Bar Isabel

So far this restaurant is one of my top 5 restaurants in Toronto. Every ingredient cooked to perfection, with magical combinations in every dish. The menu is small and fantastic. I loved it!

I just love everything about Bar Isabel, particularly the delicious tapas. Certainly the go-to place in Toronto if you're looking for Spanish food.

Where do I start…I guess things go down hill with the service when you pay 20% up front.
Took almost 1.5 hours to get the 6 tapas we ordered. Kept coming out one at a time with some time to spare in between.

The male waiter talked down to me and my female friend. The main waitress kept forgetting about us and the 3rd had a chip on her shoulder and walked around with death stares and complained in the corner to the other staff all night in anger.

WORST service ever. Rude, not interested and unprofessional. This is not my first time here but will def.be the last. WTH

If you don't mind a stand up bar - it's a cool place to come for a quick drink. Service was great, staff are friendly and obviously a beautiful interior to admire.

Decided to book a reservation here at 5: 30pm on a Wednesday night, and we had the place to ourselves.well only for like 20 minutes before it became packed!

Heard lots of great things about this spot. My fiancé and I spent a lot of time in Spain, so we had high expectations, and it didn't disappoint!

We went in knowing we wanted to do a tasting menu, and we specifically asked for no steaks and to reduce red meats (we were more interested in the Seafood).

With that in mind, here are the dishes we got with ratings:
- Boquerones en vinagre (5/5)
- Mussels escabeche (5/5)
- Sea Bream ceviche & chips (5/5)
- Pan con tomate with Jamón Ibérico (2/5)
- Grilled scallops (5/5)
- Patata bravas (4/5)
- Grilled mushrooms and cured egg yolk (5/5)
- Quarter Octopus (5/5)
- Sobrasada & Foie Gras (3/5)
- Basque cake with hot Sherry cream (5/5)

Overall, the service was impeccable - they really listened to what we wanted. As for the food, I think it's a great spot for tapas, sharables and it's very light. We ate a lot of seafood and it was dressed with very light veggies and citrus which we loved! As for comparing to food from Spain, I'd say it's close but it's definitely got like a Canadian twist on it which is lovely!

Would definitely return here again and still pick Seafood heavy dishes!

Lots of character and taste…. Service is incredible, very attentive staff! The pintxos pair so well with a couple of cocktails on their Patio!

Do not recommend booking a reservation here, they charged me a $60 no-show fee. I had a reservation, however, the Gardiner and streets along the route were blocked off resulting in us missing our time slot. I called to reschedule, and due to the traffic, missed the updated reservation time as well. I called back twice but the phone line was inactive/busy maybe because it was Friday night. Then, they charged my credit card a whopping $60 fee for no-show. Unfortunate because we would have been happy to reschedule and come another time.

All i could remember was that I wasn't satiated at all from the food, the portions were too small, but the food was great.probably not the type of restaruant that I would visit again.

Food was very good, however very expensive and felt overpriced given tapas sized positions. Atmosphere was very loud and noisy felt like we were yelling to speak to the person sat next to you. Restaurant is dark almost old pub feel. Doesn’t really suit tapas, should be more light and airy.

Overall nice restaurant. However, would likely not return given the price. I’ve recently visited Spain and this meal would have been a fraction of the price there. Even with import and higher Toronto prices, I felt ripped off.

Just be aware that there is a 20% automatic gratuity. In our case the service was okay but definitely not in the 20% realm.

4.8
Bar Isabel is one of my favourite restaraunts in the city. It’s such a great vibe, amazing service, and the food is delicious and well executed.

All the apps are great- don’t sleep on the shishito peppers and it would be a sin not to order the panne con tomate. The octopus is famous for a reason and the mushrooms are a dream.

The ambiance is great and it’s a fun place to go and order lots of different things to share.

The only small negative is the speed- which is a silly thing to complain about. Our first tapas came in about 4 minutes after ordering them. I get that they have a lot of reservations and a quick turn over but the last bite would be lifted with a fork and the plate would be taken a second later.

The restrooms are downstairs and the service fee of 20% is included on all bills.
Not a great spot for kids, perfect for a date night, or a spot to bring a friend for a special occasion.

Absolutely FANTASTIC! Bar Isabel is a must! The octopus is done to perfection; texture and flavor! Patatas bravas were as good as Spain! The Iberico Meat tasting is one of the best in Ontario! Ceviche also excellent; not acidic but tasty! Let's not forget the Veal Bone Marrow - WOW! Aside from the food, the service and ambiance are both 5stars!

Patrons beware. 20% gratuity added on price of food regardless of party size. Our waitress was the worst I’ve encountered in years. Did not help us work through the Spanish menu, no recommendations, did not check on us once we had to wave at her from behind the bar to ask for water and drinks each time. She gave us eye rolls with every minor request. Food is excellent. Would not return though as rude waitress sullied our experience, especially after seeing she gets a large tip on a expensive meal.

The tasting menu is great and worth the money. I like everything in small plates. More veggies than meat which is fine as the flavour is decent and rich. If they will include more in tapas menu, will be even better.

This was a lovely restaurant. We came here to celebrate our anniversary searching for something intimate, romantic and something with a good wine list, and Bar Isabel met all that! Having been to Spain, it was nice to see their offerings which are very reminiscent of Spanish tapas from various regions of the country. They had an extensive wine list and very attentive servers! We also asked to switch to a more private seat and they were very accommodating and allowed us to move to a seat at the back of the restaurant! The food was also delicious, in particular the patates bravas!

Amazing menu, staff suggested great pairings and had first class service. The ONLY thing is that it can get busy, but you cannot reasonably expect a place this good to not be.

Below average food. I'm from Spain and I didn't enjoy anything that we ordered. This is not how food tastes in Spain. The quality is average at best. The portions are way too small. The prices are insane for what you get. Croquetas taste like the bad ones that you get in a bad bar in Spain. The size of the scallops is ridiculous, we thought it was a joke. Don't order patatas bravas, they are terrible. The only good thing are the peppers. The service is professional and the atmosphere is nice, but I can't recommend this place.

Atmosphere was great. Fiancé was given the wrong drink right when we got there. 4 of us Ordered off the tasting menu. The food started out great. We were not big fans of the pig cheek and mussels, would have preferred they switched it with the piccanhia steak. Nice to see the owner address the tables. If I had to doit over again for $1000 I would have picked our own dishes.

Absolutely incredible food in a bustling, sexy environment. A modern twist on Spanish tapas. I sat at the bar for dinner, and loved the banter with the bartenders as well.

It used to be my favourite place to go for delicious food. Haven’t been here since let simmer. Was super excited to go again for dinner tonight but food tasted below average… there was no kick into anything that we had, it almost was tasteless… we asked for salt, even salt was missing… very disappointed not sure what happened… but here are some cute pics

Best restaurant in Toronto that we had.

The vibes were so cute and quaint, very cosy spot that had a lot of good ambience. The waitress was probably one of the best we’ve ever had, she knew everything on the menu, and had really great recommendations for both wine and food.

The scallops were mediocre, they were a little small for the price in my opinion, but everything else was phenomenal.

Food eaten, ranked:
1. Ceviche (with extra chips)
2. Pork secreto
3.meat and cheese plate
4.pan con tomato
5. Shishito peppers
6. Potato’s bravas
7. Scallops

Amazing place, great vibes, amazing food in great portions that allows you to try everything. Speaking of everything, everything tasted amazing! Lastly the drinks, amazing drinks that compete with some of the best cocktail bars IMO.

Absolutely love this place. Alessandro and his staff are always wonderfully welcoming. The food, drinks and vibe are always on point. Good to see a restaurant get better and better with time.

La cuisine était bonne, mais un peu salé. Bonne ambiance et le personnel est efficace et à l’écoute.

Had a great experience at Bar Isabel. We had the tasting menu really enjoyed the ceviche, octopus, and especially the Basque cake. Seriously, the cake was amazing.

The service was great and the drinks were good too. The place gets busy and can thus get pretty loud. But great vibes.

Beautiful space with consistently high quality food. Can’t quite give atmosphere 5 stars until they rethink their acoustic design — on a regular evening I registered avg 85db which is like sitting close to a food blender for the entire 90 min sitting.