Forget fish and chips. This new Dundas West restaurant will serve up underrated English dishes when it opens in February.
After decades of working in various restaurants across the city, three friends are coming together for their first venture on Dundas West. The Grove (tentatively set to open Feb. 7) is the project of Fritz Wahl, Richard Reyes and chef Ben Heaton, who previously cooked at One, Colborne Lane, Globe Bistro and Centro.
“It’s going to be less of a destination place and more of a neighbourhood restaurant,” says Heaton. “People think of pub food when they think of English cuisine, but I’m going to focus more on kidneys, fish and whole animals.”
The three met just short of a decade ago when they were all working at Far Niente in the financial district (Heaton was in the kitchen, while Wahl and Reyes were working at the front of the restaurant). Last May, the three moved into what used to be a dentist’s office at 1214 Dundas St. W. and started construction in June (coincidentally, the owners of the new Ossington restaurant Yours Truly also looked at this spot before opening). It was still a dusty construction zone when we visited last Friday, but in a month’s time it will have a warm, barnyard feel with room for about 50 diners.
A draft of the opening menu lists dishes such as devilled kidneys on toast; fluke with spot prawn, black pudding, celeriac and sorrel mushrooms; pork pie; pigs’ cheeks; cod with oxtail and pickled elderberries; and sweetbreads.
And no, fish and chips isn’t on there.
