Awai
Address: 2277 Bloor St. W. (near Runnymede Ave.), 647-643-3132, awai.ca
Chef: Nathan Isberg
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Reservations: Yes
Wheelchair access: Yes
Price: Dinner for two with wine, tax and tip: $70
Beet this
There’s nothing fake about Awai.
The new vegan restaurant in Bloor West Village is the real deal, run by a philosophical chef who uses heady spices and umami-rich mushrooms to showcase the deliciousness of plants. No faux hot dogs here.
“The way we have to work backwards from meat-centric cuisine is farcical,” says Nathan Isberg (ex-The Atlantic).
Isberg stays on the straight and narrow foodwise, puréeing white beans into velvety soup ($15) showered in black truffles from Burgundy. He elevates golden beet soup ($12) with fragrant berbere powder, chopped pistachios and the delight of fresh mint.
What’s not to like?
The iconoclast
Isberg, 41, is a classically trained chef and anthropologist who puts big ideas into practice.
There is no tipping at Awai (pronounced “ah-WHY,” it is Japanese for subtle but necessary). Servers earn a living wage. Leave extra money if you want, but it isn’t expected.
Isberg has abolished the usual restaurant hierarchy, which he believes “creates a culture of violence.” Here, he and his cooks bring food to the tables and interact with diners.
Food accessibility is another key concept. Awai makes a daily vegetable curry served with chickpea flour pancakes. At $3, it is as tasty as it is affordable.
The vibe
Isberg and business partner Roger Yang opened Awai on Dec. 1 in a former Italian restaurant.
The minimalist 36-seat front dining room is quiet, letting customers converse for hours over gingery kefir mocktails ($8) or organic wines. I dare you not to chuckle at the list. The organic Mas de Soleilla Petit Mars ($13) is personified as “a French man who makes friends easily and . . . gives out toffee and minty pastilles to the children.”
It all feels quite relaxed but be warned: Because Awai deliberately lacks a manager, service can be hit and miss.
Go to seed
From the previous tenant’s wood-burning oven emerge the crisp Spanish flatbreads that are Isberg’s culinary calling card. The dough, now free of lard, holds up well under caramelized onions and oyster mushrooms ($17) or a bushel of roast cherry tomatoes ($16).
Isberg further harnesses the flames to blister potatoes in the coals. He turns the blackened, more flavourful spuds into dumplings ($18) partnered with crunchy white onions and an Arab bazaar’s worth of spices.
Then there are the seedlings he cultivates on site for a lively salad ($13) lightly dressed with nutty argan oil and cider vinegar.
Chocolate fix
The more complicated dishes work, too, such as translucent handmade ravioli filled with silky artichokes ($19) and splashed with white wine. The poached pear ($12) sports a crunchy praline mantle and a hidden centre of bittersweet chocolate.
Without cream or eggs, the kitchen gels pulverized pine nuts and the root vegetable salsify into crème brûlée ($10) using carrageenen, a seaweed extract. The grainy texture is off, the one time the plant-based menu is lacking. Even the tarte Tatin ($13) is delicious sans butter.
Soon Awai will serve lunch. I said Planta was the city’s best vegan restaurant. I was wrong.
apataki@thestar.ca , Twitter @amypataki
apataki@thestar.ca , Twitter @amypataki
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