Bar Prima

What is Bar Prima? Located at 1136 Queen Street West beside The Drake Hotel, Bar Prima is a cinematic Italian-American dining room from chefs Craig Harding and Julian D’Ippolito. Designed by Future Studio, the glamorous 70-seat space evokes vintage mid-century Rome with hand-applied gold leaf ceilings, Cy Twombly-inspired marble flooring, and striking Klein-blue leather banquettes. Seating spans white-tablecloth tables on the main floor, a bustling six-seat mahogany bar counter, and an intimate lower-level club room.

Bar Prima Menu & What to Order Guided by chef de cuisine Nicholas Iaboni, the kitchen takes nostalgic red-sauce hallmarks and sharpens them with meticulous technique and luxury ingredients. Start with the savoury cacio e pepe zeppole and the indulgent chicken liver and caviar maritozzo before ordering signature mains like the scallop Rockefeller, swordfish piccata, or lobster fra diavolo. Cocktails are taken just as seriously as the food—pair your meal with their ice-cold house dirty martini or the bergamot-infused Uncut Gem. While seafood and butchery dominate the entrées, the kitchen offers thoughtful vegetarian pasta and antipasti options.

Know Before You Go Dinner reservations on OpenTable fill up quickly weeks in advance, though walk-in diners have decent luck scoring an early bar stool right when doors open at 5:00 p.m. Street parking on Queen West is notoriously tight, making the 501 Queen streetcar or a rideshare the easiest transit option. The restaurant serves dinner nightly, closing at 10:00 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 11:00 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.