After opening at the foot of Trinity Bellwoods park last winter, it didn't take long for Inigo to earn a serious reputation for its chicken. Owner-chef Carlos Hernandez took free-range, grain-fed chickens from Quebec and roasted them in a convection oven; just about everyone from The Toronto Star to Toronto Life took note.
Joanne Kates, on the other hand, cited the restaurant’s superb soups when she ranked it at number 37 on her top 100 list (it has since been replaced by Agave y Aguacate). So it was sad to read Now Magazine’s report that Inigo has closed.
According to Now, Hernandez partly attributes the closure to landlord issues. He also said he was having difficulty sourcing chicken from his preferred suppliers, so he had to make use of local chickens (the “quality was never the same”). Foot traffic was apparently also a concern.
For the time being, Hernandez tells Now that he has no plans to open another restaurant anytime soon, and we can expect him to keep a low profile until the springtime.
[Now Magazine, via Toronto Life]