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Having spent six years running The Atlantic, an incredibly popular restaurant in Toronto’s Little Portugal, Nathan Isberg decided he needed a change. He traveled and worked on side projects for about a year before an opportunity to open a new restaurant presented itself. Although hesitant to invest both mentally, physically and financially, he began to see his vision become reality. “I started feeling intrigued about the idea of opening something on a larger scale; to take the best parts of The Atlantic and expand on them,” says Nathan.
After looking for various spots throughout the city, he and business partner Roger Yang found a space that was closed, unavailable and set for demolition within the year. Nathan decided to take on the lease anyway figuring he'd make his mark before his time was up. As it turns out, the demolition clause was removed giving Nathan a chance to once again become a permanent fixture on Toronto’s dining scene. Awai, his new pay-what-you-like, plant-based restaurant opened in January 2017 in the heart of Bloor West Village.
Read the story of Awai RestaurantAbsolutely loved the experience! Incredibly knowledgeable staff. Beautiful, creative, and delicious food. Accommodated my request for alternatives and spice. Chef checked in with me post meal. Server granted a tour of the venue's personal garden. I couldn't ask for more!
Good overall. A little pricey, but the quality and portions were great. Service was great. For that price point the washrooms should be a bit more up to date and clean. Overall very good spot and would recommend and go again.
Ambiance: 4/5
Cuisine: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Delicious beautiful food!
Ambiance: 5/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Loved the food. I do not eat meat and dairy so it was refreshing to go to a beautiful restaurant that catered to people like me.
Ambiance: 5/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 4/5
I have now eaten at Awai several times and the food has been consistently flavourful, surprising, thoughtfully balanced and beautiful to look at. No one could ask for more inventive or interesting fare, and the service, particularly on this occasion, was friendly, prompt-but-unrushed, attentive and excellent. Three of our party were last minute no-shows, and the rest of us arrived incredibly late due to the snowstorm and snarled traffic. I am sure this inconvenienced the restaurant mightily, but despite this, all of the staff were wonderfully understanding and gracious toward us. We had the five-course tasting menu (which we felt was just the perfect amount of food), and everyone at our table loved what they ate despite the fact that everybody except me was a lifelong, diehard carnivore who could not believe that what they were eating was made only from plants! At the conclusion of the meal they said how surprised they were that they felt totally sated and satisfied and hadn't missed the meat and dairy at all. Also, everyone really loved the no menu idea! Personally, I wish every restaurant did this! Food will clearly be at its best when the chef can just choose whatever happens to be freshest in the market that day and then make whatever he feels most enthused to make. Additionally, it means that instead of spending time perusing choices from a long menu, guests can spend the time that they have together actually enjoying each other's company while plate after plate of amazing food just appears. It makes the whole experience effortless for the customer, and I'm all for it! Also, the fact that I have allergies was no problem. My allergies were happily accommodated, and the last minute, substitute dish that came instead of one of the courses (because of my allergies) was NOT a we-can't-be-bothered-afterthought type of thing, but instead was the most extraordinarily detailed and inventive beet carpaccio dish I have ever tasted! All in all, we had a wonderfully elegant and inspired dining experience, and I would happily recommend this place to anyone. This was the pleasurable and richly sensory experience that dining out SHOULD be, but rarely is. Bravo!
Ambiance: 5/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
The food was absolutely delicious, we chose the 8 courses and I was really full. The appetizer was a shared pizza and incredible. The next 6 entres were visually exciting and each was tasty and I really appreciated the edible fowers and the sauces were divine. The dessert, last course was exquisite. We chose not to have alcohol and enjoyed the rose lavender lemonade and a cellery herb cocktail that was fantastic. Our seever Emily was dynamic and on top of her game! We sat very close to the door and I was cold. Outside of dinning in Winter we left with our mouths rocking with flavours and satiated with delight.
Ambiance: 4/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Excellent dinner - would highly recommend, the food is creative and delicious, each course is varied from the last. The ambiance is modern and relaxing and the service very friendly! Rare to find a classy vegan restaurant but Awai delivers!!!
Ambiance: 5/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Food was very refined, creatively presented and uniquely tasty. Our server was terrific. Two constructive comments: the dessert serving was silly small and the wine list was unusually limited and felt pricey. That said, we look forward to going back.
Ambiance: 5/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
The tasting menu was good overall. Definitely some inventive delicious dishes, such as the main with mushrooms and a millet risotto; the salad was fresh and delightful. We opted for the faux cheese board over the flatbread starter, and it was excellent. Some misses - the potato based soup was a bit bland. Lovely service from a new staff member. Awai is always changing it up, so it’s exciting to see what the next season or iteration of the restaurant brings. This is our 5th time visiting. Gratitude for experimenting with vegan dishes that are both beautiful and tasty!
Ambiance: 4/5
Cuisine: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Awai is the most beautiful dining experience I have ever had. Plant-based or not. If you ever get the chance to go, take it.
Ambiance: 5/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
I was blown away by the flavors of every dish. Unexpected experience and well-worth a visit.
Ambiance: 4/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 4/5
Good food, good service..
Ambiance: 4/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
I think Awai is hands down the best vegan restaurant in the city. Maybe just the best restaurant! Incredible food, incredible service, it’s such a treat to eat there. Thank you for yet another incredible meal, it was my 5th time and will be back again soon!
Ambiance: 5/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Loved it!! Creative, delicious and the surprise element was a big plus.
Ambiance: 4/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Great food and drinks (lemonade and mule) and fantastic service. The serving team took the time to explain every dish to us and frequently checked on us to ensure that the food was good and that we had enough to drink. Well done!
Ambiance: 5/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Great experience and wonderful service!
Ambiance: 5/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Food and service were exceptional. Thank you for an amazing experience.
Ambiance: 5/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Food and service were excellent.
Ambiance: 4/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Absolutely delicious! Will definitely be going back. Food and service were both amazing!
Ambiance: 5/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Overall a pleasant experience. Food was exceptional.
Ambiance: 4/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 4/5
Excellent plant based meals and presentation. Awai does an incredible job of accommodating food restrictions. Very impressed what they make so my dish looks so similar to my partner's dish. No other restaurant masters that!
Ambiance: 5/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
What an amazing experience. Thank you for top quality service as well as a truly unique and memorable culinary experience.
Ambiance: 5/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
excellent service and food
Ambiance: 5/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Loved the food! The flavour combinations, the cooking methods and the presentation were amazing. My friend has food insensitivities, and the server specifically came to ask if there were any restrictions, before our meals were prepared and prior to my friend mentioning the restrictions. The service was top notch, and the server was very knowledgeable about the menu, and able to describe in great detail what each course was, and how it was prepared. The ambiance was lovely - muted dinner-appropriate music playing in the background, so it was not too loud. Even though the restaurant was quite full, the noise levels were pretty low, so it was easy to converse. I would definitely return to this restaurant for the service, ambiance, and a food experience a little different than what I normally eat. (The restaurant is vegan, and I am not.)
Ambiance: 5/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Lovely evening with good friends having a superb dinner. Exquisite food and presentation.
Ambiance: 4/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
loved Nathan Isberg's Atlantic and while Awai is not as cosy as the Atlantic we fully enjoyed the food. the service was good and the variety of the 5 course meal was lovely...would certainly be back if it was closer to home. Please open something in the east end.
Ambiance: 3/5
Cuisine: 4/5
Service: 4/5
It was literally the best food we ever had. We felt like we were in a dream. I almost cried at one point, I couldn't believe what I was tasting. Unreal. I cannot wait to go back.
Ambiance: 4/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Great place, great atmosphere, AWESOME FOOD!
Ambiance: 5/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Loved it! We will be back.
Ambiance: 4/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
The service from Ryan was great and the food was even better. Talk about flavor!! Interesting ingredients and preparations unlike any other place. Atmosphere was so nice as well. I loved it and would recommend to anyone! It does not matter how you identify, plant based or non, you just simply cannot deny the taste of the food— absolutely exceptional experience.
Ambiance: 5/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
What a delightful last meal of 2018! Our meal was a special and unique experience, and we were glad we chose Awai to celebrate our NYE. Our server (so sorry I forget his name) was very kind and helpful with his guidance on the food. A great place for a special occasion!
Ambiance: 5/5
Cuisine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Think your friends might be familiar with this business? Ask your friends on Facebook to see what they think.
Plant-based restaurants were popping up all over Toronto in the last half of 2016, so it was no surprise when Awai opened in this winter! The vegan friendly-cuisine is amplified when enjoyed on the backyard-style patio, that also serves as Chef Nathan Isberg’s greenhouse!
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