Kevin Chan and Samer Shaath, partners and founders of Nivek Remas, call
Toronto home. Here, they showcase some recent projects and offer the very best spots to eat, drink, sleep,
visit, and shop for locals and visitors alike.

Hotels
Kevin Chan: The Hazelton Hotel Toronto is more boutique-y and high-designed, and
just moody and sexy. I love it. On the larger scale, Four Seasons Hotel Toronto. They still have the best spa in the
city.

Samer Shaath: There’s just something very classic about the approach for these two
hotels and they really remain as two of the staples in hospitality in Toronto. On the newer side, the Ace Hotel Toronto’s public
areas are architecturally exciting. It’s just a beautiful volume. Its eclectic nature is also a bit unique to
Toronto. We don’t really have that kind of midcentury approach, especially in the commercial space. There’s
something classical and determined about it.

KC: It’s just so cool. I love that style, love the architects, love Alder. Evangeline is a cool
rooftop spot. Even the lobby bar is so charming in that double-story void of a space with those arcades of
colonnades.

F&B
KC: Animl is our baby, our steakhouse that does so well and is so different from any
other steakhouse or restaurant in Toronto. It’s more over the top, more theatrical than most restaurant designs
in Toronto, somewhere to party like it’s the ’70s and ’80s.

SS: The scale of the room feels quaint. Steakhouses are typically 100+ seats,
which never has a sense of comfort and coziness. This is a 60-seat restaurant that’s also divided up by a higher
bar and a sunken den area. Every spot feels kind of cozy. You might have six tables at the restaurant that are
occupied, but it still feels like there is a vibe and there is an atmosphere. The color palette is a little bit
more on the softer, sexier side, like velvety and plush rose tones. It’s a bit unexpected.

KC: I must give a shout out to Bocado in Collingwood because it’s such a destination. So many
Torontonians go to Collingwood to ski and snowboard because they have the resorts and the private clubs there.
Two of my personal faves are Linny’s
or Takja. Takja’s a
high-end Korean barbecue place. It’s just so high service. The food is so incredible. There’s nothing like it in
Toronto. It’s just constant attention and detail, and the bingsus are amazing.

SS: It’s more about the experience of dining at Takja rather than what the actual
room really looks like. It’s a very, very minimal design. You still have the hot grill in the center of the
table. There are maybe eight or 10 tables max, and there’s a locker in the back where they cure all of their
meats in-house. It’s simple, but it’s such a vibe.

KC: Linny’s, the food is amazing. It’s just so well-packaged from head to toe,
from the music to the interior, the uniforms, the dinnerware. Even when you go to the washroom, it’s such a nice
experience. They’re playing soft jazz music from an old little speaker. It’s supposed to be an Old New York ’80s
steakhouse meets diner, but the food is incredible.

KC: I love Bowie. It’s a speakeasy that you access off a back alley into a
basement. It’s such a cool vibe. The patrons are so cool. It’s almost too cool.

SS: Another speakeasy vibe too is Goodnight Cocktail Club, under Cherry High Dive on Wellington
St West. It’s a great spot and the cocktails are incredible. The sound system is also good, so it just feels
like a very complete experience.

KC: And the guys are hot.

Bocado

Retail
KC: This is an institution at this point: Haven
on Richmond Street East. Really fucking cool. It’s in this big A-frame kind of space on the top floor. It’s
super vast and minimal, but they curate streetwear from brands you know to really niche, independent Japanese
labels. I wanted to give a shout out to Livestock
because I’m a Vancouver native and Livestock is from Vancouver. When we were in school, they landed in Toronto
and they’ve just grown and grown and grown. They’ve had a bigger store on Spadina Avenue for a few years now.
There’s this cool store that started underground on Queen Street called U3.

SS: It has a very Korean fashion perspective. Now they upgraded it to a different shop on Ossington
Street, so people do see it a lot more and everybody pops in. Their jewelry is probably the most exciting section.

Wellness
SS: There’s something about Othership that
just got it right on the first try and they just have a very, very loyal clientele. They were able to have multiple
locations in the city and they’re all equally as booked and busy. Now they’re going to the U.S. market.

Pilates studios are also becoming a big thing in Toronto. There’s just more of them. There’s also a new one opening
soon, Wellness Republic, but what’s cool about it is
that there’s going to be cold plunge and saunas integrated into the Pilates studio, so it’s not just isolating one
type of activity. That’s really where wellness is probably headed. Having more variety with one location is a much
more successful model.

What’s opening soon is Equinox King
West in Toronto, which we’re designing. They are also expanding their menu a little bit. Now
contrast therapy is also offered at this location, so there is a cold plunge and there is a sauna in addition to
classes and a spa.

KC: It should open in June and is over 50,000 square feet, so plenty of wellness to go around. The
main narrative for that project was strong from the get-go. We were looking at the brutalism of Toronto and how ugly
but charming the city is and doing a harsh contrast with something chicer. The reception lounge—the den, the cafe,
that whole main floor—is just this immediate harsh contrast of brutalism and refinement, which we’re really excited
about expressing.

SS: There is a much bigger social component here. What we keep calling a lobby is just a large
gathering space, which is quite rare. There’s just something a bit more salutary about the location of where the
lounge is and the volume that we’re giving to this lounge, almost creating these members club.

Members Clubs
KC: Fitness clubs are the new members clubs in terms of offerings and exclusivity, and as a place for
community and congregation. Even Othership is not just social and cold plunge. It’s creating environments where members
can congregate and be social. For wellness stuff, I want to give a shout for 30 Hazelton because they’re doing some amazing stuff
there, and they’re helping with my face. They brought on some amazing equipment and tech.

If we’re doing members clubs specifically, the gold star is still the Granite Club. It’s an institution in Upper Toronto.

Cultural
KC: I love food, so I was thinking St. Lawrence Market
and Distillery for sure. On the
newer side, shoutout to MOCA. They’re doing some great stuff. Our friend
who we’ve known for years is the art director there. They’re doing avant-garde contemporary exhibitions there and the
building itself is really, cool. There’s not a lot of old heritage buildings like that in Toronto, so it’s great that
they put the money behind that to restore it and make it something of cultural importance.

SS: The Aga Khan
Museum architecturally is a very beautiful building. There’s just something impressive about the
volume studies that were done there. The way light transforms the space is beautiful.

Vinnys