Bar Coca
This was one of those gems that we stumbled upon. Not knowing where to go or what to eat in Toronto, we had a loose recommendation from a friend for a small place called Coca. So after being complete tourists and scaling the CN Tour for night views and downing Martini’s at Panorama Bar, we ended up on Queen Street West and found Coca. We were late – 10pm – relevant as the kitchen serves Tapas all night, but finishes the main, larger dishes at 10.30pm.
The bar is owned by a guy called Brad Denton, who seems to know what works – simple bar layout, hardwood furnishings, good looking staff and a top team in the kitchen serving Spanish influenced Tapa’s and good wine. We (two of us) decided to make our way through as much of the Tapas as possible in a couple of hours – it’s fair to repeat here that the tapas aren’t truly traditional and there are a few reviews out there that don’t seem to rate them, but I thought they were perfect, imaginative and very tasty.
The best for me were the Grilled Peppers with chorizo, quails eggs and pork belly and Ducks tongues - after chatting to the waitress, it turns out that the chefs like to butcher the animals they use themselves and use as much as possible. We also went for the house special, Cocas - Catalan flatbreads served with Mahon cheese and various toppings. The honey and wild flowers was superb. Finally, a trout poached in olive oil with a hazelnut crust was amazing.
I wish I’d been able to get more photos, but luckily I found these on Flickr, posted by Andree Lau. Andree also runs a great blog that I have now found – are you gonna eat that.
Stuffed peppers and home made chorizo
Poached trout and hazelnut crust
So if you have a hunt around, you will find some quite negative reviews about this place, but don’t pay attention, it is great and I wish them all the best of luck with the future.
Coca
783 Queen Street West
Toronto
(416) 703-0783
August 26th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
[…] of late. Only occasionally visiting a Spanish restaurant in London, after the meal in Toronto at Bar Coca, I thought I must have more of this, and ended up recently in both the Salt Yard and Fino – […]