By Amy Pigeon
The sun was just beginning to sink behind the towers of Toronto’s Financial District when I slipped through the arched doorway of the Victory Building. Inside, a different world unfolded: low-lit, golden, and humming with conversation. Florin had only opened weeks earlier, but already it had the atmosphere of a place that had always been there—a trattoria etched into the city’s cultural memory, as though it had grown from the very stone beneath it.
I had come for the launch of their new cocktail menu, but what I found was a restaurant that offered something more than drinks or dinner. It offered presence. Intention. A kind of reverence—for food, for beauty, for the quiet power of gathering at a table.
Aperitivo isn’t just a drink. It’s a pause. It’s how Italians make space for pleasure, for connection.
— SHELBY TURNER
Florin is the latest opening from Turner Hospitality Group, nestled inside the historic Victory Building in Toronto’s Financial District. Named after the gold coin once used in Renaissance Florence, the space—designed by Solid Design Creative—pays tribute to its namesake city with textured leather accents, velvet florals, wine windows reminiscent of Tuscany’s buchette del vino, and a room that invites you to pause.
“Every detail was intentional,” co-owner Shelby Turner told me during our interview that afternoon, just before the party began. “We wanted a space that felt elegant but comfortable, modern but rooted.” It’s a philosophy that seeps into every inch of Florin—from its menu to its music to its mindset.
Although Shelby herself hasn’t been to Florence (yet), her parents fell in love with it during a trip that sparked the inspiration for this restaurant. “It’s not a transplant,” she explained. “We’re not pretending to be in Florence. We’re offering a Toronto experience with a nod to Florence—through the food, the design, the hospitality.” That meant no pizza on the menu. Instead, a spotlight on meat, pasta, and vegetable-forward plates—reflecting the hearty, elegant simplicity of Tuscan cuisine.
We talked over drinks on the sun-drenched patio during aperitivo hour. The city buzzed beyond, but within Florin’s walls, the pace was slower. Sheltered. Thoughtful.
“Aperitivo,” Shelby said, “isn’t just a drink. It’s a pause. It’s how Italians make space for pleasure, for connection.” She believes it’s the one Italian tradition we could all adopt right now. “Pour a bitter, open a bag of chips, put your feet up. That’s luxury.”
What made the experience at Florin all the more memorable was the culinary vision behind it—led by chef Brian Kang, whose pedigree includes time in the kitchens of two of Toronto’s most lauded Italian fine-dining institutions: DaNico and Don Alfonso. His cooking brings a refined yet soulful touch to the menu, marrying precision with pleasure, restraint with indulgence. At Florin, he’s found the perfect canvas—one that allows him to honour Tuscan tradition while reinterpreting it for the modern Toronto palate.
After a few too many Sbagliatos and house Negronis at the aperitivo event, I returned later that evening for dinner with a dear friend—one of those long, delicious meals that feels like a conversation more than a performance.
We started with the gamberi alla plancha, Argentinian red shrimp with stracciatella and cherry tomato confit. Bright, creamy, kissed with herb oil. A stunning first bite.
Then came the gnudi—pillowy ricotta and spinach dumplings, gently dressed in brown butter, lemon, and sage. Delicate, silky, and almost nostalgic, like something your nonna would have made if she had a fine-dining sensibility.
Of course, the bistecca alla Fiorentina was the main event. A glorious, bone-in Canadian prime T-bone, grilled to perfection, carved tableside, and served with fritte con tartufo—golden layered potatoes with just the right hint of truffle. There’s something almost ceremonial about a dish like this. It demands attention. It commands respect. And at Florin, it earns it.
For dessert, the sinfonia di fragole was a textural playground—panna cotta, strawberry chip, jam, glaze, and crumble. Light and elegant, never cloying. The final note in a meal that felt like a song.
Throughout the evening, the service was warm and intuitive. No interruptions. No clatter of POS machines. Just quiet moments of presence, like you’d find at a family table in the hills of Chianti.
“That’s by design,” Shelby had told me earlier. “We want people to feel like they’re in their own world here. Like they’ve stepped away.”
And maybe that’s the magic of Florin.
It doesn’t try to be Florence.
It doesn’t need to be.
It brings a piece of Florence to Toronto—not by imitation, but by intention. Through the food. Through the care. Through the way time seems to stretch here, just a little. Enough for one more sip. One more laugh. One more shared bite before the night ends.
In a city of constant movement, Florin reminds you to stay a while.
To savour.
To pause.
To begin again, over steak and sage and summer air. — VV
Photography by Paige Thompson
