Dish after dish, my palate was in paradise as the chef mixed incredible flavors and textures to make every bite a piece of heaven. We tried about 15 different sharing dishes and we were never disappointed the entire evening, the star if the show were the croquettes! We had to order another round of those... Probably and arguably the best culinary experience i have had in this great city. If you haven’t tried Bar Isabel yet, then its time you do.
The food was uber delicious.
OMG..the Mussels were the best I've ever had. Perfectly done. Melt in the mouth.
The bone marrow was like no other.
The seafood hotspot..I'm still dreaming about it.
The chillies were ammmazing.
All in all...great service
Absolutely the best food.
Very busy spot on a Tuesday
Very busy spot on a Tuesday night. Very friendly reception and service. Great and varied selection of tapas and a good, moderately priced wine list. Will definitely return.
Sea food Lovers , this is the correct place to pay a visit , Try out the Steaks and Oyesters here for a mouth watering experience . Amazing Food.
Amazing food. Very glad I finally made the trip down to Toronto to try this place out after all the hype about it. Octopus and the bone marrow easily my 2 favourites and recommended dishes. The place is tapas dining and for 2 people including drinks, expect the bill to be around $100 not including tax and tip.
Busy and bustling on a Sunday night! Delicious sharing plates and cocktails. For two people, we had the sobrasada w/ fois gras, patatas bravas, shrimp and avocado ceviche, quarter octopus, half rabbit fideo, and Basque cake. So so so amazing. If you must pick, ceviche, octopus, and Basque cake... Will not disappoint!!
a few bites from our full review -
"We couldn't react in any other way but to stop and smile at the seating area by the front window - it seemed like a long thin armrest re-purposed as a thin table - there was something so charming and spontaneous about that."
"With a large selection of dishes available and our tummies growling, all we had to do was set a monetary limit per person. Our waiter politely asked us about allergies and preferences and we were impressed how very professional he was. "
Went back to Bar Isabel recently... didn't order any canned food, as this is no indication on how good a place is. It was fantastic start-to-finish.. I finally get why people love it. I left pumped as heck and swallowing most of my previous criticism. Had said it was worth a visit, but now I strongly recommend.
Lighting sucks for pics, so I was neglectful.
This place is phenomenal!! I would say one of the best in Toronto!! Their octopus and jumbo prawns was like a symphony. It was beautiful and moving. Ambiance inside is romantic and super cool. Service is great as well and their drinks are stiff! Which I love. I love this place and highly recommend it for anyone living or visiting Toronto.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
So after a long absence from the Toronto dining scene, finally had the opportunity to jump back in. I had heard so many great things about Bar Isabel the seafood, the service, the quality... it was the only place I wanted to try after my long dry spell.
For the most part, it lived up to the hype. I could definitely see where the hype was coming from. The place is gorgeous and the staff make you feel welcome right away. We were seated at the bar (that's what you get for making last minute reservations), and I can say that the service was as good as any. Knowledgable bar tender who knew about the menu as much as he did about mixology, which is to say a lot. He walked us through the menu and answered all our questions. Our waitress was a bit dry but hey, she was professional and courteous. We're not here to be besties, right?
To start, we couldn't make up our mind whether we wanted the cured meat or the cheese sampler, so they went off menu and prepared a meat AND cheese sampler. Very impressive. Shows creativity and flexibility. We got three cured meats and a three cheeses, all winners with slightly different levels of saltiness and spice. It was served with these crusty slices of warm sourdough bread, the kind you put in your mouth and wonder why everything doesn't just come served between two pieces of it.
We then switched gears to some larger tapas. Exquisite! Sweetbread dish was something to write home about. Who would have thought to serve sweetbreads on tuna? (if you think sweetbread is bread that's sweet, do a quick Google search... you will understand why pairing it with tuna is not the first logical partner). But man, did they nail it. Also had the spicy cauliflower (not as spicy as you would think given this is a tapas place), which was still really good, and the beef anticuchos which were good, but not great. So far, this place is living up to the hype!
And then we got the main: we had ordered the octopus. Everyone who recommended the place has raved about the octopus. You have to have the octopus they said. So we had the octopus. How to describe it? You remember the older cousin you had growing up who you thought was the absolute coolest guy you knew? He had the Bob Marley poster in his room and knew how to play every Zeppelin song on his guitar and would ride a skateboard like a bat out of hell... but you later learned he was a highschool burnout with no ambition and just not someone you wanted to hang out with? Yeah, that's the octopus. Looks and smells great, served on a bed of tomato and bean stew, but honestly, ate the stew and avoided the octopus.
One of my favourite spots in Toronto. Sitting at the wood was one of the best bar experiences I've had. The octopus was amazing - beautiful flavours and very tender. Bone marrow was excellent (great chimichurri & salt!) and good value. Drink menu is creative and offers very varied flavours in unique combinations.
Good food.
Having said that, I find the reviews a bit exaggerated.
Service is great at this spot, very helpful staff.
Ambiance is very chill and friendly.
One of the best dinners I have had in Toronto. Hands down. We ordered the tasting menu. The staff was super friendly, asked how hungry we are, then asked what we needed to have from the menu. We where all blown away. The food was fresh, delicious and creative. The service was perfectly paced, friendly and helpful. We sat at the bar and the bar tender was attentive to everything and answered questions we had. Cocktails where on another level. Fantastic. Definitely deserves its place in the top 100. You have to eat here!
Excellent service! Super friendly staff and food was delicious. The octopus was a little too charred because it tasted a bit bitter but everything else was delicious. It was super packed but they accommodated us. Their virgin drinks were also good!
We went here for a nightcap and didn’t order any entrees.
The service was exceptional! We were greeted warmly and we’re supported by many of their staff members!
We ordered a tomato bread appetizer, which wasn’t great and curry potato dish that was excellent! The dessert was great too, though on the greasy side.
Their bartender is a master of his craft and our Aperol spritz and espressos Martinis were excellent!
They add 20% to your bill for service - something I find extremely tacky. Though, I’d have likely tipped that much anyway, I never feel that tips should be mandatory.
For 5 drinks, 2 apps and a dessert, our bill was $160 - quite high for what we had.
Bar Isabel blew me away, and is definitely worth the hype.
I got the tasting menu here and our server was kind enough to adapt the menu based on how much my friend and I could eat. (e.g., They asked what was a ‘must-have’ for us and our general preferences. Then throughout the dinner, he’d come back to check on us to see how much more food he should bring out)
My favourite dish was the croquettes—something off the a la carte menu. There were also these mussels in a sour / savoury vinaigrette that were delicious. I would also highly recommend the bone marrow if you’re comfortable with a ‘fattier’ dish
![4]( "Recensione")
Good place to go for tapas. I had a non alcoholic cocktail which was enjoyable and refreshing. The shishito peppers were good, nicely seasoned with coarse salt and a hint of lemon juice. I really liked the 2 meat 2 cheese charcuterie board. I was just a bit disappointed there were none of the Jamon serrano or jamon iberrico that were offered on the meat boards. You also have to pay for house bread to enjoy with the meat and cheese. The bread was very good, served a bit warm and made upstairs in their in house bakery. We got the quarter octopus, which was delicious and nicely grilled. It was nice and tender, not too chewy like octopus can be. The patatas bravas were very good and crispy. The house salad was really nice. We also got the 8oz Picanha Steak which was tender and has a nice grill flavour. The onions on the side were delicious. The Basque Cake with Hot Sherry Cream was very good. I was happy to see they offered this as it’s not that common to find in Toronto. It was warm and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I feel like it would be enough on it’s own without the sauce but the sauce was nice too. It’s also made in house. Overall, a really good experience even though it’s on the pricier side and there is mandatory 20% service fee.
Delicious!!! I was a bit nervous as the menu was a little outside of my comfort zone, yet I was blown away. I also liked the shareable portions - the food is so good you want to try as much as you can.
Ambience is truly magical, the service is excellent, and the food is to die for. — We chose to participate in the tasting menu and we allowed the waiter to choose our dishes for us, and I’m so glad we did. We were overwhelmed with the incredible textures and flavours of each meal. Our waiter was highly trained and very knowledgeable about each dish and how it was prepared. The sommelier chose a wonderful bottle of wine based on our personal tastes and pairings for the meal, one that we never would have chosen. Overall, this experience left us dazzled. We will be back soon.
Make a reservation
Order online
Find the best restaurant in Toronto
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes