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.
My friend & I were there this past Sat with the bathroom door incident & I must commend the staff for their cool, calm & professional handling of that situation. Other than a huge crash no one really knew what happened (unless of course you used the washroom after it occurred & saw the door missing).
I love this restaurant, we had to wait as well but we were given some free wine while we waited, I've waited longer at other places so this was a lovely touch.
Food, cocktails & service were all great!
Rhesa & Sandra
Awesome food and service! Will be back. We had the sweet bread with tuna, chorizo Rojas and Verde, sabream ceviche, and the quarter octopus which were all outstanding dishes. The delicious Basque cake wrapped up the night for dessert. The atmosphere is inviting and casual but the food is top notch up there with the very best the city offers.
Best tapas I have had in the city. The ocotopus was tender and there is a good variety of others to choose from. Attention and assistance in choosing from server was very good.
Tout est basé sur les goûts, c'est simple et bon. Pour moi, c'est une des choses les plus difficiles à faire.
Fantastic time. Tasty ass bites worth the $$$ we had vermouth and some chorizo verde. Bomb
This is my favourite restaurant in the city. Great service, a wonderful cocktail menu and such a great mix of tapas to share. If you go you need to get the Sobrasada & Foie Gras and finish off with the Basque Cake & Sherry Cream. You'll end up thinking about them for weeks and have to go back.
Fantastic service & food! George and Lynn (hopefully that's how you spell your name!) were top notch. Will be there again soon!
Amazing. Full stop.
If you love Spanish cuisine and fine wine this is a must. Chef Grant van Gameren has a well deserved reputation. Bar Raval for brunch and Bar Isabel for dinner. ���
Do you like delicious cocktails? Do you like delicious small plates? Then go here. Like now. You won’t be disappointed.
Simply the most delicious food I have tried in Toronto. The staff was super friendly. Defenetly a must go.
Excellent - the tasting menu is the way to go. The service is terrific and you can put yourself in their hands.
Absolute perfection. Service, food, ambience, vibe, drinks. 💯Must eats: patatas, octopus and basque cake for dessert!
Excellent service. Services demonstrate high level interpersonal skills. Shaved foie gras - crazy... I have nothing to complain about. The bread was so good we bought a loaf to take home. Definitely going back!
Great place. Food is fantastic with great service and a really nice space. Hard to get a table but completely worth planning ahead. Will return soon
Manuel was our server AMAZING 😉. Totally did not understand the menu and he broke it down simply and ordered for us based on the foods we told him we would like to eat. The basque cake to die for you CAN NOT SHARE Its so amazing you need your own. I would go back again I'm visiting from jersey and enjoyed every that touched my palette
Music, lighting, food and service was quality.
Love this place!!!
Refreshing drinks, amazing food,great wine list, staff is super nice!!
Nous avons commandé un repas dégustation et nous avons reçu 10 plats. Beaucoup de goûts et de textures merveilleusement agencés. Éclairage tamisé, musique d'ambiance agréable, excellent service. Fortement recommandé.
One of my favourite places in the city! Best gin & tonic I have ever had. Octopus, grilled mussels, bone marrow, foie AMAZING! Fantastic service! Worth every penny!
Amazing food and service, great selection of wine, cute and cozy interior, we loved it!
Amazing!!!! Fantastic food and service! Can't wait to go back!! :)
� Smile,Laugh,Eat,Be Jolly; Very entertaining enviroment and food with friends.
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.
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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.
Our night started out with the small seafood tower from the raw bar. It had oysters, clams, scallops, mussels, crab legs and shrimp! The dipping sauces were incredible and I have to say that it was some of the best seafood I've ever eaten! We then got the octopus (our server let us order 1/4 because we wanted to order more variety). I'm not a huge octopus fan but it was cooked perfectly, served with potatoes and citrus, and was delicious. We also ordered the grilled/stuffed eggplant and the 16 oz ribeye steak. Both were divine. We sipped beer and fine cocktails throughout the meal.
We ended the night off with the Basque cake and americanos. Must order no matter how full you are!
Service was impeccable, ambiance is relaxed and cozy. I would highly recommend you visit this restaurant. By far, one of the best meals I've had in Toronto!!
Make sure you make reservations 2 weeks in advance.
Kadejaha Hendricks-Henriques
+4.5
Amazing, the Buffalo slinzega is soo good. It's a must with bread. Tried the French absinthe not much of a fan of the licorice taste. Everything else was great. Definitely going to revisit
This place was definitely worth the hype! Can't wait for my next visit.
Reservations are hard to come by so I made sure to book far in advance so that I could finally celebrate here and I was not disappointed.
Our table wasn't ready when we arrived, but the host was so nice he offered us some complimentary tequila cocktails while we waited.
Once we were seated (see photos) we ordered a range of items and they were all so delicious. Each item was simple, but full of flavour and fresh!
The restaurant itself is dimly lit and on the small side, but the atmosphere is really cool and the space has a nice eclectic vibe.
Great date spot or for a night out with friends. A TO must!
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Bar Isabel is a Spanish tapas restaurant/bar located on College St near Ossington. Considered the #8 restaurant in Canada 2015 in Canada's Top 100 Restaurants, the restaurant already has quite the reputation. The place itself is a dimly lit elongated room with quite a few tables and a giant bar behind stained glass at the entrance.
The food here all looks pretty enticing. The menu is rather small for the food but several pages of drinks shows where they like to focus. The prices are a bit high for tapas, but the dishes looked to be high quality based strictly on the eye test of other tables.
We started with bread and a Cured Meat Board ($16), which consisted mainly of various slices and cuts of pork. I couldn't quite hear what our server was saying, but the meat slices were so good as was the sausage! We also had the Beef Tartare, Yoghurt, and Chicharron ($16), which was beef tartare sitting atop a giant piece of fried pork skin with a thin layer of yogurt below. The beef tartare was decently seasoned while the combination of it with the chicharron was real good.
The Roast Bone Marrow ($16) was also good, while a bit on the fatty side. It does come with bread, which is a necessity, and all that meat jelly soaked into the bread so well. My friend loved it so much that she was licking that bone clean before the server took it away. The Poached Lobster ($36) was a daily special and it was my favorite dish of the night. Nice chunks of poached buttered lobster that was chilled and served on the shell with chunks of sweet potato. So damn good.
I really wanted a full Sea Bream ceviche (mainly for the phot opp and presentation), but the BC Halibut Ceviche ($34) will suffice. Served already chopped and served on a giant chip, the ceviche was done quite nicely with a focus on the acids of the citruses and light hints of mint and tomatoes.The Half Octopus (about $34) isn't quite the sight that the whole octopus is, but it was definitely filling enough. About 4 tentacles on the dish, the octopus was not chewy and was rather tender and had the texture of a nice steak.
Ended the night with the basque cake and sherry cream ($9), which was incredible. One of the best dishes of the night as well. The basque cake comes with a crunchy exterior and a warm soft interior. The server comes with the cake naked and then drenches it in a sherry cream that tastes like thin condensed milk infused with sherry wine. Should have gotten two of those.
Expectations were a bit high and though I thought it could have been better, I still really enjoyed the food. Service was great. The place itself is a perfect little spot for drinks or a small date. Definitely worth coming to at least once. Come with a group though so you can try multiple dishes.
One of Canada’s Top 10 Best Restaurants of 2015!. Chef Grant van Gameren has totally changed up the food scene in Toronto. Serving authentic Spanish food until 2am in the morning, Torontonians can’t get enough of Bar Isabel! Hubby and I visited the restaurant during our last visit to Toronto in March after much anticipation.
Amazing food, great atmosphere and the waiters are delightful and very knowledgeable. Unfortunately the prices are too steep for me to go for a visit more often. So far I have been there twice and would love to go again. Drinks are very interesting and delicious.
Amazing food. Love the squid. Everything is good. Drinks are strong. Atmosphere is cosy and feels like a local European eatery. Can't find anything wrong with this place. A little pricey but worth it.
Incredible spot! Great music, friendly and knowledgable staff, awesome atmosphere! It was rather busy but the staff there were very accommodating and helped us with the Mey as well. The food itself is absolutely incredible. The ceviche was extremely fresh. The pan con tomate is on perfectly toasted bread. The steak literally melted in your mouth and the grilled octopus was just WOW! Would definitely come back here!
Bar Isabel. Such a lovely place. The place was warm and cozy. Service was good, but our server was kinda weird. Good thing the food was very delicious. We tried the charcuterie plate, and preserved vegetables. The bread was chewy, thick crust and I loved it. The scallops was my favorite. Well, I really enjoyed everything we ordered. Must try.
Bar Isabel in Ossington is a Spanish tapas restaurant with cool decor and a lively atmosphere.
I’ve wanted to try this restaurant for a long time now. Rated in 2013 by many acclaimed chefs and magazines as Toronto’s #1 restaurant, I finally gotten a chance to taste it.
It was amazing food no doubt, but whether or not it is THE best restaurant in the city can be argued.
One of the best restaurants I have been in Toronto!!! Excellent service and fantastic food. Unfortunately, you have to make reservation way in advance (we did it almost 2 months in advance for a table of 4 on a weekend). The atmosphere is cozy and intimate, perfect for a date night and casual dining.
We ordered the Jamon bruschetta with foie gras, Croquettas, Ceviche, the Charcuterie board and few more I don't remember. All of them were delicious!!!
I want to come back to try their to signature dishes: razor clams and grilled octopus. Can't wait to go back!!
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If you like Spanish food, this restaurant is a must visit! Having awarded Top 10 Best Restaurants in Canada in 2015, their charcuterie and fresh seafood tapas are definitely worth stopping by for.
Our server was very helpful and friendly, and all the dishes we ordered had a WOW factor and was definitely worth re-ordering! I had the seared foie gras with morcilla, grilled razor clams, and the meat plate with bread. The amount of foie gras you get for the price is a pleasure surprise, and the grilled razor clams are wonderful. It was my first time trying razor clams, and it was so, so good. If you must only order one thing, definitely try their charcuterie - their pre-chosen meat plate is the bomb!!
They are open until 2am everyday, so Bar Isabel is perfect for late night eats, and it's also great for a romantic dinner out during the earlier hours. I definitely recommend making a reservation; otherwise, you may end up waiting longer than you wanted/expected to! The restaurant's atmosphere is cozy and very comfortable which is perfect for casual dining!
I heard all the hype & know. Grant from all his former placements including with my Buddy Simon at the missed Lucien. This is one of those T. O. Places that make you feel your on holiday somewhere else. Not perfect but loved it & wouldn't hesitate to return or recommend.
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Second visit, and I can't believe it was even better than the first.... We were a party of five, and even reserving three weeks in advance, we couldn't get in before 11:15 on a Friday night. Doesn't matter, I was only in TO for a weekend and no way I was missing out on Bar Isabel. From the moment we arrived, everything was perfect. The place is laid back, casual, original. Our waiter was friendly, chill, ready to toss down suggestions without hesitation. You could tell he loves what he does and where he works, which is amazing given that he has been there for years. It just kept getting better...the drinks were excellent, the wine suggestions were on point, the food was above reproach. We had a crazy, fun night. We closed the place, which meant we outlasted our poor waiter, but he advised us that someone else was taking over our table, and no complaints on that side, the new server was just as on point, just as fun. My second time there out of two visits to Toronto, and no doubt it will be on the list next visit as well.
Super service! Try the basque cake - incredible!
This place is next to impossible to get reservations for and after going there for some drinks I now understand why. It's a cute little spot on College Street that has a great tapas menu and cocktail list. We ended up walking in with no reservation one night last week. Even though it was Tuesday it was still full...but we were lucky enough to grab two seats at the bar. All of the dishes we tried were delicious. The croquettes and bone marrow melted in your mouth. They also have a very nice wine selection. I will definitely be coming back for dinner, but I'll probably need reservations for that.
Everytime I've been here I'm blown away by the great atmosphere and service. The food is good, but not every dish is a winner. The ceviche was bland and octopus dry. Lovely charcuterie and solid drinks.
Lovely experience. Went in with a friend for some wine. The server was lovely. He was quietly attentive, even though the place was packed and buzzing. We shared an inexpensive but delicious bottle of red - and towards the end the server brought us a small plate of olives and cheese as a gift! It was delightful, and I look forward to my next visit.
Amazing sweetbreads. Was here for drinks with friends a few weeks ago. The food is out of this world. Their smoked sweetbreads are some of the most flavourful I've ever had. Highly recommended! The cocktail menu is also very thorough and well put together. The staff are a bit rushed, but always willing to help. Make sure you reserve in advance as this place gets packed early on.
One of toronto's best. Spanish inspired tapas done right. the food is amazing and very unique. something here for everyone. and sharing is a must! cool hipster vibes with the red lighting. definitely very "toronto". Since it opened last year it has been one of my go-to spots
Bar Isabel. This place is definitely worth all the hype! For a Tuesday night, the restaurant was packed and had a great vibe throughout. I would recommend reserving a table beforehand. Went with a bigger group and the tapas style menu was great for a larger group as we got to try a bit of everything. From the appetizers to the mains, every single dish that came out was filled with a variety of flavours! Highly recommend the bone marrow and whole octopus. Look forward to going back and trying other things on the menu!
Really good tapas.... Hype or no hype, who cares...it's just really good creative tapas. Open very late which is great. The octopus is excellent and tender, the crostini with the nduja and honey is an excellent combination and delicious. The sea bream & the bone marrow were both a group favourite. Cocktails are expensive but delicious and the wines are priced well. Service is professional.
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Bar isabel brings you one of the most authentic and unique tapas in Toronto! We arrived at 6pm on a Friday, right when they opened. Immediately as the doors opened, we were greeted by the lovely staff and were seated promptly by the host. We sat by the bar, and the bar tender was very knowledgeable about the menu and the drink list. I requested for a wheat ale for the night and she suggests this wonderful beer from Montreal that had it's own vibrant red colour and light wheat/fruity taste. It was by dieu du ciel, wheat ale with hibiscus which I highly recommend. We ordered the sea bream ceviche, patatas bravas with blood sausage, half of the grilled octopus and bone marrow. Every dish came out to perfection in terms of taste and presentation. Our favourite was definitely the sea bream ceviche. It just melted in your mouth and the avocado worked perfectly with the acidity of the dish!!! The bone marrow was delicious. I've had it before in my culture so I was familiar with the taste, but my bf who has never had it before found it to be one of his least favourite dishes. We were hoping to get dessert but we were running late for a show. Overall their food was amazing and their service was impeccable... The bar tender was extremely attentive with us while she was making multiple drinks throughout the night, which all looked unique and delicious. She even gave me her tide pen and some soda right away when I spilt some bone marrow on my dress. Food was excellent, but would try different appetizers next time. Would definitely come back again!
I love everything about Bar Isabel.. Would return at any given time, at any given day.. just amazing! try the ceviche, octopus or pork tenderloin and the cured chorizo, bread and olives to start. Definitely one of Toronto's best.
Michael Anthony Zullo
+4.5
Great food and great service. what else more can you ask for? ...follow me on instagram for some of the best food, drink and car posts @mrmichaelzullo
OCTOPUS!. The octopus was absolutely delish! Definitely recommend this spot!
Review 62. Great boquerones, mojama, and asparagus. Cocktails need work, but better than last time
An amazing experience. Went with two friends and we shared 6 plates as well as a dessert. Everything we tried tasted fresh and flavourful. I even found myself enjoying sweet breads, something that I normally wouldn't try. The service was incredibly pleasant, responsive, and helpful. Our server made some excellent recommendations and seemed to know the menu well. In terms of price range, Bar Isabel is a bit on the higher end, but I definitely felt that it was money well spent. After all, I've spent almost as much for subpar service and food. The only criticism I have is that the restaurant gets pretty loud and it became difficult to carry on a conversation. Still, I will be returning and recommending to friends.
Great!. It is a great place, food was out of this world! really enjoyed it!
Well earned title of Best Resaurant. LOVED this place. Absolutely amazing ribeye.
Such nice flavours in the food & great service.
they dont need to charge the prices they do, but they can because this town has so much money. most people dont, but some do.
Some incredible elements but not amazing overall. I recommend the sea bream ceviche and the basque cake. Don't get the chorizo.
AMAZING! everything is great you can't really go wrong. Some must tries are the fried chicken, the flat bread and the basque cake! Delicious!
Love love love this place. food exceptional. service fantastic. unique in its own way. there is nowhere like it. must try the octopus!!!
Amazing. If ANY of the "Foodies" can give anything less than perfect for the food at Bar Isabel....then they should go to a different restaurant......This is the epitome of great food and atmosphere...Bar Isabel is GREAT!!!!!!
Awesome tapas and vibe. A touch of Barcelona in T-dot! "All day, all night..." for those who know the song! Much-needed European kitchen hours; great beers & Spanish wines and awesome staff!
Review in Haiku:. Delicious small plates
Well priced but very rich
So incredibly loud
Wonderful!. Sat at the bar without a reservation, but definitely recommend one as this place was packed! Finally a place worthy of the crowd. Great service. Really knowledgable staff. Great menu with lots of options. Standard prices for food, cocktails were a bit overpriced. The portions were actually quite decent even for sharing style tapas. We had the chorizo/octopus skewers (amazing), fried chicken (so tender), deviled eggs with blood sausage, blood sausage with foie gras (delectable), sardine crostinis, blistered peppers (delish), charred leeks, and probably the best ceviche I've ever had. Everything was delicious. I'll definitely be going back. Great place for a date!
Just ok. I've had better tapas. Food was fine, not stellar. Overly seasoned, too much garlic. Drink/cocktail menu was confusing at best. My drink was really awful. Restaurant was too loud. I would only go back if friends chose it. Lots of options, but nothing was amazing that we had - and we ordered half the menu!
Well worth the wait if you don't have a reservation! Super friendly staff, great food and an amazing beer selection! Thanks for a great night!
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Amazing food that its fine not having a conversation.. Went the with two friends last week.
We were all amazed with the food that was served.
The environment provided a very hipster vibe, but with a much more mature crowd.
The music was too loud that we cannot carry a regular conversation, a large crowd next to our table had to shout across the table to the point people at our table just stopped talking.
Drinks we great, cocktails are a little pricy but matches its quality. I would definitely recommend ordering their specialty cocktails on the menu, rather than the usual bar cocktails as it mediocre.
As for the food I would definitely recommend the whole fish ceviche, chunks of fresh fish balanced with a lightly citrus creamy sauce and the rest of the fish deep fried. You got to take apart the whole fish and can taste the freshness.
The oysters were okay, nothing special.
Order the salami plate to try a bit of everything, it's different everyday according to the chef. Is quite a hefty portion.
The horse tartare was alright, quite fresh, great flavour but didn't stand out among the things we ordered.
We also ordered the bone marrow, it's quite a big piece according to the price. (Much bigger than what other places would serve)
The fried chicken was amazing, though we were quite full. Boneless and moist instead, crispy outside and very flavourful.
Would definitely go there again to eat, definitely not somewhere I want to goto for a date or with friends.
Best Food in town and service. Service was quick and friendly. The ambiance is great and has a very spanish feel to it. I tried one of their beers on tap recommended by the waitress - shawinigan handshake. It's a 7% that has a mild hoppiness to it and went great with my meal. We had the chips/jalapenos and horse tartare to start. I thought the tartare was very decadent but the chips a little boring... my date thought the opposite. The fried chicken was delicious and juicy and the buttermilk dip was a great compliment. We also had a stewed tripe w/ chorizo which is highly recommended if you can stomach tripe (no pun intended!).
Great night out at Bar Isabel. Every now and then you find a little gem of a restaurant that brings it all together with great food that delivers wonderful taste, festive atmosphere were everyone is just having a good time, an escape from a busy day and outstanding service that was attentive and personable. Great night out - Thanks Chef Grant - you and your Team knocked it out of the park tonight !
I'll be back !
Great boquerones, mojama, and asparagus. The cocktails are overpriced, and I didn't love the devilled eggs, but an overall great meal.
It's a very nice place to go with friends. We had some tapas, sobrassada, mojama, marrow bone and platter chef. All very well done and accompanied by Cava! The music really defines the place and the staff member are really great! I'm really planing to go back soon!
The brainchild of one of the most talked about chefs in the city, Chef Grant van Gameren (the co-founder of the trend-setting Black Hoof) and his business partner, the year-old Bar Isabel has already become a serious contender in Toronto’s culinary scene.
Make sure you make your reservation at least a month in advance! This place is hot, hot, hot! I can’t even begin to explain how yummy the food is here; tapas like no other in Toronto! As we were seated we were asked if we wanted drinks, so I did what I always do, I ask “what’s your fav” and let the waitress choose. I was recommended this rum mojito concoction that came out as a martini – It was STIFF….I mean STIFF. I like my stiff drinks but this was STIFF LOL! – No complaints though because it went well with the dishes. Every single dish was different but out of this world. the flavours were bold yet subtle. the colours were vibrant yet mute. It was a great mix and match type thing and it all tasted like heaven. We ordered many apps to share and I preferred those over the main dishes to be honest. They had these special mussels on special for the night – they were incredible, best part of the meal.
Spécialités(s): Tapas espagnols. Les vedettes du menu: la pieuvre grillée avec chorizo et poivrons, le thon Andalousien avec citron et amandes, le crabe de neige.
Ambiance: éclectique, branchée, réussie comme celle d’une taverne espagnole!
Bar Isabel opened last year and already made tons of buzz across the country, let alone Toronto. Enroute Magazine named Bar Isabel the number 1 restaurant in Canada in 2013...
The place was jammed. And tables kept getting turned over as the night went on (10 on a Sunday and this isn’t New York). I wasn’t feeling great or particularly adventurous, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the great eats. We ordered quite a bit…. Garden Pickles x 3 – there’s no such thing as a pickle that’s not my friend. This was a great mix – broccoli, celery, peppers, carrots and more with a little spice. Perfectly done. We ordered two to start and then I needed a third. Olives – meh. Just olives. A couple different kinds with garlic, some lemon zest
Neither of these desserts were as fancily decorated as we were expecting, but both BLEW OUR MINDS. So simple-looking but so amazing-tasting!
The basque cake itself was crunchy on its sides and soft and spongy in the centre. It soaked up the sherry cream and tasted amazing. It was sweet and delicious.
Honest ingredients in dishes like breaded and deep fried sushi sized pieces of perch that were light as air and soft as a pillow. Salt cured fois gras terrine atop (my all time fave!) fried blood pudding. Swiss chard with raisins and blistered shishito peppers gave us some greens and crispness. Moving on to sweetbreads on a bed of fresh peas and what looks like pickled spruce tips only made sense. One of the key things that makes the difference between a fine meal and a great one is temperature and texture. Everything here felt like it was cooked at it’s own perfect pace. As though the food walked from the market (or forest as the case may be), chose it’s own accompaniment and wrote it’s finest final day on earth. If I were a spruce tip, I would want to be picked, pickled and served with sweetbreads that were perfectly pan fried to crispy on the outside and soft and sweet within. Wouldn’t you? - See more at: http://www.myfriendinfood.com/2013/07/11/dinner-with-isabel/#sthash.qfUFC
Menu items are encouraged to be shared and designed as such. Pursuing the menu, The Fiance and I decided that our strategy was to try as many dishes as possible. This meant we ordered 4 appetizers, skipped the “meat” section all together and I had to make the difficult choice between ordering the Octopus or Whole Sea Bream Ceviche.
Four would be the ideal party size, as Bar Isabel has many delicious sounding large plates (octopus and rib eye) that we would have loved to try if there wasn’t only two of us. Yet, we still found some delicious smaller dishes to share, the first being the pan con jamón Iberico de bellota ($16). My love affair with jamón Iberico first began in Ba
I finally made it to the talk of the town Bar Isabel for dinner with my co workers. It has been on my list of restaurants to try for a while now after having read amazing reviews on the food that they have. Photo from tripadvisor We arrived at 6pm, right when they opened and had no problems getting a table. But around 6:30, the restaurant started to fill up quickly and by the time we left, it was packed. Lesson of the day - get there early!!! The dining style at Bar Isabel is tapas, so most of the dishes are small and meant for sharing. It was difficult to choose what we wanted to try given our large group but thankfully our server offered us customized menus. We basically told him how much we wanted to spend per person and handed over the responsibility of what we should be ordering! We put our trust in our server, and we're glad we did! The first thing to come out of the kitchen was the Bread along with pickled vegetables, olives and garlic . As soon as we tasted the food, we knew
If this is the new wave of hipster joints I'm all in! I felt like I was the customer and not an intruder shunned for not knowing what the hell a boquerone was. They take credit cards and reservations. The food was solid, there are good beer on tap (including a Dieu du Ciel, Rosee D’Hibiscus, Belgian Wit which I am drinking right now) and the decor is unique but welcoming.
Bar Isabel is one of the rare restaurants in the city whose slate of dishes can be very eclectic and yet still quite successful; the reason for this is clearly the skill and the creativity in the kitchen. I didn’t like every dish, but I loved at least five of them and that counts for a lot in my book.
Service is impeccable. Prices are fair. Food is fantastic - highly recommend the jamon iberico, sea bream ceviche, octopus and basque cake!!
When the former chef of Black Hoof opens a restaurant how could I not try it? We started off with the Roast Bone Marrow served with toasted bread, chimichurri and salt. Super rich and fatty, it's like beef butter!
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
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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.
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