and housemade spiced ketchup Greek with feta and oregano truffle-aioli Italian rosemary-topped French and a chorizo-manchego nod to Spain.
Is the right toast here “Salut” or “Yamas” or “Cincin” or “Fe sahetek”? My advice: just keep rotating them.
nataliam@nowtoronto.com | @nataliamanzocco
