A café in the morning, a cocktail-and-skewer joint at night and a 1920s bank vault covered in disposable-camera photos in between — Baba is bringing a little more personality to Yonge and Lawrence.
The new spot, which just opened at 3204 Yonge St. on the corner of Yonge and Woburn, is the first solo venture from hospitality veterans Michael Medeiros and Kevin Chen. The pair first crossed paths while working at One Hazelton before spending years bouncing around Toronto’s food and hospitality scene.
By day, Baba is a casual café with quick brunch dishes and seriously good coffee. But come evening, things get louder. The café gives way to a high-energy snack bar, with cocktails, charcoal-grilled skewers and plates designed for sharing.
The menu is just as eclectic. Medeiros, who leads the kitchen as head chef, pulls from Toronto’s mix of cultures, pairing Western and Asian flavours over an open charcoal grill. There’s Mapo tofu with eggs, charcoal skewers, pasta and dishes incorporating ethically sourced local chocolate from Moakable — including a coffee-marinated striploin.
Behind the bar, Nick Hao of Uh Bar (formerly Slice of Life Bar) put together the cocktail and mocktail menus. Coffee comes courtesy of local micro-roaster Library Coffee, which recently landed at No. 54 on The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops list.
Then there’s the room itself.
Baba seats just 37 to 40 people, with dark wood, blue-and-white accents and a seven-seat bar that gives the place a tucked-away feel. But the thing you’re probably going to notice first is the old bank vault built into the space. The original 1920s vault has been turned into a giant photo wall, plastered with disposable-camera shots of the owners’ friends, family and regulars.
And despite the chef-driven menu and cocktails, Baba isn’t trying to price itself out of the neighbourhood. Cocktails top out at $20, while the biggest plates land around $40 to $45.
The name is a nod to the fathers and mentors who shaped Medeiros and Chen’s careers — but the bigger idea is pretty simple: make a place people actually want to hang around.
“We want Baba to feel familiar from the first visit…a place where people can stop in during the day and return at night for a completely different energy,” said Medeiros.
That day-to-night shift is the real draw here. You can grab a quick coffee and a bite in the morning, then roll back after dark when the charcoal grill is firing, the cocktails are flowing, and the energy in the room completely flips.