Tony's Focaccia fills Kensington's sandwich void with style
New shop from Milk and Cookies baker Anthony Phoumivong serves fresh-baked sandwiches and creative ice cream specials.
Kensington Market has a new focaccia specialist, and it arrives at the right moment. Uncle Pete's, one of the neighborhood's most respected sandwich purveyors, closed earlier this spring after less than a year—leaving a conspicuous gap in the market's handheld offerings.
Enter Tony's Focaccia, now open Wednesday through Sunday at 283 Augusta Avenue, sharing a building with the recently launched Milk and Cookies. Both are run by Anthony Phoumivong, a French-trained baker whose eye for flavour extends from buttery cookies (poutine-flavoured, pickle-flavoured) to sandwich architecture.
The menu keeps one foot in tradition: The Soprano layers prosciutto, provolone, balsamic arugula, and mushroom-walnut pâté on thick, rosemary-scented bread. There are no-fuss egg and tuna salad versions too. For the adventurous, there's the Tiger—a generous scoop of Tiger Tail ice cream nestled inside warm rosemary focaccia, which sounds unhinged until you taste it.
A vegan option rounds out the core menu: roasted veggies, mushroom-walnut pâté, and arugula pesto on fresh-baked focaccia. Phoumivong's training shows in the restraint—nothing feels fussy, but nothing is accidental either. The focaccia is the star, crisp-edged and yielding, the kind that justifies a dedicated shop.