bar raval

Toronto bar slammed for serving pricey canned food in viral video

A trendy and relatively upscale Toronto bar that is widely considered to be one of the best in Canada and even the world is getting called out on social media this week after a viral TikTok showed what appears to be the College Street business serving up a dish of canned fish for a ridiculous price.

Between home showings, a local real estate agent stopped at an unnamed watering hole for a drink and a light bite to eat, but ended up extremely disappointed with what she received when she ordered a $25 item that was recommended to her by the establishment's server.

"They gave me a can of tuna and potato chips. They didn't even take the tuna out of the can. Fully cooked tuna, too," the patron, who had the dish advertised to her as similar to tuna tartare, says in the video that has racked up nearly 500k views in three days' time.

"Is inflation that bad?... $25 f****ing dollars. Are you joking? I am shocked."

Torontonians have flocked to the comments to inform the woman that unfortunately inflation may have little to do with it, if this is the bar they are thinking it is.

While some guessed that the meal was from Bar Isabel, others suggested Bar Raval, which has the same owner and does indeed serve tinned seafood. Raval is on the Michelin guide for the city and has also won awards for its interior design.

"Ya Raval is what popped into head too," one commenter said in response to the supposition that Raval was the culprit. "It's not inflation, it's Toronto."

Others on Twitter shared photos from the establishment's online menu, which does indeed show seafood plated in the can along with piles of chips that look identical to those in the video, and for the exact same price, too.

The woman who posted the video reached out to blogTO to clarify that it was neither Bar Isabel nor Raval that she went to, and that despite posting the clip bemoaning the fare and its cost, she did not want to slander a local business and so omitted its name.

Regardless of the restaurant, viewers largely seem as appalled as the customer, and say they would have sent the meal back rather than pay, no matter how high quality the seafood may be.

One also pointed out a delicious irony about the whole ordeal: that the realtor, based in the GTA, was likely taking a lunch break from "showing shacks for $2 million."

Ah, the joys of living in Toronto.

Lead photo by

@sophiebokelmann


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