I thought the beef tartare was insanely good and I'm normally not even the biggest fan of beef tartare. It's definitely a must order. The octopus was also really tasty & beautifully presented.
The patatas bravas dish wasn't the best I've ever had. It was just really dry in my opinion and there wasn't enough sauce.
This is one place that always brings me back!! The food is incredible and never disappoints. Do the tasting menu...it's worth it. Also, get at least one cocktail. They're good.
On the expensive end , the ceviche is well made and would recommend. The cocktails are okay .
When it's on it's awesome. When it's off it's still good but maybe not worth the price.
The food her was so good that we asked for the menu again so that we could order more even though we weren't hungry
The best Spanish food in toronto but those $$$$ are definitely correct. If you are looking for a special night out this is a great place.
tasty small dishes. I had the bone marrow, treated green peppers, and the tongue.
Authentic Spanish vibe with incredible food. One of the best restaurants in the city.
Good food, nice ambiance. Ok service from our immediate server - she was a bit tense and rushed while we had a late sitting of 9 pm Sunday.
There's nothing really I can say that can articulate the way my mouth felt tonight. Each dish topped one another. The wine list curated by WineOnline.ca left us totally mind blown. Viva La Rioja!!
Extremely friendly staff and quite accommodating. Had four tapas, all very well executed and tasted great. The dessert pie was sweet, delicious but quite filling. Only complaint is the website isn't terribly mobile friendly.
Came after work with friends. Place is very nice but can get quite loud. Service was friendly and food is very good.
Unreal tasting menu. They are quick with the dishes and feels like an authentic experience I would experience in Spain.
As always... Amazing food. Amazing cocktails. Brilliant wine recommendation. Top notch, friendly, knowledgeable, professional service. Too much food, too many drinks. A perfect night.
The attention to detail in both food and service is unmatched at most restaurants in Toronto when compared to Bar Isabel. Comfortable and intimate atmosphere, paired with an extensive and delicious menu. Expect to spend a good amount of money here, but it's certainly an experience worth having.
Overpriced for mediocre small portions. Won't be going back.
Great food. Nice atmosphere but can get a bit loud and dark.
Amazing food. Wish I could afford to go more often.
Amazing experience, superb service, a must visit place if you ever visiting Toronto or just looking for a great date dinner with authentic Spanish atmosphere and food! Thumbs up!
Great place to chill and spend a date night. Food is prettty good. A bit pricey
This is where you eat meals to impress. The plates are small, shareable and exquisite. It isn't cheap, but it's worth it.
A bit on the pricey side, but interesting selection and cool vibe.
All the dishes were good, especially the razor clams, chorizo verde and pork jowl secreto. Basque cake was also tasty. Service was good and food came out at an even pace. The place can be loud once it's packed. Overall second visit for dinner was just as enjoyable as 6 years ago.
The BEST restaurant in Toronto. Incredible value for this caliber of food. The kitchen and bar staff are artists and the service is always perfect.Going again on Thursday and my mouth is watering already.
Always perfect service & amazing food. Thanks to Vanessa for the wonderful suggestions & extensive knowledge.
Great mood+dinner experiences, but almost always because of the hard work of a staff member who I learned was disrespected by the owner in the most disheartening of ways. Forgo This Place.
As always an amazing experience - been multiple times over the last few years and it s never let me down.
The place definitely has a cool vibe casual setting. Fun night out with friends. HOWEVER, the menu only has pork, beef and seafood so if you don t eat any of that you re really stuck with cheese and toast and some small veggie options (like oil soaked hot peppers). The taste is definitely there but for the price we paid it s a LOT of $$.
Horrible service from the second we walked in! We asked for a table for 4 and got an eye roll stating they book 4 months in advance. We were offered a ledge on the wall which was fine, but the service just went downhill from there. A table beside us cleared up and we were able to sit there for 1 hour until the party showed up for their resos. We all got drinks and got asked what we wanted to eat every 4 mins. Can people not go out an enjoy drinks anymore without having to order dinner? When we were ready to order, the menus were taken from us...literally from our hands and said we had to leave..yes, we got the boot.
The worst service ever.
Ok maybe 6 or even 7 stars. Go there right now and have the most wonderful food!
Terrible customer service from host. We went here for our anniversary with another couple. My partner had made reservations a few days prior and even had a phone call to confirm. When we showed up they had cancelled our reservation and stated there was nothing she could do for us. While mid sentence of IMPLYING that it was cancelled by us she LITERALLY TURNED to the door to address another couple coming in!! So rude!! Wait time was going to be over 40 min and not guaranteed so we left. Not to mention that she made my partner feel awful. After being seated at another restaurant he gets a phone call from Bar Isabel!! Why? Maybe because a table was free after all. The people who had actually cancelled their reservation didn't show up and you KICKED OUT the wrong group! NO APOLOGY!! Not mad about the accident. Mistakes happen. How it was handled was ridiculous. Been here before and the food is good. But there are LOTS of places in Toronto with great food and much better service. Think all the ratings have gone to their heads a bit.
Top rated restaurant for a reason. The octopus lives up to the hype, but the menu is full of incredible gems. Make sure you try the cocktails -- they have wizards at the bar.
Fantastic dining experience here. Only issue is it can get a bit noisy. Service was great all the way through. Our server was very helpful with selecting dishes and giving recommendations. Definitely get the grilled octopus and save room for the basque cake for dessert.
Always an amazing experience at Bar Isabel. The food is spectacular, energetic ambiance and Matt s service was simply superb. His recommendations were spot on and he was perfectly attentive and fun. Thanks for a great night.
The cocktails are great. We ask our server to guide us a bit as the menu was new for us and they did a great job asking our likes and dislikes and putting something together for us. We overall had a good dinner but.
Food is well prepared and fresh ingredients. For the price value is not great.
Sat at the bar. Fun staff. Limited but good vegetarian options
Outstanding. Seldom does one require a second order of sea bream ceviche, but it was deemed necessary by all at the table. Strongly recommend the steak tartare, grilled mushrooms, croquetas, and Basque cake, in addition.
I wish I had taken more photos of the beautiful food but it was a little darker inside than i had expected. I really liked fois gras it was my fav dish of the night and the octopus was second. Small plates for sharing is what to expect. Slightly pricey but depends on what you get and how much you order. We had a bottle of wine too so that added up our bill quite a bit more. Pictured below is the grilled octopus. Service was beyond amazing. Lots of staff, all very knowledgeable and attentive to your tables needs.
Brightest highlight of 2020 so far! Great vibe, amazing and super attentive staff, and of course the food! I'm speechless! The foie-grais and octopus are just beyond and above! Definitely in top 3 of the best meals I've had! Coming back 300%!
Both food and drink were delicious and service was amazing.
Cool hipster looking place. Staff is very helpful with the menu and their specials.
Attentive, but not overly in your face.
Great place for a date or a great evening out. The price is quite heavy with small but delicious options.
I've eaten here a couple of times and both experiences were flawless. Incredibly tasty food and cocktails. Extensive beer and wine lists. Staff are on the ball and pay attention to detail. Yes, it's more expensive than your average night out but this place is exceptional. It's worth the money if you appreciate a great dining experience. Save it for a special occasion. Try the bone barrow and octopus.
Intimate eatery! Pleasant service, dim-lighting and a cocktail menu with pizzazz. I ended up trying almost half the menu, no complaints. Reccomend the artichoke & eggplant, meat+cheese and bread combo hit the spot too
Great service and delicious appetizers - would recommend the bone marrow
Exceptional service. Amazing food, we had the tasting menu and each dish was fantastic.
Reservations only! Very bad for business especially for a bar / lounge
Decent wine list and well prepared tapas. Good service. Lively room. Will definitely return.
Great dinner at Bar Isabel. The food menu is quite intense to choose from, we had our server create a tasting menu- it was great. The Sea Bream Ceviche was awesome, the grilled octopus was delicious. They have an amazing wine list with some great options by the glass. You don't see this everywhere. Lots of sherry to try. We will definitely visit again. The atmosphere is great, a little loud on a Saturday night, but maybe I am getting old.
Great food great service great atmosphere. Lots of plant based options
Great timely service, really tasty tapas, great wine reco
Great food and wonderful service. Ambience is exceptional. I would go back! Enjoy multiple items in the menu. No complaints at all! Great menu.
Came here with a few friends on a Friday, enjoyed the drinks and the food! Great tapas style for sharing. The atmosphere is cozy and the wait staff was friendly. Reccomendation if you enjoy seafood, try the Octopus. Half octopus is great for two - we ordered the full and had plenty to share.
I went here three weeks ago but I still can t get over how good the food was. We went in a big group and I was the only one who didn t eat meat but there were surprisingly a lot of veggie options, all of which were amazing. The food is something special, the staff were great, and I loved the atmosphere. It is definitely worth the price.
Probably my favourite place for a blow out dinner in the city
As good as it gets on College Street. Great food and drink. Amazingly knowledgeable and courteous team made every moment a delight. They've raised the bar!
Best meal I've ever eaten; very knowledgeable and attentive staff
Great casual atmosphere.. delish menu, highly recommend their ceviche and the grilled octopus.
Had high expectations. It is good but didn't blow me away as expected. Cozy spot.
Arguably the best (and my current favorite) restaurant in Toronto. The food is outstanding, the octopus either quarter, half or full is always cooked perfect and over the years comes with various different sauces (lemon butter last time, previously a romesco).
The sea breem ceviche is also a must try, the fillet comes diced and served with a sort of aguachile that's seasoned spot on. Its served on the remaider of the fish which has been lightly battered and deep fried to pick away at.
Listen closely to the specials we always order them as they're generally rarer sea fare that's hard to find (giant spanish shrimp, razor clams etc)
Great wine list which for obvious reasons is heavily spanish. Cocktails are good too and I always like to finish off the meal with a sherry of some type (just ask about it they have lots of types from sweet to bone dry fino)
If you haven't eaten here you're missing out, reservations certainly required well in advance.
Tapas style. Good food but not as good as expected. Cozy. Good cocktails.
Book now if you want great food and cocktails with character. I took a long break since it can take a toll on your bank account but it's as good as ever. You want the octopus and Galician razor clams. Hot damn! When's the last time you had canned goods like this? Finish with that Basque cake.
Great food. Nice place to have a dinner for two. We would definitely go back for dinner. Reservations are a must because they do fill up. Only street parking available.
not the best place, really overpriced, they even charged for bread with the cheese platter. They did good PR though...nice articles..
One of the best tapas place I have been to in Toronto. Each and every dish was innovative and mouth watering. Will definitely come back again and again.
I'm not crazy about Spanish food but this was an excellent experience.
I tell everyone to come here. Great food, service, and atmosphere. It was like being back in Spain!
Amazing experience; be prepared to spend some money, but well worth it for a date night out!
Great food, awesome service get the Basque cake with foie.
Hands down one of the best restaurants in Toronto. What sets Bar Isabel above the rest is the ever consistent amazing food and industry leading service. You feel like a king or queen when dining at Bar Isabel!
Visited this restaurant last month for a friend's birthday and was definitely not disappointed. We got the tasting menu and it was absolutely lovely! Everything was really delicious and we just wish the portions were bigger so we could have more of everything! Will definitely be back soon!
One of the best dining experiences I've had in Toronto in the past year. Ask for a tasting menu - every dish is impressively presented, shockingly delicious and SO creatively crafted. The vibe is chill, the staff is friendly and fun. They just get it all right. Will go again.
Great food, beautiful space! Perfect spot for dates. A bit pricey for the portion served. Some waitresses are nice some aren t so depends on your luck lol ours had a lot of attitudes which made us uncomfortable.
Overpriced and overrated restaurant.
Went for dinner a couple a days ago with my gf.
I have to say that anything that came out from the kitchen that required any sort of cooking knowledgement was either burnt/cold/tasteless.
I am Spanish and this is not even close to be any sort of Spanish tapas.
And btw the prices are crazy. Bill around 230$ before taxes 2 people. 120$ of that in food, and still left the place hungry!
Will not come back and for sure will not recommend it.
At least the service is friendly that s why you get 2 stars.
Best service, delicious food! Gorgeous atmosphere
The service is excellent and you can experience different dishes
Delicious Spanish tapas bar. Very interesting menu. You get to choose from a tons of bites and hot dishes. Server recommended 2-3 dishes per person. I think we ordered more than that. I was quite full in the end but still got the Gateau Basque, which is so delicious. Crispy, warm, moisture in the middle, with a scent of the alcohol. It s one of the best dessert I ve had recently. A few my favorite from the night, the 4 month cheese, the anchovy with chips, grilled octopus was not bad. The gigantic prawn($25) was really good. The whole break ceviche was delicious and big portioned. And I loved the foie gras with blood sausage. Looking forward to come back to try more dishes.
If you are a dessert person, save room for their Gateau Basque. It s a must-try!
Unparalleled service and quality of food. Outstanding.
barisabel.com