(Image: Gizelle Lau)
Leslieville’s dining scene is rife with wine bars and other oenologically inclined restaurants these days like Ascari Enoteca and Glas. The latest example: Skin and Bones, a new restaurant and, yes, wine bar from Daniel Clarke, once a co-owner of Pizzeria Libretto and Enoteca Sociale and Harry Wareham, also an alum of Libretto and Enoteca, who’d been planning on opening a wine-focused restaurant together for some time. For the back of house, the pair snagged chef Matthew Sullivan (Maléna, L’Unità), whose Boxed pop-up dinner series also paid close attention to pairings.
“Each dish is created with a specific wine or type of wine in mind,” Sullivan tells us. Those dishes include starters like crispy chicken tails ($8) or a jar of pickled quail eggs and vegetables ($7), and mains like celeriac gnocchi with uni bottarga ($15) or roasted Perth pork belly with octopus salad ($18). For dessert, a classic sticky toffee pudding ($6) is beefed up with bone marrow caramel. With sommelier Michelle Ratzlaff and consulting sommelier Peter Boyd (Scaramouche) on the wine side, the list offers about 40 by-the-glass options, mostly priced at $10 to $20, showcasing lesser-known wine regions and varietals. There’s also a small selection of cocktails and beer.
Given the restaurant’s name, the space is suitably minimalist, with bar seating that extends to the back, where an uncommonly spacious dining room features oak tables, a partially open kitchen and the original exposed brick of the former auto-parts warehouse. And what of Boxed, which has been dormant since the summer? We’re told Toronto hasn’t seen the last of the pop-up series just yet.
180350 Sticky toffee pudding ($6) served warm with bone marrow caramel and Chantilly cream (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Skin and Bones Introducing: Skin and Bones https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-08-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-08.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-08.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/skin-and-bones/slide/dec12-skin-and-bones-08/ dec12-skin-and-bones-08 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
180349 Beef tartare with iceberg lettuce, milk bread, pickles and Monforte Toscano cheese ($13) (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Skin and Bones Introducing: Skin and Bones https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-07-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-07.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-07.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/skin-and-bones/slide/dec12-skin-and-bones-07/ dec12-skin-and-bones-07 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
180348 Kolapore Springs trout with fried diver clams, purple potatoes and black kale ($21) (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Skin and Bones Introducing: Skin and Bones https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-06-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-06.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-06.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/skin-and-bones/slide/dec12-skin-and-bones-06/ dec12-skin-and-bones-06 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
180347 Pickled quail eggs with pickled seasonal vegetables and brown butter ($7) (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Skin and Bones Introducing: Skin and Bones https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-05-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-05.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-05.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/skin-and-bones/slide/dec12-skin-and-bones-05/ dec12-skin-and-bones-05 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
180346 Fried potatoes with white wine, uni and oyster cream and chervil ($12) (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Skin and Bones Introducing: Skin and Bones https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-04-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-04.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-04.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/skin-and-bones/slide/dec12-skin-and-bones-04/ dec12-skin-and-bones-04 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
180345 Chicken and wine: slow-cooked half chicken with rutabaga purée, celery and white wine sauce ($19) (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Skin and Bones Introducing: Skin and Bones https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-03-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-03.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-03.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/skin-and-bones/slide/dec12-skin-and-bones-03/ dec12-skin-and-bones-03 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
180344 Crispy chicken tails on potato salad ($8) (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Skin and Bones Introducing: Skin and Bones https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-02-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-02.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-02.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/skin-and-bones/slide/dec12-skin-and-bones-02/ dec12-skin-and-bones-02 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
180343 Salt-cured foie gras with preserved quince, brioche and <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily/daily-dish/foodie-follies/2012/11/26/canoe-wild/attachment/nov12-canoe-wild-25/">“L’Effet Papillon”</a> raw honeydew ($11) (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Skin and Bones Introducing: Skin and Bones https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-01-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-01.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-01.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/skin-and-bones/slide/dec12-skin-and-bones-01/ dec12-skin-and-bones-01 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
180351 The front dining room looking out onto Queen East (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Skin and Bones Introducing: Skin and Bones https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-09-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-09.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-09.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/skin-and-bones/slide/dec12-skin-and-bones-09/ dec12-skin-and-bones-09 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
180352 The large back dining room (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Skin and Bones Introducing: Skin and Bones https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-10-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-10.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-10.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/skin-and-bones/slide/dec12-skin-and-bones-10/ dec12-skin-and-bones-10 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
180353 The front bar section of the restaurant, complete with Enomatic wine machine (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Skin and Bones Introducing: Skin and Bones https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-intro-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-intro.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dec12-Skin-and-Bones-intro.jpg 656 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/skin-and-bones/slide/dec12-skin-and-bones-intro/ dec12-skin-and-bones-intro 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
Skin and Bones, 980 Queen St. E., 416-524-5209, skinandbonesto.com, @skinandbonesto
Had dinner at Skin & Bones last week. Food was really fantastic. We went with the server’s recommendations for appetizers: steak tartar and the fried potatoes. Loved the tartar. Dinner was pork belly with octopus salad and beef bourguignon, the latter being my favourite as it was perfectly tender and flavourful. The only drawback personally is that I prefer a smaller, cozier space for dinner, which is not the case here. It wasn’t terrible having such a large room, it’s just not what I’m used to elsewhere in the city. Would definitey come back again.
Overall, highly recommend.
Nice to see yet another restaurant opening in Leslieville! Food was excellent, service was pleasant, just not a fan of the very open space
Have been twice now and I have to say the Food, service and with much adieu the wine is great.
Will be back often as I live in the hood.
Ps I always eat at the bar and this is no exception, warmer then the back dinning room.