If you’ve been missing the smells and sounds of a busy restaurant back home, chances are iSLAS Filipino Café & Bar is already on your Toronto food bucket list.
Run by husband-and-wife team Marc and Mariel Buenaventura, iSLAS was born out of their shared love for Filipino food and the restaurant experience.
Both started their careers in finance, marketing and travel, but a trip back to the Philippines—hopping from island to island, eating their way through local spots—planted the seed for a place in Toronto that could capture that same feeling of joy, community and shared meals.
They opened their first brick-and-mortar restaurant, iSLAS Filipino BBQ & Bar, in December 2017 on Queen Street West in Parkdale, a cozy 40-seat space that quickly became a go-to for kamayan feasts, crispy bagnet and late-night kwentuhan.
For seven years, that little dining room hosted birthdays, anniversaries and even a surprise wedding, proving that Filipinos don’t just eat at iSLAS, they celebrate there.
Eventually, Marc and Mariel reached a crossroads: either slow down or dream bigger.
Instead of taking a break, they chose expansion and moved the heart of iSLAS north to Downsview, into a former Italian restaurant that felt like the right fit for another husband-and-wife team.
Today, their new home at 890 Wilson Avenue, North York sits right by Toronto’s “Little Manila” area around Bathurst and Wilson, where so many Filipino businesses and families are already rooted.
The space is much larger: a main dining hall that can seat around 60 guests, a proper stage for live music and karaoke, and a separate event area that can host up to 100 people—perfect for boodle fights, debuts, and that one tita who insists on inviting everyone.
What really sold me on iSLAS, though, was the aesthetic: it’s like entering a stylish tita’s living room.
Rattan-backed chairs with sleek black accents line the room, giving off that modern-meets-tropical vibe.
On the walls, you’ll spot the classic giant wooden fork and spoon (because, of course), alongside Filipino art that feels both nostalgic and fresh.
Shelves are dotted with tiny souvenir jeepneys and tricycles, like the ones you’d buy in Divisoria to bring back to your cousins abroad.
Filipino cookbooks and well-loved books are stacked on tables, inviting you to linger over dessert and coffee.
There are comfy couches and chairs for big tambay sessions, and everywhere you look there’s a little nod to home.
It’s all comfortable, elevated furnishings with just the right dash of Filipino art and décor.
Recently, the iSLAS family announced that they’ll be taking a temporary break starting November 1, 2025, so Marc and Mariel can go home to the Philippines, grieve the recent loss of two beloved fathers in their family, and finally spend time with Mariel’s own dad after more than a decade away.
It’s a very Filipino decision—family first, always—and they’ve promised this isn’t goodbye, just “see you later.”
So if you haven’t visited yet, add iSLAS to your list for when they reopen: a place where Toronto and the tropics meet over grilled skewers, kare-kare bagnet, boodle fights and stories shared family-style.
