usy, endearing and tragically tiny, Focaccia has become a destination spot for its eccentric, ever-changing menu. Not everything is a smashing success, but chef Pedro Quintanilla (Xango) gets lots of points for turning out a slew of pretty damn good creations from a shower-size kitchen.

Downtown chic comes to, well, downtown, as Focaccia soon intrigues and warms the cynical. A diminutive domicile, which is shoehorned into the narrow ground-floor of a Yonge/Bloor townhouse, feeling as snug as a railway dining car. The design is clean and comfortable, with wood and tile accents, A room of earthy hues, overhead wine racks, is a nice touch to fill the undernourished Bloor and Yonge void.

Yet Focaccia has acquired the egalitarian appeal of normalcy; it exists in this town so quietly you'd think it was being backed by the Oxygen Network. The restaurant exterior, down this side street, possesses no sense of place, spirit, or intent. It's as if all feeling of being in Toronto has evaporated. And you're at Yonge and Bloor.

Yet, Focaccia is a remarkably ambitious restaurant for the area. Chef Quintanilla ’s eclectic and now accomplished cuisine is mostly responsible for that. Gassira makes magic with forward-looking Mediterranean-inspired mains. Classic meets creative in dishes like braised rabbit with Savoy-stuffed"dirty" rice and veggie gumbo or duck confit alongside shrimp 'n' water-chestnut dumplings over leek fricassee; potato–crusted salmon filet with truffled tomato fondue; organic beef sirloin with chayote squash; foie gras on a lobster tail

In this unpretentious boite on a side-street at Bloor and Yonge, Pedro Quintanilla has found his beat.


Reader Reviews

Angela, Toronto
November 20, 2002
Anyone who has not been to this restuarant in a while, beware, menu prices have skyrocketed. Martiniboys review say complete dinner for $40 per person, inclusive--it is now this amount for the entree only. The food is very good. The vegtable servings are miniscule. The appetizers start at $15 and you cannot order a salad only. The service was the worst I've experienced, with only one waiter for the entire restaurant, and it was a Saturday evening.