
Celebrated Toronto chef opening new neighbourhood 'hot spot'
Phoebe Knight, Dished
created: May 31, 2025, 4:06 a.m. | updated: June 2, 2025, 3:59 p.m.
A Toronto chef who made his name working in one of the city's most celebrated kitchens is moving out on his own, opening a brand-new venture that he's posturing as a new neighbourhood "hot spot."
Justin has spent the past several years honing his craft in the kitchen at Buca Yorkville alongside executive chef Rob Gentile.
Although it doesn't carry a Michelin recommendation like its original King West location, Buca Yorkville has remained a hot reservation in the city for over a decade.
And a hot spot is exactly what Justin is after with Shay, captioning a "coming soon" Instagram post with "Rosedale's newest hot spot."
If the bricks he's laid at Buca should provide any sort of preview, Shay will be nothing short of the hot spot it aims to be.
2 days, 11 hours ago: blogTO