7 Restaurants In Toronto That We Still Can't Believe Are Gone In 2020
This is a tough time for restaurants in Toronto, but some losses hit harder than others.
Some couldn't make it past the first wave, some have dropped in the second, and some closed before COVID-19 even hit just because 2020 sucks.
Here are 7 restaurants we've lost this year that even though we know they're gone, we still sort of expect to see pop up on Ritual.
Editor's Choice: This Toronto Park Is Perfect For A Romantic Stroll With Your Favourite Person
Marché Mövenpick
This was the place you brought your out-of-town friends when you wanted to impress them with how big and modern and sky-scrapery Toronto was. Brookfield Place was right out of a movie, and the Marché was open enough for you and your country-mouse friends to soak it all in.
The Universal Grill
This was the restaurant that made Dupont into a place to go. It opened in the '90s, and was a destination spot – worth the trip to Dupont! – until the rest of the strip started filling out until, finally, there was no place left for poor pioneering Universal.
Poutini's House of Poutine
This one's a mystery. Poutine is the physical embodiment of the comfort we all need right now, and that we're going to need even more when it starts to get really cold outside. Poutini's! We barely knew ye!
Nish Dish
Toronto was just on the verge of an Anishnaabe culinary renaissance. Then, Kukum Kitchen closed on Mt. Pleasant, and Nish Dish on Bloor followed (it's now a sewing station for the Poop Cafe's new COVID-19 mask business). Keep an eye out for Chef Ringuette, though; you can't keep a good chef down for long.
Tucker's Marketplace
For those who grew up in the areas immediately outside the downtown core, this is where birthdays, anniversaries, and after-work drinks happened (remember after-work drinks with actual people?). But it was an all-you-can-eat buffet concept, and that did not play well with COVID-19, even before dining-in got canned.
Il Gatto Nero
The Black Cat (il gatto nero in Italian) was a College Street anchor since the 1950s. It moved at least once but it was the sort of place you could have an espresso next to a guy who'd been having his espresso there for 50 years and could tell you all about it. Il Gatto Nero was one of the reasons this stretch of College is still called Little Italy. If you still want a taste of the old ways, Cafe Diplomatico (The Dip), founded in 1968, was still there last time we checked.
Southern Accent
It used to be in Mirvish Village, and moved to College a few years back. It was the sort of place two little dogs dressed as lizards would totally not feel out of place. Wacky "Cajun, Creole, and Soul" cooking, staffed by people who'd worked there since the '80s. It was all about the ambience, and you can't get that to go.