Ambitious Toronto restaurant that opened with a lot of hype has permanently closed

A contemporary Asian restaurant in Toronto has permanently closed its doors following just two years in business. 

Bitter Melon, formerly located at 431 Spadina Ave. just south of College Street, was a cocktail-focused restaurant with an East Asian menu injected with flavours and inspiration from China, Korea, Japan, France, and Italy. 

Husband-and-wife team Andre Au and Joanna Hon opened up the restaurant at the end of 2022 and brought on executive chef Hermawan Lay, formerly of Clio, Momofuku Toronto, and Kasa Moto. 

Dishes on the fusion menu included beef heart ragu tteokbokki, miso-buttered toast topped with foie gras, tea-smoked duck breast, sake-steamed clams, beef tartare, and corn dogs made with Taiwanese sausage. 

The restaurant quietly closed its doors at the end of June without an official announcement, and both its website and reservation link are no longer in service. In a statement to blogTO, executive chef Lay confirmed that the restaurant was forced to close its doors due to a lack of customers. 

"We decided to close down because there's not enough business. There's also not enough foot traffic around the area. We've tried to stay for a little longer, but we just couldn't keep up," Lay explained. 

The space is now home to a Korean Grill House location, which is known for its in-table grills and all-you-can-eat options.

In an update posted back in June, Lay revealed that his time at the restaurant was coming to an end. 

He now serves as the executive chef at JADE Yorkville, a new French-Asian restaurant and bar located at 137 Avenue Rd.