(Before I begin, I wanted to mention that the pictures that Johan and & I took for Bettery Magazine are in a contest! If you like them, please vote for us by following this link. Thank you! I appreciate your votes.)
Finally, I have compiled a Toronto primer! This is a loose guide to some of my favourite spots. I get quite a few emails asking me for my Toronto recommendations, which I understand because Toronto is such an unknown to so many people. It’s a bit challenging, because the most beautiful experiences I have in Toronto are having good conversations with friends over wine or going for a really long walk; Geoff and I don’t even eat out that often, and there are thriving “scenes” I know nothing about (e.g. theatre, clubbing). However! If you were to come to Toronto and we were to hang out for a few days, here are a few things we could do.
Toronto is very neighbourhood-y, and this particular guide will skew towards the west end, mostly because that’s where I live and where I spend most of my time, and it will skew towards the affordable. Many of these places and things to do have appeared here before, but I thought one master guide could be helpful (I have added a little graphic in the sidebar that will link to all posts tagged “Toronto”). Toronto is LARGE. I stick to a fairly small area of it, so this is just a start. Oh, and sales tax is 13% so have fun with that, especially if you’re from the US! I love it here, and I hope you will too. Please feel free to add suggestions or to ask questions.
Climate:
Freezing in winter and sticky humid-hot in summer! Of course, not as extreme as in some places, but enough that we complain bitterly/languidly at each low and high point. Same/similar latitude to Cannes and Boston, apparently.
Transportation:
I don’t think you need a car to get around Toronto, although I suppose it depends. I have a car, and in two years I’ve put about 9000 kms on it (about 5500 miles). Most of the time I ride my bike, walk, take the subway/bus/streetcar, or use cabs. You can also rent Bixi bikes. A car does come in handy if you would like to explore some real nature! There are gorgeous lakes and provincial parks all throughout Ontario, really lovely spots to visit in summer. I really want to go swimming in the Elora Quarry, for example.
Where to stay:
I can’t help much in this respect! I suppose the usual suspects would be the boutique hotels: The Drake, The Gladstone, Hotel Ocho, The Thompson. I haven’t stayed in any of them myself, though. I always use Hotwire to get cheap hotel rates.
What to do:
First Thursdays at the Art Gallery of Ontario: a monthly art/culture party.
Trampoline Hall: a monthly lecture series.
Go see a Blue Jays game! Tickets are as cheap as $9 and it can be a lot of fun. Also: soccer, or free Toronto Maple Leaf baseball games at Christie Pits. SPORTS.
If you’re a daredevil (and rich, I guess) you can walk along the outside of the CN Tower.
Definitely the best thing to do in the summer is take the ferry to the Toronto Islands. Rent bikes, pack a picnic, ride swan boats at Centreville, sit in the sand at one of the beaches, including the clothing-optional beach at Hanlan’s Point, if that’s what you’re into.
The Canadian National Exhibition (known as The Ex) takes place at the end of August and it can be pretty good, cheesy fun. Lots of silly rides and carnival games and deeply, deeply fried foods.
In winter, free public ice skating all over the place. Best place: Nathan Phillips Square in front of City Hall.
Sugar Beach.
Harbourfront Centre has a lot of arts programming and sometimes free outdoor concerts (and the International Festival of Authors in the fall). Plus you get to be by the water. Also: The Power Plant.
Toronto’s unofficial motto is “A City in a Park”: there are tons of them. Parks are the best. Dufferin Grove Park is basically my back yard. Lots of farmer’s markets are held in public parks. Most of the people in my specific demographic like Trinity Bellwoods Park, but the police have been issuing fines for public drinking this summer, so it isn’t as busy there as it once was!
The Junction Flea, or the new Parkdale Flea. Also new: the Toronto Flower Market.
Smaller art galleries: my faves are ESP, Magic Pony and Narwhal, Diaz, Cooper Cole, LE Gallery, the OCAD Student Gallery, MOCCA.
Pick a neighbourhood and go for a walk (there is actually an overwhelming amount of information at the end of that link). I recommend Yorkville, the Annex, the Distillery District, the Junction, Little Italy, Riverside, Little Italy, and Rosedale.
Go see a documentary at the Bloor Cinema, or check out the excellent programming at the TIFF Lightbox, if you love film.
Visit Kensington Market. It’s a great place for cheap eats and has a fun multi-ethnic vibe.
Monthly food events at the Toronto Underground Market and The Stop Night Market (which raises funds for a community food centre that does excellent work).
The Sunday Antique Market at St Lawrence Market.
The Toronto Reference Library hosts really great literary events (Donna Tartt in the fall!).
$25 nosebleeds at the ballet, $14 Toronto Symphony Orchestra tickets if you are under the age of 35.
Outdoor movies in various locales all summer.
Pretty much every band on tour stops in Toronto. Check Now Magazine for weekly music listings. That includes DJs if you want to dance. A few local musicians I like: Bahamas, DIANA, The Weeknd, Isla Craig, Trust.
The lesser-known museums: Bata Shoe Museum, Textile Museum of Canada.
Park hangs in Bickford Park
Sweet Woodruff
Coffee:
The Common (Dufferin Grove/Bloorcourt)
Sam James Coffee Bar (The Annex and Christie Pits)
Dark Horse (Queen West and Leslieville)
White Squirrel (Queen West)
The Slow Room (Dufferin Grove)
Northwood (Bloorcourt/Christie Pits)
Ezra’s Pound (Dupont and Dundas West)
Ella’s Uncle (Dundas West and Bloorcourt)
Dineen (Financial District)
Jimmy’s (King West and Kensington)
Capital Espresso (Parkdale)
Fika Cafe (Kensington)
Northwood
Dessert:
Bakerbots Baking (Bloorcourt): the BEST ice cream sandwich you will ever eat in your life (100% serious; all freshly-made ingredients and the sandwich is prepared at the time of your order). Also, banana pudding & carrot cake.
Glory Hole Donuts (Parkdale)
Clafouti (Queen West): really good croissants if you get there early enough.
Nadège (Queen West): most photogenic treats & Kusmi teas.
Bobette and Belle (Queen East): a friend gave me a bag of their marshmallows once. They were gone so fast.
Patachou Patisserie (Rosedale): I still think about the bûche de Noël I ordered there years ago.
Petite Thuet (King West)
The Big Chill (Little Italy): freshly made waffle cones, smells amazing in there.
If you’re in my Toronto, you have to eat a pastel de nata, or Portuguese custard tart. HAVE to, sorry!
Rumour has it we’re getting a Momofuku Milk Bar and Ladurée, so hang tight for those.
Bakerbots ice cream sandwiches (insert chorus of angels)
The Big Chill
Drink:
Archive (Dundas West)
Midfield Wine Bar (Dundas West)
Cold Tea (Kensington)
Wallflower (Brockton)
The Hoof’s Cocktail Bar (Dundas West)
The Yukon (Parkdale)
Walk around Ossington/Dundas West and you will find a hundred bars (Bambi’s, Get Well, Camp 4, Unlovable, Red Light, etc. etc.)
Bellwoods Brewery (Ossington): apparently the food here is really good, but I haven’t tried it yet. Really nice patio, locally-brewed beer. We love their Bottle Shop.
North of Brooklyn
Where to eat:
You can get pretty much any type of food in Toronto, although in some cases you have to travel out to the suburbs for specific ethnic foods. Always worth it! Restaurants in Toronto have gotten more interesting and daring in the past five years, which is very exciting. Acqtaste is a locally published magazine about food, so check it out if you’re interested!
Lineups are a possibility, but I doubt you would ever have to wait more than an hour to get a table... it just depends. Also, you’ll have to check with the restaurant to see if they are cash only/accept credit cards, etc.
Bar Isabel (Little Italy): tapas style. I have yet to go but it’s at the top of my list. I have heard nothing but raves!
Pizza: North of Brooklyn for slices, Libretto or Via Mercanti for Neapolitan style, Bitondo’s for old school. My favourite for delivery is FBI.
Woodlot (Little Italy)
Grand Electric (Parkdale): tacos & lineups. El Asador (Koreatown) for cheap tacos & lineups!
My favourite food in the world is the Italian eggplant sandwich from California Sandwiches. The original Little Italy location is a true hole in the wall, and I love it.
Mother’s Dumplings (Chinatown): I crave this food.
Rock Lobster (Ossington)
Takht-e Tavoos (Dufferin Grove): Iranian brunch!
Wallace & Co. (Junction Triangle/Wallace): diner food tucked away in a quiet residential area.
The Burger’s Priest (Queen West and Beaches): this place gets a lot of hype, but I had The Option (two breaded portobello mushrooms with cheese, deep fried) and it was pretty crazy incredible. The most unhealthy veggie burger I have ever had.
This End Up (Dundas West): I get poutine here sometimes, or mac & cheese. Just a nice family-friendly diner-ish neighbourhood spot.
Saving Grace (Little Portugal/Dundas West): favourite brunch spot, but it’s the favourite of aaaaa lot of other people.
Barraida (Dufferin Grove): Portuguese barbeque food, lots of seafood. It’s not the greatest, but the College Street location has a back garden (secret garden!) that is the best patio in the whole city. Cheap sangria too.
The Rebel House (Rosedale): my favourite pub in the city.
Victory Cafe (Mirvish Village): pub-ish, really good fries.
Marben (King West)
Porchetta & Co. (Dundas): I ate here when I was still eating meat and even though I have no desire to eat meat these days, those were some delicious sandwiches.
Samuel J. Moore (Queen West): haven’t yet been, but it looks nice!
Enoteca Sociale (Little Portugal): Italian pasta & wine.
Rose & Sons (Dupont): diner-ish, really sweet.
Poutini’s (Queen West): yes, you can definitely get better poutine in Québec, but this is my favourite place for it here.
The Dakota Tavern (Ossington): this is a really great venue for live music, really cozy, but on weekends they have “Bluegrass brunch”: cheap food with live bluegrass music. Why not?
If you like Indian food, the east end has quite a lot of it. I like Udupi Palace (south Indian vegetarian).
Buk Chang Dong (Koreatown): there are maybe five things on the menu and nothing is more than $10. Bubbling hot soon tofu. Comfort food.
Oddseoul (Ossington): late night snacks.
Delux (Ossington): Cuban/French. Really good brunch.
Julie’s Cuban (Ossington): delicious tapas-style, really cute spot.
Swan (Queen West): diner-style, but a touch fancier than a typical diner.
Bestellen (Little Italy/Dufferin Grove): modern European. Cheap oysters!
The Black Hoof (Little Portugal): very popular, the place to go if you LOVE meat.
The Hogtown Vegan (Bloorcourt): a vegan restaurant that is so good even people who love meat will be happy there, I promise.
The Bickford Flexitarian (Harbord): just opened, looks promising.
Terroni (Queen West): good pizza, good pasta, good wine.
Momofuku (Entertainment District): we have one too!
Intersteer (Roncesvalles): good pierogies!
Chippy’s (Queen West): I’m not a fish & chips expert and obviously try not to indulge too often, but I like the fish & chips here a lot. Get it to go and eat it in the park across the street. Yum.
Robber
Shops:
Robber (Queen West): I've mentioned this clothing shop a lot, because I love it. Brands include Creatures of Comfort, Filippa K, Ilana Kohn, Karen Walker, Laura Lombardi, MHL by Margaret Howell, Minimarket, Rittenhouse, Samantha Pleet, Steven Alan, Rachel Antonoff.
Gravity Pope (Queen West/Ossington): shoes!
Easy Tiger (Dundas West): cute new shop in my neighbourhood, a good place for gift items and popsicles too.
Jonathan + Olivia (Ossington): clothing; brands include Alexander Wang, Isabel Marant, Band of Outsiders, Jeremy Laing.
Rac Boutique (Yorkville): clothing; brands include A Peace Treaty, United Bamboo, Vena Cava, Vivienne Westwood Anglomania.
Thank You (Queen West): vintage & curiosities.
Lost and Found (Little Portugal): clothing (and coffee); brands include Alden, Makr, Saint James, Dana Lee.
The Future of Frances Watson (Parkdale): clothing; brands include Penfield, Filson, Fortnight Lingerie.
Vintage clothing shops (some of which offer a mix of vintage & new): Philistine (Parkdale), Penny Arcade Vintage (Little Portugal), I Miss You (Ossington), 69 Vintage and V by 69 Vintage (Queen West), Cabaret (Queen West), Magwood (Queen West)
Coal Miner’s Daughter (Queen West and Mirvish Village): clothing; lots of lovely Canadian brands.
Coriander Girl (Parkdale): flowers!
Sweet Woodruff (Dundas West): more flowers!
Art Metropole (Dundas West): artist books.
The Workroom (Parkdale): sew by-the-hour space, but also sells a variety of craft supplies, books, and fabric.
Drake General Store (Queen West & various other locations): pretty good for gift items, lots of Canadiana.
Maison de la Presse (Yorkville): my favourite magazine shop.
Good Egg (Kensington): bookstore with a cooking bent.
Type Books (Queen West): not going to lie, bookstores in Toronto are in a sorry state. This is one of the few independents left.
Bicyclette (Queen West): clothing; brands include Wildfox, Ladakh, Free People.
Likely General (Roncesvalles): this shop has yet to open but I think it will be really great!
Scout (Roncesvalles): nice selection of gifts and cards.
Virginia Johnson (Dufferin Grove): beautifully illustrated textiles.
The Chief Salvage (Dundas West): vintage and curiosities.
Hawk Eyes (Roncesvalles): vintage furniture and housewares.
Music: Soundscapes, June Records, Rotate This, Sonic Boom.
Mjölk (Junction): modern design (furniture & objects) with a Scandinavian/Japanese focus. Really beautiful. While in the Junction, walk around; lots of design/antiques in the area.
Blue Button Shop (Dundas West): new clothing shop stocking Japanese imports.
The Monocle Shop (Little Italy): it smells incredible in there thanks to the Comme des Garçons candles they have burning.
Holt Renfrew (Yorkville): a classic Canadian department store. Our version of Nordstrom.
Sydney’s (Queen West): fancy menswear.
Hoi Bo (Distillery): handcrafted waxed canvas & leather bags.
Bicyclette