Raani, a new Indian restaurant on Bay Street in Toronto’s Financial District, has turned a former bank vault into a private event space. The restaurant says the vault’s code-locked doors will soon reveal something more, though you’ll have to wait for the details.
Restaurateur Ambica Jain and MJAJ Hospitality are behind Raani, which follows Adrak Yorkville’s Michelin Guide recognition. The restaurant says it draws on the culinary traditions of India’s royal courts and on the princely states of the 18th and 19th centuries. The company also says Jain is challenging conventions as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry.
Raani Has 2 Levels and 162 Seats
At 360 Bay St., Raani spans two levels and seats 162. You’ll find a cocktail bar and lounge, a main dining room and a chef’s table with 10 seats.
The restaurant describes itself as a spot for everything from power lunches and business meetings to celebratory dinners and late-night gatherings.
The Vault Has Its Own Bar and Lounge
Raani calls the space The Vault, with its own bar and lounge. You can book it now for a private event.
A Menu in 7 Chapters
The restaurant’s executive chef, Shrikant Tadke, leads a seven-chapter menu inspired by a trip through the queen’s palace. The kitchen draws on centuries-old Indian techniques, including pit cooking, slow braising, tandoor cooking, grilling over live fire and dum, which cooks food slowly in a dough-sealed pot. The restaurant says it isn’t reinventing Indian cuisine; instead, it honors the flavors and traditions that have defined it for generations.
Here are four dishes you’ll find on it:
- The Raja Kachori is a semolina shell filled with masala prawns and blueberry yogurt, served with house chutneys.
- The kitchen grills the Konkani Red Snapper on a sigri with coastal masala. It comes with shallots pickled with kokum, a sour berry used in cooking along India’s western coast.
- The Trio Mini Kulcha comes with mushroom, spinach-corn and paneer bhurji fillings and traditional accompaniments.
- For the Khad Khargosh, the kitchen marinates rabbit in yogurt and cooks it in a pit under a seal of bread. It comes with saffron jus and smoked apricot chutney.
What’s Behind the Vault’s Code-Locked Doors
According to the restaurant, those doors will soon reveal an intimate speakeasy and a spirit-tasting experience, with more details to come. If you’re planning a night out around it, you may want to check with Raani before you go, since it says only that the reveal is coming soon.