Team famous for their pop-ups have opened a new restaurant in Toronto
Published June 14, 2024 at 9:58 am
The team behind a successful pop-up series now have a full-fledged restaurant of their own in Toronto.
Ricky + Olivia is named for the couple that runs the restaurant, who originally started out doing pop-ups under the same name. The pair first met at now-closed Toronto restaurant Hawthorne Food & Drink where executive chef Ricky hired Olivia as a sous chef after she had returned to Toronto following working in New York City.
Ricky eventually left Hawthorne to become a partner at Aft Kitchen and Bar, and Olivia became the chef at Hawthorne, but the pair soon joined up as co-chefs at Aft. They started up their pop-up concept in 2018 as a break from their traditional restaurant jobs, beginning with one-off events at Chez Nous Wine Bar.
In the following years, they partnered with Wine Country Ontario, the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance, the Dairy Farmers of Ontario, 100km Foods, Westcott Vineyards and Dillon’s Distillery and have hosted pop-ups at Wychwood Barns, Evergreen Brick Works, Left Field Brewery, The Quirky Carrot and Merchants of Green Coffee.
They’ve since cooked for the World’s 50 Best, participated regularly in the Terroir Symposium and have run a seasonal patio restaurant at Westcott Vineyards.
Ricky + Olivia opened as a full-on restaurant in the spring, and yup, there’s a patio on site. The couple partnered up with Adrian Proszowski for the new restaurant.
They’re serving a menu of playful dishes like chips and dip, steak tartare, chicken liver mousse, Caesar salad, burgers, chicken salad sandwiches and roast pork. Some of their more whimsical items are an adult “Lunchables” plate and a savoury crepe cake with whipped pork rillette and Dijon.
The food is complemented by a selection of wines, mocktails and cocktails that includes a whole martini section with options like the “Saltini” with saltine-infused vodka and the Deluxe with chanterelle-infused gin and jalapeno moonshine.
Ricky + Olivia is now open at 996 Queen St. E.