The dining room at Grace
Photo: Courtesy of Grace
After almost three years in Los Angeles running the restaurants Bella, Parc, and Shag, Lesle Gibson returned to Toronto and launched Grace on Tuesday. Located in the space that housed her former restaurant Xacutti (and beside another restaurant she used to co-own, Teatro), the 60-seat room is decorated in shades of cream and blue with antique accents. "I wanted to make it feel almost like you're in somebody's house for dinner," Gibson says.Designed by Patti Cuccio, Grace's decor includes a white tin-plated ceiling, reclaimed and refurbished antique chairs, Barbara Barry hanging lights, and old photos of Gibson's family. Glass doors open into a 13-seat courtyard, and a soon-to-open front patio will seat 16. While the restaurant can be booked for private events, Gibson says her plan is to open the upstairs space (formerly Bird lounge) this summer and use it as a 30-seat private dining room.
Dustin Gallagher—who worked with Gibson at Teatro and spent six years as Susur Lee's sous chef—is running the kitchen at Grace, with a seasonally inspired menu. "I grew up on fruit farms, and Dustin knows my family as well, so he wanted to do something family-dinner-style," Gibson says. "It's about taking food back and making it simple, but blowing people away with the execution."
Dustin Gallagher—who worked with Gibson at Teatro and spent six years as Susur Lee's sous chef—is running the kitchen at Grace, with a seasonally inspired menu. "I grew up on fruit farms, and Dustin knows my family as well, so he wanted to do something family-dinner-style," Gibson says. "It's about taking food back and making it simple, but blowing people away with the execution."
