An Israeli restaurant popular across the globe is opening its first Canadian location in the Yorkville neighbourhood near the Four Seasons Hotel this summer, and Torontonians are already showing their excitement.
“Miznon” is a Hebrew term meaning “kiosk,” which accurately fits the restaurant’s concept of taking Mediterranean street food and giving it a modern take. The first Miznon opened in Tel Aviv in 2011 before rapidly expanding to cultural hubs across the world, such as New York, Paris, Vienna, Melbourne and Singapore.
Behind the successful chain is Chef Eyal Shani. The Jerusalem-born chef has opened more than 25 fine dining establishments worldwide and has become well known for his Israeli cuisine through his television appearances on “Food for Thought” and as a judge on the last six seasons of Israel’s version of Master Chef.
At Miznon, the self-taught chef practices a farm-to-table approach and prioritizes using only local, seasonal vegetables.
According to the company’s website, each of the Miznon locations has a slightly different menu that uses distinct ingredients and flavours to represent the city and make each location one-of-a-kind. At the other locations across the globe, Miznon offers pitas stuffed with chicken, steak, lamb, fish, and beef. For meatless lovers, Miznon provides plenty of vegan and vegetarian friendly pita fillings including falafel, hot chickpeas, and eggplant.
The Miznon Toronto Instagram already hints at serving up Chef Shani’s signature original whole roasted cauliflower, which has become a customer favourite at several locations.
Toronto’s foodies have already shown plenty of excitement for the new location. “This looks fantastic! Can’t wait to try it!” comments below a post from Miznon Toronto’s Instagram account. “Israel has the best food and [we’re] thrilled to see this Israeli mainstay making its way to Toronto.”
“Dreams coming true,” comments the account for Dragon Acres Farm in Brechin, Ontario on the same post.
With no set opening date in place yet, fans of the restaurant will have to wait until the summer to see exactly how the menu of the Yorkville location will make these pitas distinctly Canadian and bring the “magic of Miznon” to Toronto.