Named after a neighbourhood in Barcelona, Spain, the sister restaurant to Bar Isabel has settled in Toronto’s Little Italy. Chef de cuisine Grant Van Gameren, in collaboration with Michael Webster and Robin Fellowman (who manage the bar), have created a unique space where standing to eat tapas with toothpicks is commonplace. The 40-seat pintxo bar serves authentic Spanish seafood from breakfast till dinner, highlighting sardines and cockles and scallops from the Galican coast of Spain. Featured plates include poached turnip, salt-cured tuna loin (mojama) and kale salad ($9). But, perhaps most interesting is the premium canned seafood from Conservas de Cambados ($18 to $68). Diners are surrounded by South American mahogany, vibrant painted tiles and a tendril-like wooden canopy overhead at the former home of Teatro, which was reimagined by local boutique design firm Partisians.
505 College St.
