Trendy Toronto restaurant closes within a year and has already been replaced
A Toronto restaurant that was all the rage when it opened closed down in a matter of months, and it's already been replaced with a groovy new cocktail bar.
When Bonito's, a groovy, retro Korean-Ecuadorean restaurant, took over a shuttered Ossington laundromat in early 2025, it instantly stuck itself near the tops of must-try lists for foodies across Toronto.
Be it the restaurant's authentic-feeling commitment to the aesthetics of yesteryear, its unexpected fusion of cuisines or the impressive culinary pedigree of its founders, Adrian Montesdeoca and Mikey Kim (Milou, Gloria in the Great Hall and Bar Bowie, downstairs, to name a few), Bonito's was serving something that Toronto, evidently, was hungry for.
That's what made it all the more shocking when, seemingly at the peak of its popularity, Bonito's quietly closed its doors. At first, it was temporary: a minor liquor license mishap, but quickly after, Bonito's closed again, and while Bar Bowie continues to do big business in the basement, Bonito's has remained papered-up.
As of Wednesday, May 13, though, Bonito's is officially no more; replaced by a new concept for "cocktails, small bites and late nights," called Bambu.
A cocktail-forward little sister to Bar Bowie, the shift to focus more pointedly on the address's already vibrant nightlife scene is one that makes perfect sense. On any given Friday or Saturday, Bar Bowie is packed to the rafters before the clock hits 10 p.m.
In an Instagram post announcing the new bar, the team describes it as, "A new bar, shaped by places, flavours, music, and nights we kept thinking about long after they've ended." Beyond that, you'll just have to visit to experience it for yourself. If you can manage to get in, that is.
Bambu is located at 180 Ossington Ave.
Fareen Karim
