Toronto is about to get a brand new restaurant that’s the lovechild between two powerhouse chefs and a burgeoning Toronto restaurateur.
Taking over a vacant space in the Financial District and converting it into the city’s latest Michelin Guide hopeful, the soon-to-open The Lost Land, angles itself as a lush refuge from the concrete jungle just outside its doors.
A three-man team is leading the charge to transform the space near the intersection of Yonge and Temperance, most recently used for various pop-ups and markets over the years into what they hope could become one of the city’s swankiest eateries.
Owner Edison Xue, who admits that the dream is for the restaurant to be recognized on Toronto’s Michelin guide, has burst onto Toronto’s culinary scene in the past year as the owner of both Pidapipo Gelato and the recently-opened Republique Brunch and Bar.
Accompanying Xue is a two-man team of accomplished chefs who’ll be carefully crafting both the restaurant’s Italian, French and Mexican fusion menu at night, and its more casual brunch and cafe offerings by day.
One half of the two-man team running the operation at The Lost Land is U.S. export Larry Feldmeier; a sure shot at earning the restaurant the Michelin recognition that, by Xue’s own admission, they’re gunning for.
Prior to taking the plunge on The Lost Land, Feldmeier has worked as a Chef de Cuisine at Michelin Two Star Chicago restaurant Oriole under the guidance of Executive Chef and owner Noah Sandoval, as well as operating his own joint, The Bristol, which closed in Chicago back in 2022.
Accompanying Feldmeier in the kitchen is Chef Cesar Karanapakorn, a Mexico-born chef who, upon bringing his Mexican and Thai style cuisine up north to Toronto, served at the short-lived Danforth restaurant, Judaline.
Also joining the team is bartender John Yohan Ko, who has similarly had plenty of brushes with Michelin recognition over the course of his career, most recently working behind the bar at three-time Michelin-recommended George.
According to Xue, the design of the restaurant will invoke a lush paradise, brimming with greenery, intercut with a sleek, modern bar and open kitchen that’ll allow you to watch Feldmeier and Karanapakorn flex their culinary mastery.
Continuing the theme of creating natural spaces in downtown Toronto, the team behind The Lost Land is also making good use of the building’s 3000 square-foot rooftop, where an urban garden will grow a number of herbs and vegetables to be used in the restaurant’s dishes.
Opening just a hair too late for consideration on the 2024 Toronto Michelin guide, the food will have to do all the talking in the coming year, and, if the stars align, they might just be the latest recipient of one come next year.
Currently in the last phases of building inspections, the exact opening date for The Lost Land has yet to be determined, but, Xue tells blogTO, the restaurant should be opening its doors this upcoming weekend, around Sept. 28.
The Lost Land is located at 146 Yonge Street.
