Seven Toronto food trends from 2020 we want to stick around
It was an overall terrible year for restaurants and bars, but the COVID crisis also spurred creativity By Kelsey Adams
Samuel Engelking
To say 2020 was tough for Toronto’s restaurant and hospitality industry would be a vast understatement.
Running a restaurant or a bar in good times involves thin margins, uncanny adaptiveness and flexibility and this year stretched owners and staff to their absolute limit.
We lost many favourite spots that were integral to their neighbourhoods. Community hubs with storied local histories like Furama Bakery in Chinatown, Apiecalypse Now! in Koreatown and Cold Tea in Kensington Market, will be sorely missed.
We miss going to bars, we really (really,
really) do. But until we can all safely sidle up to one, many of the city’s best wine bars have switched up their offerings, transforming into streetside vino patios, bottle bodegas and de facto wine clubs. All of them offer a selection of bottles seldom found at your neighbourhood LCBO.
Remember that as per law, you still have to purchase food with your bottle. But that’s hardly a tough ask considering many places are offering souped-up snacks for takeout, like Happy Coffee and Wine’s crispy shrimp burgers and Midfield Wine Bar’s melée of house-made charcuterie. Here, 13 of the best new places to celebrate Wine Wednesday (or any day of the week).