There’s a lot of things happening at chef Michael Hunter’s restaurant, Antler. It’s celebrating its ten-year anniversary this year, but it also mysteriously shut its doors on Monday for a month-long period. So what’s happening within those walls?
“With the temporary closure, we’ll be completing a thoughtful renovation that supports the next chapter of Antler. While the physical space is being refreshed, the renovation itself isn’t the focal point. it’s meant to complement a broader evolution already underway,” says Jody Shapiro, Antler’s co-founder and creative collaborator. “That evolution reflects a deeper exploration of Canadiana. While rooted in a deep respect for Canadian ingredients, this next chapter also embraces what Canada really looks like today: diverse, layered and influenced by many cultures. In practice, that means crafting dishes that pair Canadian ingredients with techniques and perspectives drawn from the country’s wide-ranging cultural landscape — recognizing that this diversity is, in itself, an essential expression of Canadiana.”
Wild food has always been the focal point at Antler, but Shapiro says the lens will expand and include a more holistic picture of Canadian ingredients, from seafood, foraged ingredients, meats and vegetables and everything in between, embracing what Canada has to offer from coast to coast.
But despite these changes, the renovation and the menu expansion, Shapiro says the spirit of Antler will remain the same.
“We’re deeply hands-on and story-driven—we educate, we forage, we hunt, we fish, we travel and we build dishes around those experiences,” she says. “That philosophy has shaped our first two cookbooks, will continue into the third, and will always be rooted in bringing those stories back home to our dining room.”
With that in mind, the Antler team is going to use the ten-year anniversary to celebrate the dishes that inspired them a decade ago, and have them inform the future.
“It’s a moment to celebrate what Antler was, what the city meant to us a decade ago, and how both have evolved. From there, we’re using our past as a jumping-off point to explore new directions: We’ll be diving deeper into the country, the outdoors, the wild, foraging, and expanding our focus to include more seafood and fish alongside what has always defined us,” Shapiro says. “Toronto’s palate has evolved into something really special. When we opened ten years ago, what we were doing felt new and uncertain. We weren’t sure how the city would receive us — so much so that we initially put chicken on the menu as a “safe” option, only to remove it because no one was ordering it.
“The city has proven to be curious and adventurous, and that spirit has only grown. Toronto has become an incredible dining city, with a world-class fine-dining scene. We’re excited to continue pushing forward with that same sense of curiosity, while broadening our scope.”
Antler is located at 1454 Dundas Street West.
