Toronto neighbourhood obsessed with under-the-radar new restaurant
An under-the-radar new restaurant in Toronto is drumming up quite the buzz, and considering the team behind it, there's good reason for that.
It's been over a year since Otherside Pizza in the Beaches closed its doors for good. It was a catastrophic loss for pizza lovers in the neighbourhood that many — myself included — simply haven't been able to get over.
Still, when one oven door closes, another opens, offering up equally delicious, albeit wildly different, eats. In the case of the former Otherside Pizza, the idiom remains true.
Quietly opening its doors in early December, the Queen East space is now home to Olde Seoul Tavern, a joint venture between former Otherside owner, Dave, and quiet partners behind a series of West End Korean joints.
Though they're opting to stay unidentified in the restaurant's early days, anyone familiar with the Korean-American food scene in the city should be able to hazard a reasonable guess.
Touted as a "Korean American-inspired tavern," expect a menu replete with American (and a few Italian) staples, dressed up with Korean ingredients and flavours. Rigatoni with gochujang vodka sauce, Katsu parmesan and Caesar salad with wafu dressing are all among the standouts.
Even the interiors of the restaurant seem to place it perfectly at the intersection of tavern, diner and Korean sool jib, deftly combining checkerboard floors, red lighting and exposed brick walls.
Never heard of the restaurant? You're not alone. In the weeks since opening, it's managed to keep a fairly low profile, save for the immediate attraction of area locals who've been flocking to it in droves.
But I've seen the retro-interior, Korean-American cuisine, good-vibes-all-around film before, and I know exactly how it ends: with Olde Seoul Tavern becoming one of the hottest reservations in the city.
Olde Seoul Tavern is located at 1911 Queen St. E.
@oldeseoultavern/Instagram
