Now It’s Easier to Get Into One of the South End’s Busiest Restaurants

Welcome back to AM Intel, a round-up of mini news bites to kick off the day.

A Chef’s Tasting at Toro

It’s always been difficult to get a seat at Jamie Bissonnette and Ken Oringer’s popular South End tapas destination, Toro, thanks to the restaurant’s no-reservations policy at dinner. (Toro did add lunch and brunch reservations a while back, but dinner has been for walk-ins only for years.) Now, there’s finally a dinner reservation option — with a few catches. Parties of two can reserve a table for a weeknight dinner in order to try the chef’s tasting menu ($100 per person, with wine pairings), eight courses of tapas. Those who want to order a la carte or go on a weekend still have to line up early to snag a seat.

A New Restaurant at Eataly

Eataly’s massive Boston location is adding a new sit-down restaurant and bar to the mix on April 26: La Pescheria, which will focus on seafood from local purveyors, including Red’s Best, Wulf’s Fish, and Island Creek Oysters. It’s located on Eataly’s main retail floor, just outside of the central Piazza in the space that was home to Il Pesce (a collaboration with Boston’s Barbara Lynch) when Eataly first opened. More recently, the space played host to a seasonal truffle-focused restaurant. Unlike the previous occupants, La Pescheria is intended to be a permanent addition to the food hall. Once it opens, La Pescheria will serve lunch and dinner daily, including two-course and three-course tasting menus and raw bar items.

In Other News...

• GQ has released its annual “Best New Restaurants” list, skipping Boston but including Providence’s follow-up to North, Big King — a “small and strange Japanese spot in the smallest and sometimes strangest state.” Boston does get a nod on the list of honorable mentions thanks to the smoked tongue at Fool’s Errand.
• The Stop & Shop strike has ended after 10 days with a tentative agreement in place that looks a lot better for the employees than the new contracts the company originally proposed when negotiations began in January.
• Cambridge’s Central Bottle wine shop is changing hands; the South Boston-based Social Wines team is taking it over, with the transformation expected to be complete around July. The team has a variety of improvements in mind, but longtime Central Bottle fans may miss the cheese and charcuterie, which will go away in July.
• Head over the Eater Boston’s big sibling to read all about the United States of Mexican Food. The package contains stories from across the country, including a couple from Boston.

Got a news tip for the Eater Boston team? Email boston@eater.com.