A no-reservation, stylish, intimate and lively bar with fantastic cocktails and even better Spanish style sharing dishes, Bar Raval is a quality experience.
A very innocent entrance on the outside, Bar Raval is very much a wonder.
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Accepting of all, Bar Raval never feels pretentious
Bar Raval has a lovely interior. The organic African mahogany wood decor that stretches all around the bar and up to the ceiling, to the tabletop itself, feels like you’re in a conservationists museum. Instead, we are treated to a friendly, relaxed scene of locals and experienced chefs, sommeliers and bartenders.
It’s a fantastic, specific bar
Tall seats and standing room, only. Barrels act as tables for ones drinks and small plates. 70s classic rock and other great genres; well, they have a section dedicated to music on their website. Being popular, this is a crowded place with delectable food, and a perfect place to hang out with a buddy when you don’t have much time, or just want to impress some unsuspecting date. But for the gourmand, you’ll want to hang around a lot longer. Several times.
A sample of Bar Raval’s menu.
Pork Shank & Salsa Verde. One bite sealed the deal.
Tuna Pickle Gilda. The olive oil they used was delicious. Perfect with all kinds of drinks.
Amazing food
The menu isn’t too big, but it doesn’t have to be. This is the sign of a great restaurant: quality over quantity. Small plates designed for sharing (called Pintxos) will astound you. The first bite into the Pork Shank and Salsa Verde blew me away. I was sold. It is that good. The Tapas menu is diverse, and you can even order things from the bakery list to go. If anything, Bar Raval serves a local, diverse, yet eclectic clientele. The kitchen is a buzzing, hectic place, and there are just as many people in there as there are those serving.
Top 100 in Canada
Bar Raval was rated #9 in all of Canada according to Canada’s 100 best. This year, it’s at #21. These are but simple accolades, and the ranking jumps around a lot, but it goes to show just how notorious a simple, stylish bar can be.
Sister Restaurant
Bar Isabel, it’s sister restaurant, was #8 in 2016. And now sits well at #12. (As a result, you can guess where I’m going next.) This is all brought to us by Chris Brown, the chef and founder of Citizen Catering, and Grant Van Gameren, the chef and founder of Bar Isabel and Bar Raval.
One of the many stellar cocktails, “Rare Bird.”
The drink list
Bar Raval is known for it’s cocktails, and you should totally have one when you go. But it has a fantastic wine list by a sommelier Lexi Wolkowski. This is important, as one must appreciate such fine cuisine with an appropriate drink, and wine is the way to do that. Also, there’s a wide vermouth and sherry list. Sadly, if beer is your drink of choice, there is a limited selection, which doesn’t say much for the casual or more typical bar goer. Also, this not the best place to entertain ones sports buddy (this is not a sports bar.) It does speak to the level of cuisine, however. Epicurean tastes abound.
Empty bottles adorn the ceiling supported by that organic, African mahogany.
Final Say
First of all, this is one of my favorite experiences at a bar in Toronto. It’s not the cheapest, and it’s not the easiest to get into (it’s a popular place.) In addition to the outstanding food, the cocktails are inspired, the drink lists are for a refined palette, and the decor and music feel like “my kind of place.” (Purely subjective.) As a result,this is a place to bring your mother, to impress a first date, have a casual business meeting, or meet some interesting locals. I just wish they had a beer list.
[usrlist “Decor:9.5” “Food:9.5” “Cocktails:9.4” “Noise Level:7.5” “Service: 8.5” “Price: 8.0”]