Bar Prima Toronto

Bar Prima sits on Queen Street West, a short distance from the Art Gallery of Ontario. It holds a spot as number four on the list of Canada’s 100 Best new restaurants.

The room runs smart and elegant, leaning into the formality of a classic Italian service that has largely faded elsewhere on the strip. While most of its Queen Street West neighbours pivot toward casual bar fare or late-night noise, this is the place to choose when you want the meal to be the main event. It treats contemporary Italian cooking with a gravity that feels rare in this pocket of the city. You sacrifice the easy-going energy of the nearby park-side crowds for a more deliberate pace, but that is the trade-off for a seat that prioritizes the table over the trend.