Opus Restaurant

Dinner on Prince Arthur Avenue

Prince Arthur Avenue occupies a quiet residential edge of Yorkville, Toronto's wealthiest neighbourhood, where the commercial energy of Bloor Street gives way to tree-lined streets and low-rise buildings. Arriving at Opus on a weekday evening, the setting reads as deliberately understated for the address: no marquee signage, no theatrical entrance. The neighbourhood itself frames the experience before you walk through the door. Yorkville's dining scene has long operated as Toronto's reference point for serious occasion dining, and Opus has maintained a position within that tier for well over a decade.

Canadian restaurants with European culinary foundations occupy a specific position in the national dining conversation. Unlike the farm-to-table Canadian-identity restaurants that have proliferated across the country, venues such as Opus draw from classical European technique and apply them within a Canadian context. For comparable approaches elsewhere, Treadwell Farm to Table Cuisine and BÖEHMER RESTAURANT represent adjacent positions in Toronto's broader range of this style, though each with a distinct emphasis.

The Architecture of a Meal at Opus

The rhythm of dinner at Opus is structured around deliberate pacing. Tasting menus are available with advance notice, which shapes how regulars approach a booking: the decision to commit to a full tasting format is made before arrival, not improvised at the table. This is a meaningful distinction from à la carte dining, where the meal builds incrementally and the diner retains full control of tempo. At Opus, pre-committing to the tasting format signals an agreement to surrender that control, to let the kitchen set the pace, the sequence, and the proportion of each course.

This kind of dining ritual carries its own etiquette. Arriving on time matters more than at a conventional restaurant, since a tasting menu coordinates kitchen timing across multiple tables. Conversation at the table naturally organises around the meal's own chapters: the lighter opening courses encourage a particular register of talk, which shifts as the menu moves into richer territory. Opus opens at 5:30 pm every evening, including Sundays, which makes the early seating viable for those who prefer a less compressed pace through a longer menu.

Across Canadian fine dining, the tasting format has become the dominant grammar for serious kitchens. Tanière³ in Québec City uses the format to narrate terroir; AnnaLena in Vancouver applies it with a more casual register. Opus sits in the European-influenced strand of this tradition, where the format serves classical rigour rather than locavore storytelling. Jérôme Ferrer - Europea in Montreal occupies a similar position in its own city.

The Wine Program as a Parallel Course

A wine list of 2,100 selections and a physical inventory of 52,000 bottles puts Opus among the most ambitiously stocked restaurants in Canada. Wine programs of this scale are not neutral features: they shape the entire dining ritual by expanding the pairing possibilities at every course and raising the floor for service knowledge. Tony Amaro, who holds the dual role of wine director and general manager alongside brother Mario Amaro, has built depth across Burgundy, California, Bordeaux, Tuscany, Australia, Canada, Piedmont, Rhône, Spain, and Portugal. OAD pricing signals indicate a $$$ wine program, meaning a substantial portion of the list sits at $100 per bottle and above.

For a tasting menu dinner, this matters practically: the sommelier's role becomes structurally central, not incidental. Diners who engage with the wine pairing add a second narrative thread to the meal, one that runs parallel to the kitchen's progression through courses. Burgundy depth in a Canadian restaurant is a deliberate positioning choice, aligning Opus with a classical European reference frame rather than a New World or hyper-local one. For comparison, Restaurant Pearl Morissette in Lincoln takes the opposite approach, anchoring its wine program in Ontario's own Niagara Peninsula.

Where Opus Sits in the Toronto Ranking

Opinionated About Dining's North America list is one of the more credible ranking systems for serious restaurant assessment, drawing on a large body of votes from experienced diners rather than a single inspection. Opus appeared as Highly Recommended in 2023, ranked #337 in 2024, and moved up to #326 in 2025. That trajectory, steady improvement over three consecutive years, is a more meaningful signal than a single placement. It suggests a kitchen and front-of-house that are sharpening rather than coasting.

Within Toronto's fine dining tier, the comparison set is instructive. Alo (Contemporary) occupies the best of the city's contemporary ranking at a higher price point ($$$$). Sushi Masaki Saito and Aburi Hana represent the Japanese fine dining tier at equivalent price levels. Opus sits at $$$ for cuisine, placing it at the upper end of Toronto's accessible fine dining range, serious enough to warrant deliberate planning, priced below the city's absolute ceiling.

For those tracking serious Canadian dining beyond Toronto, Narval in Rimouski, The Pine in Creemore, Bearfoot Bistro in Whistler, and Candide in Montreal represent a cross-section of how European-influenced and Canadian-rooted approaches are playing out in different regional contexts.

Know Before You Go

• Address: 37 Prince Arthur Ave, Toronto, ON M5R 1B2
• Hours: Monday through Sunday, 5:30 pm to 10:30 pm
• Cuisine pricing: $$$ (two courses from $66+, excluding beverages)
• Wine program: $$$ (substantial selection at $100+ per bottle; 2,100 selections, 52,000 bottle inventory)
• Tasting menu: Available with advance notice, request at time of booking
• Wine strengths: Burgundy, California, Bordeaux, Tuscany, Piedmont, Rhône, Canada, Australia, Spain, Portugal
• OAD ranking: #326 in North America (2025)
• Chef: Jason Cox
• Management: Tony and Mario Amaro (owners and general managers); Tony Amaro (wine director)

For a broader view of where Opus sits within Toronto's dining, drinking, and hospitality options, see our full Toronto restaurants guide, our full Toronto hotels guide, our full Toronto bars guide, our full Toronto wineries guide, and our full Toronto experiences guide.