La Vinia

I’m totally torn on this place — maybe 3.5, if that was an option :)
The food was fresh and lovely, the staff were nice, and the chef/​owner/​whatever guy comes out and checks on your happiness level with your meal. Nice, clean, intimate place.
We got grilled calamari (well cooked, but plain grilled), garlic shrimp (super tasty and fresh, but $ 14 for 4 pieces), mushroom something (REALLY tasty, but again pricey), chicken croquettes (group enjoyed them), and grilled spinach with goat cheese (pretty great).
Also got veg paella, and the mixed one. Both went over great with the group, and we shared 2 personal sized ones between four and that was enough with the tapas. They’re like $ 25 each. We got desserts, too. They were fine, but nothing to write home about.
Overall a good experience, but pretty expensive for what it was. Nice enough staff for sure, but nothing over the top. Good for a group of four, but probably kinda much for a date night or something.

We (6 friends) shared tapas and paella at LaVinia restaurant on a Friday night. Our tapas choices ranged from gambas to veal carpaccio to foie gras. Quite an eclectic selection, but every single dish was outstanding. We didn’t leave a single morsel of food on the platters, indeed some plates were wiped completely clean using bread to dip in the delicious olive oil.
Although we were quite full after several plates of tapas, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to enjoy a serving of seafood paella. Head chef Fernando Garcia himself came out and served up the tastiest, saffron infused rice dish I’ve had outside of Spain.
We then shared the crema catalona and chocolate flan — both wonderfully creamy and light.
Our meal was finished off with a complimentary Basque liquor –offered to us by Chef Fernando.
I can not recommend this restaurant highly enough. The service matched the high standard of the food, the atmosphere was intimate, relaxed and friendly, and the value for money outstanding.

Walking into La Vinia feels like visiting an old friends’ fancy house!
Chef Fernando Garcia is not only the chef — he is also the host and server at times, but make no mistake — it’s a perfect balance for him and his family of workers.
The Tapas of Pulpo a la Galena (Poached Octopus) was prepared to perfection! I’ve recently tried making grilled calamari and triumphantly failed. :)
The Mejillones al Vapor (Fresh Mussles Steamed in Spanish Beer) was heavenly as well.
The Roasted Australian Lamb Chops and Paella de Marisco are both divine and well worth the cost of preparation.
The Chocolate Tartufo and Fried Milk are highly recommended. Truth is you can’t go wrong with any of the dishes here.
With the entreés, starters and desserts accompanied by the warm and genuine happiness of the service — I’d recommend La Vinia to any of my friends and family!

We ordered the beer-​cooked mussels and the seafood paella. Everything was immaculately prepared, from the homemade pesto spread to the delicate yet delicious shrimp in the paella pan. Excellent meal, and overwhelmingly generous hospitality. I will definitely be visiting here again!

Mango cheese cake!! Paellas to warm, spaghetti, 1 medium sherry = only 1 available
Day Old+bread with Spanish pesto.
Expensive tapas: ‘fresh’ anchovies,? Not great, — pickled?
Warmed sweetbread still with tasty sauce,
Shrimp, oyster mushrooms. Tough shrooms nice crustaceans slightly sweet saffron anise (liqueur) sauce –rich.
Seafood stew — good broth — but mussels in particular? Victims of rewarming=sad.
Reserved staff warm with time. Charm smooth old world chef/​owner

I’ve been going to La Vinia since it opened and I’ve never been disappointed. Fernando’s food is the ultimate Spanish experience and the service is spectacular. His son, Jamie, is professional and so efficient yet makes you feel special. We’ve tried most items on the menu and can’t complain about anything. The wine list covers every need, if you want tapas the menu will satisfy you without question. My husband and I usually do just that but have had several entrees and have enjoyed every one. It’ a gem in the hood for sure.

We enjoyed everything; the waiter was knowledgeable, and professional. The tapas was wonderful. We had the Chicken and Seafood Paella and the Seafood Stew. Both were outstanding! We had no room for dessert, but the variety looked very tempting. We will be back!

An intimate, no nonsense contemporary setting that seats at most 30 or 40 people. Excellent food with wonderful flavours and colours and top notch service. The paella (de marisco) we had skewed salty. The poached octopus was wonderfully tender. They had a special of gazpacho that was the best I’ve ever had (they serve it light and filtered). Great dining experience — very different vibe from Patria on king West.

After returning from a trip to Barcelona, among other places, I was in the mood to have some Spanish food. The problem is I had no idea where to go. I came across this gem by researching. I was amazed by the fantastic reviews and ratings and had to go see what all the fuss was about. Now I know and it was everything I had read and then some.
The owner Fernando Garcia is a rarity, someone who actually cares about his customers. My family was extremely impressed by the attention he paid, coming to our table several times to ensure everything was to our liking. The food was wonderful and both the meal and the service exceeded all our expectations.
If you’re in the mood for Spanish food that tastes as good as it did in Spain (actually better), you should check out LaVinia. It was well worth the trip!!!

We ordered:
Salmon carpaccio
Roasted quail
Crab croquettes
Shrimp in garlic and olive oil
Seafood paella
We were served bread but no butter or any dip. Odd. Tasted the bread and it was super cold? The first dish we received was the shrimp with was good, hot and tasted good but there were 4 shrimp for $ 14. Next was the crab and there was really good, except the fact that they were cold in the middle. The dip they came with was really good too. Next we received the quail, which was really good. No complaints! The salmon carpaccio was good with mango drizzle. I’ve never had carpaccio before so nothing to compare to.
Lastly, the paella took forever but I understand. When we finally received it, it was excellent! This is the only dish that stood out along with the shrimps.
I don’t know because maybe we went on an off day or understaffed because the food was not consistent. Plus, we noticed we never received pesto with our bread. I had really high hopes because of all the reviews.

Excellent service and good food, came here for my birthday dinner and the waiters and owner came by multiple times to check up on us. A little expensive for the portion size of the appetizer but otherwise it was a good experience!

After reading the praise on here, I feel almost guilty leaving only 3 stars. The truth is we did not have an exceptional experience here.
Everything that you read is true. The food is great and good quality. Our chicken croquettes were delicious although the spinach and goat cheese was a literally just a small pan of semi-​wilted spinach and a huge chunk of goat cheese. Two of us had meat dishes (the lamb chops were amazing) and the other two had paella (both of which were a little burnt on the bottom). Overall, the food was impressive and reasonably priced.
Where our experience really fell short was the service. We arrived 10 minutes before a group of 14 however they seemed to monopolize everything. Rather than put our order through first, we waited almost two hours (I’m not even exaggerating) for our food while the huge group got served and left before us. In a restaurant with two kitchen staff, you should never serve a huge group before a small table.
Other reservations started showing up and the small restaurant was in a trap. No tables were even close to free although we would’ve left an hour ago if they hadn’t put our order through second.
Overall, we spent 3.5 hours for dinner at this place — borderline 2 hours too long. I realize this is maybe an exception to most peoples experience but it was certainly annoying enough that I likely won’t return.

Hands down best Spanish restaurant in Toronto. Amazing service. Fantastic ham and wine. Definitely recommend it again and again !!

Just happened upon this place on a drive along Lakeshore. Excellent service. We weren’t too familiar with tapas so we asked the waiter to help us order. We ordered the mussels, the chicken croquettes, avocado salad, and the shrimp. Plenty of food and it was all fresh and tasty. Will definitely be back even though its a little out of our way.

Very friendly, attentive service. Even the chef comes out to check on the patrons. Good wine selection by the glass. Amazing anchovies and excellent saffron mushroom shrimp dish!

Chef Fernando cooks as if he is serving his family. He uses high quality ingredients and you can taste the freshness — from the seafood to the strawberries topping his amazing desserts.
The wait staff are friendly, attentive and ensure you are enjoying your meal. It was a lovely evening out and we look forward to our next meal at La Vinia!

Simply divine experience. Great food, wonderful service. It’s cozy, with supreme emphasis on fresh ingredients and flavours. Chef Fernando makes us feel at home.

We arrived at a small homey restaurant called La Vinia. The waiters and waitresses were pleasant. They were very helpful with the menu and gave some really good recommendations too. Everything looked so delicious, I’m pretty sure we ended up ordering half the menu.

A real joy to have this place in the neighborhood! My wife and I love traditional Spanish food and La Vinia will not disappoint.

Everything tasted amazing, different from anything I tried in the city which definitely added to the experience. Chicken croquettes and the Spanish ham plate
were my favourite tapa plates. The chef came to greet us and the server was perfect! I give this place 5 stars!