Casa Rubia brings Galician steaks and vermouth to College and Palmerston this fall

Martine's, the cozy wine bar Grant van Gameren and Hailey Burke operated behind Bar Raval, is closing to make room for a new concept that rounds out the team's Spanish takeover of College and Palmerston.

Casa Rubia—named for Rubia Gallega, a breed of cattle—will bring the romance of long vermouth-fuelled dinners on the Galician coast to Toronto. Heading the kitchen is chef Zach Smith, who spent his pre-pandemic days as chef de cuisine at Bar Raval before opening the Michelin-recommended Fat Rabbit in St. Catharines. He returned to Raval as co-owner and executive chef early this year.

The menu will centre on Galician beef imported directly from the region, alongside whole fish, suckling pig, and seafood—many items cooked in a wood oven. "We want it to feel generous, exciting and a little bit primal," Smith said. The team is clear this isn't strict regional reproduction. "Spain is the starting point and provides the vocabulary, but the menu is being cooked in Toronto, with the ingredients and perspective of the people making it."

Drinks will anchor the venue's identity. Burke, known for her work at Bar Raval, is focusing on well-made classics with flavours from Spain's coast and north—lots of Spanish wine, vermouths, and sherries, plus a small collection of eaux-de-vie and digestifs.

The space lets locals move seamlessly between the two venues: sip Spanish fizzes and snack on croquetas at Bar Raval on a sunny afternoon, then settle in for dinner at Casa Rubia when evening falls. Smith called working on the concept with van Gameren and Burke "a homecoming of sorts." "We've been talking about doing something together since I came back to Raval in January," he said. "Casa Rubia grew out of those conversations."