A celebrated, upscale steak house has opened in Toronto by way of Vancouver, with plans to “bring excitement” to the downtown core.
Black+Blue is a hip and bustling restaurant on Alberni Street, considered to be the Rodeo Drive of Vancouver, and is owned by the Glowbal Restaurant Group. Known for its modern takes on the classic steak house, chic carnivores have continued to descend upon the three-level space since it first opened more than a decade ago.
The incoming Toronto location is in prime steak land — First Canadian Place in the city’s bustling Financial District. For Emad Yacoub, CEO and founder of Glowbal Restaurant Group, the opening is a homecoming of sorts.
“A few things most people may not know about Glowbal Group’s early beginnings is that my first venture was actually in Toronto,”he says. “I opened a café on Yonge
Street — Brownstone Bistro in 1999.”
He believes that although Toronto has always been the Mecca of food, the downtown core is lacking in steak houses. He hopes Black+Blue will fill that void.
Offering diners the golden age of steak — “the magic of the 1950s, the charm and dazzle of ladies and gentlemen with big cocktails and cigars in hand” — Yacoub says the restaurant’s design is old meets new.
“Everything from the music and style of service will make you feel as if you are in a classic restaurant, however it is modernized,” he says. “Being able to seamlessly do both is a difficult and delicate balance, and we’re proud we can accomplish this magic.”
The 9,000-square-foot two-storey space will also include a 2,000-square-foot patio.
The menu features the crème de la crème of meats including A5 and Miyazaki wagyu, certified Kobe beef, as well as a premium selection of steaks that are aged in Black+Blue’s salt cooler — the only restaurant in Canada that treats its meat in this style. Chef curated seafood options are also in abundance including selections of sushi.
Black+Blue is located at 130 King St. W. and officially opened on April 20.
