Toronto restaurant that recovered from year-long closure is now shutting down for good
Phoebe Knight
created: Aug. 26, 2025, 6:30 p.m. | updated: Aug. 26, 2025, 8:51 p.m.
<img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://images.blogto.com/articles/20250826-la-rev-closing.jpg?w=1200&cmd=resize_then_crop&height=630&quality=70&format=jpeg" width="100%" /><p>A Toronto Mexican restaurant that's been a neighbourhood staple for almost 15 years is closing down permanently at the end of the month.</p><p>Ever since it opened its doors in 2011, The Junction's <a href="https://www.blogto.com/restaurants/la-revolucion-toronto/" target="_blank">La Rev</a> (short for La Revolucion) has been among the most <a href="https://www.blogto.com/music/2021/10/la-rev-toronto/" target="_blank">beloved, if-you-know-you-know spots</a> in a neighbourhood that's, if you know the Junction, fairly riddled with them.</p><p>Still, La Rev has always held its own at the corner of Dundas West and Keele. It serves up a fairly standard selection of Mexican fare, from ceviche and chimichangas to fajitas and quesabirria, but more than the cuisine on offer, the energy at La Rev has always been the true selling point.</p><p>A hub for live music. open mics and dancing, La Rev is exactly the type of place you'd hope to have as a neighbourhood old faithful. It's fun and it’s friendly, not unlike the neighbourhood it serves.</p><p>For over a decade, business continued as usual at La Rev until, in the summer of 2023, the restaurant suddenly shuttered for what was meant to be a short renovation period. La Rev’s fans waited patiently, eager to get back to their usual haunt.</p><p>Just months after closing down for renovations, however, tragedy struck when La Rev's founder and owner, Indira Nanavati Cadena, <a href="https://www.blogto.com/music/2023/09/indira-nanavati-cadena/" target="_blank">suddenly passed away</a>, delaying the reopening of the restaurant indefinitely.</p><p>Finally, by the spring of 2024, <a href="https://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2024/05/la-rev-toronto-opening/" target="_blank">La Rev reopened its doors</a>, ready to welcome back its scores of devoted regulars. For the year that followed, that's exactly what the team at La Rev did.</p><p>Well, we hate to be the bearers of bad news, but the hard times aren't quite over for fans of La Rev, as the restaurant took to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DNbEAUxugio" target="_blank">its Instagram</a> to announce that, come the end of August, the restaurant will be closing down permanently.</p><blockquote class="instagram-media"><div style="padding: 16px;"><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div><div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DNbEAUxugio/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="line-height: 0; padding: 0 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank"></a></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"><div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DNbEAUxugio/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="line-height: 0; padding: 0 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank">View this post on Instagram</a></div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div><div> </div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div></div></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 24px;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div></div><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DNbEAUxugio/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by La Rev (@la.rev.toronto)</a></p></div></blockquote><p>Coming up on the restaurant's 15th year in business (or 14th, if you don't count the year they were closed), La Rev took to their Instagram to announce that the end is nigh for the beloved local stalwart.</p><p>"It is with mixed emotions that we announce La Rev will be losing its doors at the end of August at 2848 Dundas St. W.," they write.</p><p>"For over a decade, we have had the privilege of serving our community, sharing our love of Mexican cuisine, live music and warm hospitality."</p><p>They go on to thank the scores of devoted regulars and musicians who supported the restaurant throughout its lengthy residency on Dundas West.</p><p>Still, there's hope for the future of La Rev and its fans yet, as the post goes on to tease a "new beginning elsewhere," so, while the restaurant's time in the neighbourhood is rapidly approaching its expiration date, we can at least rest assured knowing there's something new on the horizon from the team behind it.</p><p>As the La Rev team writes in the caption of their post, "Stay tuned for updates."</p>
1 month, 2 weeks ago: blogTO