Toronto, ON, Canada — The dining experience at Alo unfolds a little mysteriously, a little mischievously.

It starts when you walk up to the historic brick building that houses not only this fine-dining restaurant, but also Exotix, or what’s billed as Toronto’s first and only body piercing specialty studio. Okay, that’s got to be a first for a location for a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Inside the small foyer is a sharp-dressed hostess behind a stand who will check you in, then press the button to summon the elevator.

You step inside the elevator where it’s nearly pitch-black, not only in terms of the lighting but also its black-covered interior walls. So much so that I couldn’t even make out the floor numbers on the buttons. My husband decided to push the very top one. Good instincts since Alo is on the third floor of this three-story building.

When the elevator doors open, all that darkness gives way to a chic space with a modern, black-topped bar, an open kitchen with chef’s counter seats, and a plush dining room done up in violet and lavender.

Chef-Owner Patrick Kriss, who was as a sous chef at Michelin three-starred Daniel in New York and also worked at Michelin three-starred La Maison Troisgros in France opened Alo opened in 2015.

The fine-dining restaurant, which serves contemporary French cuisine with global influences, received a Michelin star in 2022, and has held it ever since. Kriss also has since grown it into an entire group with four other restaurants, a take-out spot, private events venue, and catering company.

The name “Alo” comes from the Latin word alo, which translates to “I feed” or “I nourish.” And it certainly does that.

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