Every September, Toronto changes. The Toronto International Film Festival — TIFF — brings the global film industry to the city for ten days, and the nightlife implications are enormous. A-list celebrities, international film distributors, studio executives, directors, and press descend on Yorkville and the Entertainment District, and the city’s hospitality industry responds accordingly. For those […]
College Street’s Chez Wa didn’t waste any time building a following. The wine-and-sake bar soft-opened just weeks ago and has already carved out a reputation as one of Little Italy’s most talked-about new additions — thanks in large part to a dish that has nothing to do with Italian food at all. Rooted in Asian-inspired […]
Toronto has never been shy about its love for a fancy-schmancy grocery store — from Summerhill Market to Eataly, the city has consistently supported the gourmet grocer format. McEwan, the chef-driven chain helmed by Mark McEwan, is now expanding that footprint with a new location at Bayview Village. Currently operating just two locations — Shops […]
There’s a certain irony baked into opening a bar called Don’t Tell on one of Toronto’s busiest, most talked-about nightlife strips. The team behind it seems entirely aware of that tension — and unbothered by it. Taking over the unmarked Ossington Avenue space that formerly housed Pastiche, Don’t Tell quietly opened for business on June […]
Christie Pits Park draws crowds all summer long for its rolling hills, free baseball games, and public pool — but for years, one thing has been conspicuously missing from the area: a proper neighbourhood ice cream shop within easy walking distance. As of Friday, July 3, that gap has officially closed. Brokn Milk, a new […]
The Comstock Building has seen more bars come and go than almost any address in downtown Toronto. Built in 1898, the space has cycled through a long list of breweries and gathering spots since the late 1980s — Denison’s, the Strand, Duggan’s, Beer Academy, Batch — a run of turnover that would make most restaurateurs […]
Toronto has no shortage of hidden bars these days, but Bar Bokeh takes the concept about as literally as possible: to find it, you have to walk through a working cafe first. Tucked behind the storefront, the speakeasy leans into a moody, intimate aesthetic that draws a clear line between the casual daytime cafe up […]
Some restaurant transitions come and go quietly. This one came with a punchline built right into the branding. The Yonge and Roehampton space that housed the beloved, dusty Duke of Kent pub for nearly 50 years has a new tenant: the Post-Nup Pub, from Atef Girgis, the restaurateur behind the now-defunct Prenup Pub and the […]
Toronto’s appetite for burgers has never really had a ceiling — the city supports everything from scrappy local smash-patty shops to full-scale international chains without much sign of saturation. Still, even by Toronto standards, having two heavyweight burger giants set up shop within metres of each other is a fairly rare event. McDonald’s has operated […]
Plenty of food influencers are happy collecting free meals and staying comfortably behind the camera. Marcello, the creator behind @marcelloeats, is choosing the much harder path: actually opening a restaurant. With nearly 140,000 followers on Instagram and over 115,000 on TikTok, Marcello has spent years building an audience by reviewing viral food spots across southern […]