#FOOD: MINERAL LAUNCH FALL SIX-COURSE TASTING MENU

Mineral is a 44-seat contemporary Filipino restaurant from Chef Daniel Cancino, Bruce Ly and Greg Toskan Robbins, offering a nine-course tasting menu and 12-course Chef’s Counter, with dishes changing throughout the year based on seasonality and
ingredient availability.

Some of Cancino’s signatures remain on the menu, including ensaymada baked in-house daily, sinigang made with Quebec sea buckthorn berries in place of tamarind, and pineapple with kombu, a vegan take on the Filipino tradition of eating fresh fruit with bagoong.

This fall, he is also serving a sopas-inspired soup with local kabocha squash, coconut milk and charcoal oil, Bicol Express with beef short rib from Martin’s family farm in Elora, and tuna kinilaw with local green apple.

For dessert, bibingka is made with local pumpkin, alongside a biko-inspired soft serve based on the Filipino sticky rice dessert made with coconut milk and brown sugar.

The menu changes throughout the year as ingredients become available and new ideas develop, while some dishes remain because they have become part of Mineral over the past six years.

“We’re not trying to change Filipino food. We’re trying to show people another way of experiencing it,” says Cancino.

Born in Hong Kong and raised in Parañaque and Dagupan in the Philippines, Cancino moved to Richmond, B.C., at age 10. He started washing dishes in high school, studied at George Brown and later worked with Chef Robbie Hojilla at Hudson Kitchen before leading the kitchens at Lamesa Filipino Kitchen and Lasa. He went on to co-found Mineral with Bruce Ly and Greg Toskan Robbins.

Ly and Toskan Robbins came to Mineral from Toronto’s specialty coffee scene. Ly worked at Voodoo Child before co-founding Neo Coffee Bar, while Toskan Robbins also came from a specialty coffee background. Before partnering with Cancino, the two had planned Mineral as a coffee and wine bar.

Guests can choose from an Ontario wine pairing from Ly, a cocktail pairing by Toskan Robbins or a non-alcoholic pairing.” The cocktail pairing includes a Pear Milk Punch, Orange Pulp Fiction with rum, blood orange and pineapple, and a Pandan Amaro to finish.

The name Mineral was chosen for its elemental quality and connection to nature and raw ingredients. Part of its appeal, says Ly, is that it remains open to interpretation.

Architect Rikki Papa, founding principal of Architecture for All, created the dining room with blue velvet seating, hand-painted murals, a curved social bar and an open kitchen. The room is polished without the formality often associated with fine dining.

“I think fine dining has sometimes confused formality with excellence,” says Ly. “You can be thoughtful in what you do without creating an environment that feels intimidating or inaccessible. I want people to remember how they felt when they were here just as much as what they ate.”

About Mineral
Mineral is a 44-seat contemporary Filipino restaurant in Toronto owned by Chef Daniel Cancino, Bruce Ly and Greg Toskan Robbins. Cancino leads the kitchen, Ly oversees the dining room and wine program, and Toskan Robbins leads cocktails. Mineral offers a nine-course tasting menu and a 12-course Chef’s Counter.

Details
Address: 1027 Yonge St., Toronto, ON
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 5:30 to 9:45 p.m.
Late-night drinks: Friday and Saturday, 9:45 p.m. to midnight
Nine-course tasting menu: $109 per person, Wednesday to Saturday
Chef’s Counter: 12 courses, $140 per person
Sommelier wine pairing: $85 per person
Cocktail pairing: $65 per person
Non-alcoholic beverage pairing: $50 per person
Reservations: OpenTable
Website: mineralto.com