#FOOD: LAWRENCE PARK’S BABA OPENS THIS MONTH

This August, Baba will open at 3204 Yonge Street, on the northwest corner of Yonge Street and Woburn Avenue, just steps from Yonge and Lawrence. The new Lawrence Park restaurant will transition from a relaxed daytime café into a lively evening snack bar.

Baba is the first hospitality venture from longtime friends Michael Medeiros and Kevin Chen, whose working relationship began at One Hazelton and continued across Toronto’s hospitality industry. Drawing on their years of experience together, they have created the kind of neighbourhood restaurant they have long envisioned, shaped by their shared approach to food and service. Medeiros will lead the kitchen and back-of-house operations, while Chen will oversee the front-of-house experience.

“Baba,” meaning father, is an homage to the mentors and father figures who helped shape the co-founders’ lives and careers. Their influence can be felt throughout a concept grounded in mentorship, hospitality and a shared respect for the restaurant industry.
That spirit of warmth and familiarity runs throughout the restaurant. Baba has been conceived as a comfortable gathering place: casual enough for a weekday coffee, inviting enough for brunch and energetic enough for dinner and drinks.

“We want Baba to feel familiar from the first visit…a place where people can stop in during the day and return at night for a completely different energy,” said Medeiros. “The concept is personal to us, but we want it to become part of the neighbourhood.”

A Neighbourhood Destination

Baba sits at the meeting point of Lawrence Park’s residential calm and the everyday energy of Yonge Street. Its location at Yonge and Woburn places it within walking distance of the Yonge–Lawrence intersection while maintaining the intimate feel of the surrounding neighbourhood.

The area’s mix of longtime residents, young families, independent businesses and new residential developments provides a natural setting for Baba’s dual identity. During the day, it will offer the ease and familiarity of a local café. In the evening, it will become a spirited dining and cocktail destination, welcoming nearby residents while giving guests from across the city a reason to make the trip north.

At its heart, Baba is intended to be a community-focused place where guests feel included, comfortable and recognized—an establishment where regulars can be known by name.

Café by Day, Snack Bar by Night

The idea for Baba grew from some of Medeiros and Chen’s fondest shared memories: gathering with friends over late-night snacks and spending time exploring their mutual passion for coffee. Those experiences shaped a restaurant designed to serve different purposes throughout the day without losing its sense of warmth or familiarity.

From Monday to Friday, Baba will operate as a laid-back café with a focused brunch menu and fast, attentive service. At night, the room will transition into a high-energy snack bar centred on cocktails, skewers and shareable plates.

Medeiros and Chen describe the culinary program as Toronto-centric: refined comfort food that reflects the city’s multicultural identity by bringing Western and Asian influences together naturally. Early dishes include Mapo tofu and eggs, alongside charcoal-grilled skewers, shareable snacks and a pasta dish. The menu will also showcase Toronto bean-to-bar chocolatier Moakable, with its ethically sourced chocolate featured in a coffee-marinated striploin and a dessert inspired by the brand’s distinctive flavour profiles.

The kitchen is built around a charcoal grill, lending smoke and depth to the evening menu, and a flat-top grill supporting daytime brunch service. Baba’s opening menus are expected to feature approximately 10 brunch dishes and 12 evening items, with dishes evolving seasonally.

Whenever possible, the team will work with reputable local suppliers and producers, drawing on relationships developed throughout the founders’ careers and prioritizing high-quality local ingredients.
Baba is intended to feel polished without being formal: a place for regular visits, spontaneous drinks and easy weeknight dinners, as well as a destination for guests discovering the neighbourhood. Accessibility is central to the concept, with cocktails capped at $20 and the largest plates priced around $40 to $45.

Baba’s cocktail and non-alcoholic beverage menus are being developed by Nick Hao, of Uh bar and formerly of Slice of Life Bar, with thoughtful options for guests who choose not to drink. The daytime coffee program is supported by Toronto’s Library Coffee, an Australian-inspired micro-roaster known for its small-batch roasting, carefully sourced coffees, and approach to showcasing the unique character of every bean through thoughtful brewing. Recently ranked No. 54 on The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops list,

Library Coffee brings internationally recognized expertise to Baba’s daytime program.

At the centre of the evening experience is an intimate seven-seat bar designed to feel casual and social. Drawing loose inspiration from the warmth and energy of Euro-Mediterranean taverna , it offers a more relaxed interpretation intended to encourage spontaneous visits, conversation and connection.

Timeless Design with a Personal Story

Baba’s interior is envisioned as a timeless and sustainable space, combining dark wood tones with blue-and-white accents and extensive mirrored finishes across its pillars and walls.

The understated palette complements the established elegance of Lawrence Park while giving the room a distinct personality of its own. The design balances polish with warmth, allowing the space to shift naturally from daylight café to animated evening bar.

A former bank vault dating to the 1920s has been thoughtfully incorporated into the restaurant’s design. While the vault will support the practical needs of service, it will also become one of Baba’s most personal spaces: home to an evolving memory wall of disposable-camera photographs capturing the founders’ friends, families and community.

Rather than concealing the building’s past, Baba will give the original vault a new purpose of connecting the history of the space with the relationships and memories behind the restaurant.

Together, these details express the idea at the heart of Baba: a restaurant shaped by memory, mentorship and the people who gather around the table.

With seating for approximately 37 to 40 guests, Baba will maintain an intimate atmosphere. Patio service is expected to follow later in the season.

“Baba is about the people who raised us, guided us and continue to gather around our table,” said Chan. “We’re excited to create that same sense of connection at Yonge and Lawrence.”

Hours of Operation
Monday – Friday | 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Saturday | 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Sunday | 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.