Toronto has quietly become one of North America's most interesting dining cities, and few people have pushed it there harder than Jen Agg. The restaurateur and bestselling author has a new book out this week, Table Boss, and to mark the launch, the video series OPEN filmed inside her newest venture, General Public, just days after its doors opened.
Agg's reputation in the industry is well earned. She's known as a sharp, decisive operator with strong opinions — and a track record of being right. Her restaurants aren't designed by committee. Every element, from the playlist spinning over the room to the wallpaper on the walls, is chosen because she likes it. That control-freak attention to detail is exactly what diners have responded to, and it's what has made her a central figure in shaping how Toronto eats and drinks.
General Public follows that blueprint. Even the menu has hidden rules: there's an off-menu burger, available only during happy hour, that Agg describes as a kind of platonic ideal of the form. It's a small touch, but it says a lot about how she runs a room — a little exclusive, a little playful, and engineered to reward people who pay attention.
For travellers, the appeal is obvious. Agg's places are the kind you build an evening around, and they sit inside a broader Toronto dining scene that has matured into something genuinely worth planning a trip around. The city's restaurant culture is decentralised and diverse — neighbourhoods like Ossington Avenue, Queen West, and Kensington Market each carry their own cluster of bars and kitchens — and Agg has been both a participant and a pace-setter in that growth. Her 2017 book I Hear She's a Real Bitch made her something of a public voice for hospitality done on her own terms, and Table Boss extends that story.
If you're heading to Toronto and care about food, Agg's restaurants — General Public among them — are a sensible anchor for an itinerary. Pair a happy-hour burger with a crawl through the surrounding neighbourhood, and you'll get a read on why the city keeps drawing international attention. The story of one stubborn restaurateur is, in a real sense, the story of how Toronto learned to give a damn about dining out.
The full OPEN episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at the earliest days of a restaurant launch, which is rare access — most new places don't let cameras in until the kinks are worked out.