A beloved Toronto neighbourhood pub that was forced to close in late 2025 is getting a second lease on life after being reborn as an Italian restaurant in a completely different area.
In a city that moves as fast as Toronto, you grow accustomed to saying goodbye to even some of the most well-loved, longstanding institutions. It stings just the same, but you learn to get over it in time — after all, the people need more condos!
For Davisville Village residents, that familiar blow was delivered in August 2025 when, after decades of trivia nights and frothy pints, neighbourhood staple Kramer’s Bar & Grill was forced to close to make way for an incoming — you guessed it — condo development.
While most stories of bygone neighbourhood eateries typically end with the last service, fortunately, that’s not the case with Kramer’s. Well, sort of.
Following the closure of the Davisville Village pub, the Kramer’s team packed up shop and set their sights westward. Months later, in December 2025, they opened Blue Horse Cucina, an Italian-Mediterranean restaurant in Etobicoke.
“The concept for the Cucina is deeply rooted in the background of the team itself,” Chris, a member of the Blue Horse Cucina, tells blogTO.
“Two of the founders are Italian and wanted to bring a genuine sense of Italian hospitality, culture, and everyday dining to the space. Rather than recreating a formal or traditional trattoria, the idea was to create a very Italian-inspired cucina, warm, relaxed, and centred around food meant to be shared.”
Though moving into the Italian restaurant business is a fairly substantial diversion from the team’s prior experience operating the bar and grill, the new restaurant still pays homage to its predecessor.
The name Blue Horse Cucina, for example, is a reference to Kramer’s, which fans of the bar and grill will instantly recognize. A blue horse became the official mascot of Kramer’s Bar and Grill when, overnight, a life-sized cobalt blue horse statue mysteriously appeared outside of the pub.
“What began as a funny, unexpected moment quickly turned into something the neighbourhood embraced,” Chris explains.
“Over time, it became a recognizable symbol of Kramer’s and a shared inside joke for regulars and locals alike. When it came time to name the new restaurant, keeping the Blue Horse felt like the most natural way to honour that sense of community, continuity, and personality.”
Blue Horse Cucina officially opened on Dec. 14, 2025, and, though the team opened the restaurant quietly, Chris tells blogTO that the reception, both from their new neighbourhood and from old fans of Kramer’s, has been “very encouraging.”
“We’ve been grateful for the steady word-of-mouth support from the local community, which has really reinforced our goal of being a true neighbourhood destination.”
While, according to Chris, the hospitality of the staff has gained particular acclaim from the customers who’ve come through so far, the menu is equally commanding of attention.
Italian (and a handful of Mediterranean) staples populate the menu at easy prices. Think tagliatelle all’ossobuco, grilled seafood platters served with citrus vinaigrette and blood orange reduction and veal piccata al limone.
It’s a neighbourhood restaurant that could only be created by a team that’s already spent decades learning exactly what people want in a neighbourhood restaurant: accessible pricing, warm environs and an easy-to-understand, though no less impressive, menu.
While some Davisville Village residents may still be lamenting the loss of Kramer’s, this blue horse may very well have galloped off to greener pastures.
Blue Horse Cucina is located at 848 The Queensway in Etobicoke.
Dining and Cooking