Bar Prima, located in Toronto's Queen West neighborhood, is a newly opened elegant Italian restaurant that combines modern flavors with classic Italian cuisine. Its brick-red exterior is full of classical style, and its two large doors cleverly hide the interior, creating a sense of isolation from the outside world. As soon as you step through the door and reveal the mystery of the restaurant, you feel like you have traveled back in time to a world full of old-school charm and 1990s style.
The restaurant's décor uses dim lighting to evoke timeless and nostalgic emotions, creating a luxurious and elegant atmosphere. From Italian disco music to retro design touches, Bar Prima has crafted a space that seems to have lasted forever. Inside the restaurant, guests are greeted by the warm aura of the Italian Murano amber glass curtain wall, which is complemented by white tablecloths and gold leaf ceilings, creating a sophisticated and charming atmosphere.
Modern interpretations of classic Italian dishes
Bar Prima is famous for its unique interpretations of classic Italian dishes. The menu presents traditional cuisine in a modern and simple way, offering a variety of delicious American Italian dishes. One example is Scallops Rockefeller, a fragrant and unique twist on New Orleans' famous appetizer, Oyster Rockefeller. Another appetizer is the classic Italian cream bread (Maritozzi). Local boys will hide wedding rings in the cream sandwich. The restaurant instead squeezes a delicate and dense chicken liver mousse filling and garnishes it with a salty flavor. Caviar, showing off many layers of flavor.
In terms of main dishes, Bar Prima incorporates modern twists on traditional dishes, such as the home-cooked Chicken Saltimbocca, which is usually cooked in a simple way. The chicken wrapped in ham is first fried and then topped with a rich sauce. ; The restaurant uses sous-vide marinating and flattening of chicken before frying it, showing a sophisticated cooking style while retaining the essence of traditional dishes. The restaurant also combines simple and high-end ingredients, such as pig tail and Iberian pork shoulder, to make the classic Italian meat sauce (ragu), providing an easy-to-understand interpretation of the classic delicacy.
Bar Prima was founded by culinary director Craig Harding and executive chef Julian D'Ippolito, with head chef Nicholas Iaboni. Craig Harding's culinary journey began in a close-knit Italian family where he was deeply influenced by his grandmother's cooking. Recalling his childhood, he shared: “My grandmother was the kind of person who would cook from scratch and even make wine. We would get together every week and have a great meal, and that was always my time. Great memories of never getting tired of it. After graduation, I started my career in the catering industry in an Italian restaurant. I loved the energy and pace of the industry and the enthusiasm of a large team, so I enrolled in culinary school and accepted it. I have received various trainings, worked in restaurants in different places, and traveled to Italy as much as possible in search of delicious food experiences.”
Bar Prima is Harding's fourth restaurant. He said: "Bar Prima is the pinnacle of all my restaurants. We are committed to providing higher-level and more refined service. I used to go to the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto with my family as a child. The restaurant was celebrating my mom's birthday and the gorgeous service and formal dining atmosphere of that time was imprinted in my mind. I wanted to recreate that old-school feel and return to a more formal dining style. At Bar Prima, we want our guests to enjoy elegant service and an environment. , such as the waiters pouring sauces, shaving fresh truffles, or adding ice cubes to cocktails at the table, and chatting with guests. These small details are unique and we hope to create a place that makes people want to dress up. Dressing up to attend a dining venue makes every night special and full of ceremony.”
The ingenuity behind the mystery menu
Harding says Bar Prima's menu is inspired by his culinary journey, from New York to Rome and back to his grandmother's kitchen. He wanted the menu to bring people together, so he started with some famous Italian or American Italian dishes, such as Agnolotti al Forno (Lasagna), Fra Diavolo with Spicy Tomato Sauce (Fra Diavolo) and Seafood Spaghetti. These classic dishes often feel familiar, evoking memories of the past while possessing a rich history and rich cultural connotations. They then add some modern twists to this foundation to inject novelty into these dishes.
The restaurant's menu only lists the names of the dishes, without any explanation of the ingredients. When asked if this was an intentional move, Harding laughed: "I wanted to provoke more thought and interaction from the diners, and the ambiguity in the menu descriptions helped the overall dining experience. I noticed that this restaurant was more interesting than my other restaurants." It is easy to create conversations between tables. Guests at different tables will ask each other: What is that? What do you have there? It also increases communication between guests and waiters, giving them a lot of opportunities to interact and socialize. I hope to slow down the pace of dining, not just come in and eat in a hurry, but sit down and have a cocktail, eat some snacks, and ask about the menu details, so that diners have more space to think.”
He plans to open more new restaurants in Toronto, saying: "Whenever I finish something, I always think, what's next? My mind is filled with possibilities. On the other hand, building a strong team The team is important and when you have a team you want to see them grow and take on new responsibilities so creating more restaurants and moving them forward is the only way to do that. I feel some pressure, but at the same time I am very excited. Next, I hope to create a very modern, young and interesting Italian restaurant.”
