A Toronto chef who cut his teeth at one of the city’s Michelin-recommended restaurants is finally breaking out on his own later this month.
It’s been nine months since a devastating fire forced Vela, a celebrated eclectic restaurant with an affinity for Asian flair, to close its doors, and there’s still little word on when it’ll make its comeback.
While such a roadblock could easily be enough to thrust even the most time-hardened of chefs into despair, for Vela’s then-executive chef and partner, Marvin Palomo, it marked a new beginning.
No, we won’t use a phoenix-rising-from-the-ashes analogy here, but if ever there were a time for it, it would be now.
Palomo told Dished Toronto that after the fire at Vela, the opportunity to open a restaurant of his own presented itself, and he immediately “jumped at it.”
Now, Palomo’s next chapter is nearly ready to open. It’s called Liliana, and it’s due to be a perfect nexus of all his career experience thus far.
That experience, in addition to his luminous stint at Vela, includes time training at Michelin establishments in Italy and Hong Kong. Case in point, he told Dished Toronto that Liliana will feature Italian cuisine made with Asian ingredients.
“By no way would I consider this a ‘fusion’ restaurant, but more of a respectful and subtle way of recreating Italian classics, which is how I would describe the way I cook,” Palomo explains.
Aglio e olio with confit garlic, chili crisp, and burrata, and risotto cooked in Japanese dashi, rather than typical stock, are just a few examples of the distinct dishes that’ll be on the menu at Liliana.
Just as the cuisine on offer tells a deeply personal story for Palomo, the restaurant’s name, too, comes from his culinary training.
“Liliana is a very personal project to me as it was named after my chef I worked for in Italy who mentored me at a young age,” Palomo told Dished Toronto.
“She taught me more about just cooking, but also about the care and compassion that goes towards true hospitality. Chef Liliana passed away a couple years ago, which makes this restaurant even more meaningful to me.”
The restaurant is taking over J’s Steak Frites’ original Queen West location, which was also formerly home to the celebrated Dandylion restaurant. Auspicious digs, indeed.
While the precise opening date has yet to be determined, Palomo told Dished Toronto that he’s aiming for the end of September. Is this the appropriate time for a “wake me up when September ends” joke?
Liliana
Address: 1198 Queen St. W.
Opening: September 2025
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Dining and Cooking