A Toronto couple with Italian heritage have opened Bar Niro, an aperitivo bar inspired by the Italian custom of gathering with loved ones for drinks and bites before dinner.
Co-owner Martino Niro, immigrated to Toronto from Italy as a young child in the 70s, and and his partner, Carla La Marca, is a second generation Italian who has lived in Little Portugal for 14 years, and previously spent time living in Rome. The bar’s name is a tribute to Niro’s father, Antonio, who brought his family to Toronto from the Italian province of Campobasso.
Between the couple’s mutual cultural heritage and many European travels, they share a reverence for Italy and everything about it — with a particular soft spot for the tradition of the aperitivo. In essence, the phrase means “to open” the stomach before dining, or as La Marca says, “whet your appetite” in the company of friends and family — a treasured moment after a busy work day which is customary in many European cities.
“We wanted to bring that tradition back here and inspire people to have those same moments…as we keep calling them, those moments between moments” she says. “Maybe you’re on your way to dinner, or maybe you’ve had dinner and you’re just not quite ready to go home because the night has just been so beautiful. We want to be the place for that.”
The dimly lit space is characterized by a warm, largely wooden interior, at the centre of which is a 170-year-old bar that the couple restored a year prior to opening the space. The piece was more or less the initial inspiration for the bar’s interior aesthetic, says Niro. “I can’t really say that I had everything jotted down, but the vision was in my head and it just kind of came together. We wanted to design something very old world.”
The pair still hold their respective day jobs, La Marca as an editorial copywriter and Niro as a builder. The space that the bar inhabits is actually a former gas station that Niro redeveloped. “It was a charming space that I designed and put together, and I thought it would be a perfect fit for an aperitivo bar,” he says. The decision to start a business wasn’t long-held, but rather informed by the couple’s love of their neighbourhood, and their desire for a space that facilitated the moments they cherished most in their European travels.
“I think that’s what most people feel when they come here,” says La Marca. “They don’t feel like they’re necessarily in Toronto, it takes them away somewhere else.”
The drink menu features thoughtfully curated organic and old world wines, as well as a small selection of Italian beers, classic Italian cocktails and a non-alcoholic bitter. Accompanying snacks include chips, olives, parma prosciutto, cacciatore sausage, Italian cheese and locally made focaccia.
Niro explains that they intentionally selected wines with more affordable prices because that’s what they experienced in Europe. “We firmly believe that you can buy and drink a beautiful glass of wine or a bottle of wine at an affordable price,” he says.
You can visit Bar Niro at 1334 Dundas St. W. Tuesday through Saturday from 5-11 p.m. The business is currently taking reservations over the phone.
