Notable restaurants that closed in Toronto this past year

Restaurants that closed in Toronto over the past year are teaching the city that if you love something, sometimes you just have to let it go.

From long-running stalwarts to ventures that burned brief and bright, Toronto said goodbye to a number of great restaurants this year, but, on the bright side, at least that means there’s a slew of new food options on their way.

Here are some of the most notable restaurants that closed in Toronto this year.

Miss Aida

Despite opening to big buzz in late 2023, this Roncesvalles Village Middle Eastern spot from the team behind J’s Steak Frites (which, mercifully, is alive and well,) called it quits after posting an ominous message on their Instagram.

The good news: a comeback is apparently in the works. The bad news: there’s nothing to indicate that Miss Aida 2.0 is coming any time soon.

Baldini

This cozy Leslieville classic had been serving comforting Northern and Southern Italian dishes to scores of devoted regulars for nearly 20 years before suddenly announcing the restaurant was closing its doors for good, but confirmed to blogTO that another Italian spot is moving in in its wake.

Parallel Basta

Another much-talked-about hit that vacated the city this year came in the form of this Kensington Market sister location to Bloorcourt’s Parallel. Less than a year after opening for business, the restaurant’s owners took to Instagram to announce they were closing the doors after the restaurant failed to “take off the way [they] predicted.”

Bouffe by Adjey

Not the only celebrity chef-led business to shutter this year, this self-declared “French-ish” Dundas West spot by David Adjey of Restaurant Makeover fame closed down after a bried two-year stint, so Adjey could pursue new ventures.

The newest of them all; hocking the viral Yorkie Burritos — a standout of the event — at the 2024 Distillery Winter Village.

Bitter Melon

This ambitious Chinatown restaurant served up singular dishes that blended Chinese, Korean, Japanese, French and Italian flavours for a truly unique dining experience for just two years before shuttering due to a substantial lack of foot traffic in the area.

Public School

If you haven’t brunched at this Yonge and Bloor staple located inside the W Hotel yourself, odds are you follow someone Instagram who has, which made it all the more shocking when the hotel opted to shutter the restaurant in favour of opening a new, more night-focused concept.

Armenian Kitchen

Despite a 35 year-long legacy in North York, this neighbourhood staple Middle Eastern restaurant quietly shuttered without an announcement or notice, and will soon be entering a new chapter as a Filipino restaurant.

Hello 123

It was a tough year for vegan restaurants in the city, as you’ll glean as you continue to read this list, and one of the greatest hits came when this plant-based comfort food spot from the same people behind Kupfert & Kim shut down its last remaining location in Ontario.

Oakwood Hardware

A neighbourhood staple in Oakwood Village known for it’s pub-style fare broke the hearts of plenty locals when its owner announced the restaurant would be closing down permanently due to conflict with its landlord.

Fonda Balam

Celebrity chef-turned-actor, Matty Matheson, grew a cult following at this Dundas West spot serving deliciously calorific tacos for three years before he and his business partners parted ways to pursue different projects.

One such project, Matheson’s Maritime-inspired diner, Bar Clams, recently opened in the exact same space.

Annapurna

The city’s longest-running vegetarian restaurant, an Annex staple, shut its doors after 50 years, as its owner posted a heartfelt note in the restaurant window announcing their retirement at 90 years old.

Goldstone Noodle

This quintessential Chinatown haunt, known in equal measures for its expansive menu of traditional Cantonese cuisine as it was for its classic aesthetic (which earned it screentime in a number of productions over the years) was quickly replaced with a new location of Chinese chain, Mom’s Pan Fried Bun.

Osteria Rialto

Talk about a two-for-one. This Bloorcourt restaurant and its affiliated speakeasy-style bar, Bar Biltmore, both shut down during the summer despite, against all odds, managing to survive for four years after opening just weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic shut them down.

La Bella Sangweech

It was a short and sweet run for this Little Italy sandwich shop that served up heaping classic Italian sandwiches amid a pleasingly pink interior when they announced the shop’s permanent closure just ten months after opening.

Farmhouse Tavern

This neighbourhood favourite in the Junction Triangle racked up good will donating free meals to refugees at Romero House during the pandemic, but ultimately ended up closing its doors this year to open a sports bar.

Rosalinda

Despite being open for a middle-of-the-road six years, this Financial District spot made its mark on the city by offering something truly unique: a full menu of completely plant-based Mexican cuisine.

Frilu

The star dimmed on this Michelin-starred restaurant which served seasonal Canadian cuisine, as owners Chef John-Vincent and his wife Sandra Troiano​​​​​​ announced they’d be putting the culinary world on the back burner and focusing more on their farm, where a number of the ingredients used at the restaurant were cultivated.

New Town

The winds of gentrification are blowing in Cabbagetown, and unfortunately this cult-favourite restaurant that opened in 1955 was a casualty, making way for an eventual new restaurant that will match the vibrant, “Ossington-east” energy emerging in the area, according to the restaurant’s owner.

Then & Now

This Parkdale restaurant made waves for enforcing a no-tipping policy, instead opting to pay staff a living wage from the jump, but owner and founder Eric Wang made sure to note that the no-tipping policy was not the reason for the restaurant’s closure, but rather the pressures of owning and operating the restaurant entirely on his own.

Flo’s Diner

After a more-than three decade-long run in Yorkville, this charming, retro-themed diner was a local favourite before shutting down after their landlord refused to extend the lease.