3 hospitality heavyweights join forces to bring Spanish flair to Little Italy

When Grant van Gameren announced that the always-bustling Martine's Wine Bar would be closing, it sent ripples through Toronto's food scene. It wouldn't take long, though, for the pieces to fall into place. Longtime collaborators van Gameren and sommelier Hailey Burke (Bar Raval) were teaming up with Zach Smith, the chef behind Fat Rabbit and Les Incompetents in St. Catharines, to reimagine the Palmerston Avenue space. 

With three of the province's most exciting restaurateurs joining forces, the buzz is palpable as I step into Casa Rubia's two-level space, tucked behind Bar Raval. Its location is significant; with the same team at the helm and a shared love of Spanish cooking, Casa Rubia feels like a sit-down sibling to its standing-room neighbour.

When it comes to the design, Casa Rubia hasn't reinvented the wheel. The bar area, shelves of wine and even the whitewashed walls and chairs upstairs remain unchanged. But there's a renewed energy in the room, perhaps thanks to the sight of van Gameren himself slicing Ibérico ham.

Committing to Spanish flavours makes perfect sense here. After all, having somewhere you can sit down and eat more than olives and anchovies on toast, a stone's throw from Bar Raval, is genius.

This isn't just tapas without backache, though. As with any Zach Smith vehicle, the dishes are big, bold and unapologetic. Anyone shocked to see a pig's head behind glass at Fat Rabbit may want to look away when the table next to them orders the suckling pig, served whole. 

There's also a whole roasted turbot and a massive, sauce-smothered, 18-ounce, bone-in Galician ribeye, from the cattle breed that gives Casa Rubia its name. But it's not all about the showstoppers. Marinated mussels in a charred leek sauce are among the many highlights of the evening, alongside impossibly fresh tomatoes straight from van Gameren's own garden and a whopping bone that covers the table, filled with rich marrow and topped with scallops that I greedily scoop up. It's sheer indulgence on Tuesday night, but why the hell not?

The drinks are just as much of a draw here. Burke brings her cocktail know-how to a lineup of Spanish twists on classics, from a Manzanilla sherry-laced martini to an aromatic sidecar, spritzed with bergamot.

Wine director Lexi Wolkowski is also on hand to keep your drink topped up, showcasing a selection predominantly from Italy, Spain and Portugal. A zippy biodynamic vino verde pairs beautifully with much of the menu, while a deep-cherry tempranillo from Spain’s Ribera del Duero gives the food a run for its money.

Casa Rubia isn't doing anything groundbreaking, but it's a reminder that you don't need bells and whistles when you've got good food, great wine and a buzzy bistro setting. 

Dinner and drinks for two is around $200, before tax and tip; thisiscasarubia.com