Akira Back — Toronto, Canada
With equal measures of great stealth and taste, Akira Back restaurant is quietly building a burgeoning culinary empire that stretches from Singapore and New Delhi to Las Vegas, Seoul and, now, Toronto’s Bisha hotel.
For his first Canadian outpost, the Korean-born, Colorado-raised chef tapped local interior designers Studio Munge for the 3,000 sq ft cocoon. De rigueur is a pre-prandial Kinoko martini of shitake-infused vodka and peanut oil at the bijou black marbled bar, lined in velvet and marble pillars and trimmed with gold shelves. The main attraction is, of course, the dining room which Studio Munge has furnished with dark stained wall panels, glossy gold accents, a dreamy cloud-like ceiling of hand-painted indigo petals, and an undulating mobile that encases original artwork by Back’s mother.
It’s a suitably dramatic setting for Back to showcase his repertoire of Korean-Japanese fusion dishes like toro caviar and kojuchang miso, and jidori chicken shimmering with a maple teriyaki glaze.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
Bisha Hotel
2nd floor
80 Blue Jays Way
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
The Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s houses of the monthFrom wineries-turned-music studios to fire-resistant holiday homes, these are the properties that have most impressed the Wallpaper* editors this month
-
La Monique brings the French Riviera to Santa MonicaA transportive room of velvet, candlelight, and Riviera chic, serving French favourites with a modern wink
-
Kat Milne is the designer behind fashion’s most intriguing retail spacesInfused with elements of the surreal, Kat Milne has designed stores for the likes of Marc Jacobs, Sandy Liang and A24. ‘People are looking for a more tactile experience,’ she tells Wallpaper*
-
Matteo Thun carves a masterful thermal retreat into the Canadian RockiesBasin Glacial Waters, a project two decades in the making, finally surfaces at Lake Louise, blurring the boundaries between architecture and terrain
-
A new café-bar in Vancouver reawakens a modernist landmarkArthur Erickson’s Waterfall Building enters a new chapter with Ellipsis, a day-to-night gastronomic concept designed for conviviality
-
Has the ice cream parlour come of age?A global wave of architecture studios is treating the scoop as spectacle, turning parlours into immersive social spaces
-
The ultimate amenity in this Canadian apartment building? A trio of scene-stealing restaurantsPart of Citizen on Jasper, a new residential tower, Va!, Olia, and Mimi offer a thrilling day-to-night dining experience
-
Six brilliant bars for your 2025 celebrations, hot off the Wallpaper* travel deskWallpaper’s most-read bar reviews of the year can't be wrong: here’s inspiration for your festive and new year plans, from a swanky Las Vegas lounge to a minimalist London drinking den
-
Montreal Navigator: a guide to the city, from modernist marvels to gastronomic gemsMontreal, Quebec’s largest city, is a creative whirlwind, offering up a vibrant mix of arts and design venues, great restaurants, and a crowd-pulling cultural calendar
-
Vancouver restaurant Elio Volpe evokes a sun-drenched Italian beach clubExperience the laid-back feel of coastal Italy in Elio Volpe, a transportive new restaurant designed by Ste. Marie Studio
-
Take off with Wallpaper* June 2024: The Travel IssueThe Wallpaper* June 2024 Travel Issue is on sale now, ready to whisk you to the best of Ho Chi Minh City, Caracas’ modernist marvels, classy Canadian cabins, a Swiss sleep retreat, and more