PUBLIC Kitchen & Bar

The plates land in waves at PUBLIC Kitchen & Bar — Smoked Salmon Rosti or warm olives first, Patatas Bravas mid-table, then scallops and gnocchi once the early snacks are cleared. That staggered shared-plate format is the kitchen's standard ordering shape. Ryan Murphy and Carly Blasutti opened PUBLIC on Lancaster Street in 2013, moved to a larger Victoria Street North address in late 2017, and have kept the tapas spine across both addresses. Downtown Kitchener has filled in around it since.

The opening bite of choice is the Smoked Salmon Rosti — a crisp potato base under cool cream cheese mousse, smoked salmon, and pickled onion, the small composed plate the kitchen would put forward as its hello. Next comes the Barcelona Style Patatas Bravas, the Spanish anchor: fried potato under mayo and a spicy tomato sauce, a dish that has stayed on the menu through every iteration. Pan Seared East Coast Scallops arrive over fingerlings, market beans, and a pan sauce — the plate that slows the table down between snacks and richer dishes. Gnocchi "Grandma Walters Style" brings house-cured bacon, caramelized onion, cheddar, sour cream, and a malt gastrique into one bowl. Warm olives, grilled focaccia, and fresh shucked oysters round out the first-round slots when the table is still settling in. Out of the bar, Gord's Burgers runs a parallel line — Gord's Double with special sauce, lettuce, onion, and pickles, takeout-ready or eaten on a stool while the tapas tables turn around it.