Casa Rubia Opens In Little Italy September 24 With Northern Spanish Cooking
The team behind Casa Rubia plans to open the new restaurant Thursday, September 24 at 293 Palmerston Avenue in Toronto’s Little Italy. The restaurant will replace Martine’s Wine Bar and focus on the cooking of Galicia and northern Spain. Grant van Gameren, Hailey Burke and chef-partner Zach Smith are leading the project, according to Tastet’s launch report.
Photo by Daniel Neuhaus via Tastet
Casa Rubia Replaces Martine’s
The Casa Rubia team will take over the 293 Palmerston Avenue space currently occupied by Martine’s Wine Bar. The location sits just behind Bar Raval, the Spanish-inspired bar that van Gameren and Burke run nearby.
By contrast, Casa Rubia will offer a full-service, seated dining experience instead of Bar Raval’s standing-bar and pintxo format. Tastet reports approximately 50 indoor seats on a mezzanine above the bar, plus a 20-seat front patio.
The Menu Looks To Galicia And Northern Spain
Photo by Daniel Neuhaus via Tastet
Chef-partner Zach Smith is shaping the opening menu around northern Spanish and Galician cooking. A wood oven will play a major role in the kitchen. For example, previewed dishes include whole roasted turbot, wood-fired suckling pig and cuts of Rubia Gallega beef imported from Galicia.
In addition, other launch coverage lists langoustine and smoked tuna carpaccio, fideo with cockles, and bone marrow with grilled scallops and sea urchin.
Drinks Stay Focused On Spain And The Atlantic
Meanwhile, Hailey Burke is developing a cocktail program around classics such as Martinis and Negronis, alongside vermouth, aperitivos and digestifs. Wine director Lexi Wolkowski is also building a list around Spanish and Atlantic wines, according to Tastet.
A Seated Counterpoint To Bar Raval
Photo by Daniel Neuhaus via Tastet
Casa Rubia gives the team a second format around College and Palmerston. Bar Raval operates at 505 College Street and lists no reservations, while Casa Rubia is being launched as a seated, full-service restaurant at 293 Palmerston Avenue.
Will Casa Rubia be on your Little Italy restaurant list? Let us know in the comments.
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