A new wine and sake bar has only just soft launched in Little Italy but it already has the city buzzing with excitement.
That’s because Chez Wa —recognizable by its playful logo of a frog balancing a wine glass on its head — has already been serving up good drinks and good bites on the streets of Toronto. The brand was born out of The Wine Company, which was founded by Tia Zhang with the goal of pairing Asian ingredients with quality wines.
When she joined forces with Kevin Guo, who saw her vision and held a similar passion for drink, they began doing pop-up events and concepts. Stints at Another Land Coffee in North York and another at Lost in Tokyo downtown last year encouraged Zhang and Guo to see there was a desire for Chez Wa’s unique experiences.
“We were seeing that a lot of people are enjoying this concept and are interested to see how wine and sake or different beverages could pair with Asian-inspired cuisine,” Guo says, noting they were ready for their own permanent location. “We want to make it more continuous, we want to have our own space and our own aesthetic and we just want to be out there.”
Inside the space on College Street, a clean minimalist design takes over, boasting whites with walnut and stainless steel that Guo says was inspired by European bars. If you look carefully, though, you’ll find little figurines of the signature frog mascot throughout the cozy space.
“We go out a lot and a lot of times we ended up on College Street. We love Suite 115, we love [Birreria] Volo, we love Pompette — and now we’re neighbours with them. It’s where we always wanted to end up,” says Guo, pointing to the diversity of the restaurants on the street. “It’s good to see there is some representation of Asian culture in the same neighbourhood, and people have been super welcoming. We really love it here.”
On the menu, Chez Wa focuses on introducing Asian culture by adding twists to traditional tapas. A creamy pasta with mapo tofu — a spicy Chinese dish — and shaojiao beef tartare are highlights for its soft open. The bar program focuses on low-intervention and new-generation wine and sake, with some natural bottles.
“We really value this pairing aspect so the foods are designed to pair with the drinks and the drinks are designed to pair with the food,” says Guo. “We believe that’s what makes us stand out.”
As for the goals of Chez Wa, Guo says it’s all in the name. While “Wa” means frog in Chinese, the “Chez” represents the goal of turning the bar into a place of comfort.
“We wanted to it to feel like a cozy drinking space for people, and I wanted it to feel like our home,” says Guo. “Chez Wa rhymes with “Chez moi” (“My home” in French) so we want it to bring some of those homey vibes.”
Chew Wa is located at 617 College Street.
