The Spanish food scene just keeps levelling up in Toronto

Spanish food might not be the first thing you think of when you think of Toronto, but there are some amazing restaurants serving this cuisine that are arguably at the core of the city’s food scene and continue to be some of the hottest restaurants in town.

For example, many people, when asked what one of the best restaurants in Toronto is, might say Bar Isabel or Bar Raval. Both owned by industry titan Grant Van Gameren, Bar Isabel has been in business for years and has hosted celebs.

“Bar Isabel was my first restaurant inspired by Spanish food,” Van Gameren tells yourcitywithIN.com. “At that time, it was really just Cava that I remember spearheading a Spanish dining experience.  After Bar Isabel, we opened Bar Raval, which brought a different dimension of Spanish dining style.”

Whereas Bar Isabel is more of a sit-down, moody evening restaurant, Bar Raval is a more casual all-day spot inspired by the Spanish traditions of tapas and pintxos, which Raval arguably helped introduce to Toronto.

“It’s grown, with restaurants like Edulis, Casa Paco, Patria and now Casa Rubia adding to the list of Spanish-influenced restaurants in Toronto,” says Van Gameren.

Casa Rubia is the new project Van Gameren just launched with Zach Smith and Hailey Burke in the space next to Bar Raval, transforming their previous French concept, Martine’s, into Rubia.

“It was the food and experience that drove us to create Rubia,” says Van Gameren. “We also wanted a direction that was more of an extension of our sister restaurant, Bar Raval.”

Rob Bragagnolo is behind one of the restaurants Van Gameren shouted out, Casa Paco. Bragagnolo lived in Spain for 15 years with his wife and now co-chef Caroline, where they ran a Michelin-starred restaurant, a tapas bar and a taberna.

“When I first moved back, there really wasn’t much in terms of proper, regional Spanish cooking. More importantly, sourcing Spanish ingredients was difficult. Edulis was really the only restaurant doing real Spanish cooking. Like us, they lived in Spain, have Spanish roots, and didn’t just go on vacation there for a few weeks, come back and start cooking superficial touristy food,” Bragagnolo tells yourcitywithIN.com.

“Access to incredible Spanish ingredients is better than ever thanks to some great local suppliers for both food and wine. Suppliers like Cosecha Wines, Pasquale Brothers, Little Barcelona, Solfarmers, Arc. Also, access to raw ingredients is much better now; fish, meat and vegetables. Spanish restaurants are, as they say in Spain, ‘restaurantes de producto’ or ‘great raw ingredients first’ restaurants, so this has helped a lot.”

One of Toronto’s most popular Spanish restaurants, Patria, recently rebranded as Beso, and though the restaurant has a new brand identity, it’s been a go-to in the city for over 13 years. General manager Anna Shvets has years of experience working alongside Spanish chefs.

“Guests are becoming more interested in the overall experience, not just the food. They want to understand what they are eating, discover different flavours, and have a restaurant experience that feels memorable,” Shvets tells yourcitywithIN.com.

“There is a lot of room for Spanish food to continue growing in Toronto, particularly through the tapas-bar concept. I would love to see more places where the atmosphere is lively and relaxed, where you can walk in, sit at the bar, have a few tapas and a glass of Spanish wine, and feel like you have been transported somewhere for an evening.”

Indeed, isn’t this what Toronto’s food scene is all about? Toronto has a uniquely wide and diverse array of restaurants, and its on-the-go metropolitan lifestyle translates well to the casual but elegant way of eating Spanish food.

“There is more opportunity to make Spanish dining feel casual and spontaneous. Tapas naturally work that way — you can come in for a few plates and a glass of wine, or make it a full evening with friends. That flexibility is something I really appreciate about Spanish cuisine and something I think works very well in Toronto.”

“Great Spanish cooking is electrifying – vibrant, fresh, explosive flavours that you can eat every day. It’s not just for a special occasion but day in and day out kinda food,” says Bragagnolo.

“I hope something similar to what happened with Italian food here in Toronto: chefs, restaurants and suppliers pushing to scratch beyond the surface and learn more about it than what you would see on a week’s vacation or scrolling on Instagram. I would love to see the Spanish equivalent of Terroni, Baldassarre, Giulia, et cetera.”

One might argue that with restaurants like Casa Paco, Beso, and Casa Rubia, Toronto’s already got it.