Restaurants & bars
B Espresso Bar
111 Queen St E
Designed by local maverick Anna Simone of Cecconi Simone, this long, narrow space is outfitted in black, white and dark chocolate – colours that s...
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Bar Mercurio
270 Bloor St W
Straightforward Italian dishes, top-notch wood-fired pizzas and an impressive wine list have kept BM in the good books for many years. $$$ ...
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Bar_One
924 Queen St W
The entrance to Bar_One is lined with mosaic tiles, adding a touch of retro warmth to this intimate and sophisticated bar-restaurant that's been a local...
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Blowfish
668 King St W
Based on its westend location and appearance, you might judge Blowfish as a too-cool-for-school resto-lounge-sushi-bar where only the most posh outfits ...
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Brassaii
461 King St W
Designed by Del Terrelonge, Brassaii is a secluded oasis in the trendy King and Spadina area. This comfortable bistro-diner serves upscale comfort food ...
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Buca
602 King St W
Architect Guido Constantino carved this light-filled, double-height dining room from what was once an industrial-era boiler room. Chef Rob Gentile &ndas...
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BÖHMER
93 OSSINGTON AVE
This 100-plus-seat European contemporary restaurant on a strip best known for its tiny, one note bars is a study in juxtapositions. The wooden bar is pr...
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C5
ROM, 100 Queen's Pk
Housed in the Royal Ontario Museum, C5's asymmetrical space is by Daniel Libeskind, the black-and-white interior by II by IV. In other words, don't get ...
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Chabichou
196 BORDEN ST
Like the sort of French provincial road-side place with the surprisingly good food you might bring stories home about, this rustic spot is run by Tati B...
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Chef's House
George Brown College
George Brown College’s east-end campus has gone through some major overhauls in recent years, but nothing is quite as unique as the Chefs&rsq...
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Cinq 01
501 COLLEGE ST
On a strip that’s somewhat lost its luster in recent years, distressingly gorgeous couples have started to make their way back to eat, network, an...
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Colborne Lane
45 Colborne St
Though executive chef and owner Claudio Aprile is following Fernand Adria's experiments with molecular gastronomy, Colborne Lane has its own sui generis...
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Crush Wine Bar
455 King St W
Crush’s set menu and à la carte items prove the existence of gourmet English cuisine – braised pork belly, steak tartare, chicken pot...
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Dark Horse Espresso Bar
682 Queen St E
The combination of mod light fixtures, a reclaimed board table serving as a communal coffee-drinking/paper-reading hub, free wireless and some impressiv...
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Delica Kitchen
1440 YONGE ST
In a city with myriad gourmet markets, there are surprisingly few high-quality takeout options. This reality does not apply if you find yourself where Y...
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Delux
92 Ossington Ave
Montrealer Corinna Mozo’s French bistro hints at her Cuban background. À la carte and daily specials please and servers provide well-inform...
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District
806 QUEEN ST E
District, a recent addition to Riverside, might be a one-trick pony, but turning out such consistently fresh and velvety sushi is one mighty fine...
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Frank
AGO, 317 Dundas St W
With every new museum that opens, a designer restaurant is born. At least that’s what’s been happening over the past few years, with the ROM...
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Fresh on Bloor
326 Bloor St W
Don't mistake Fresh for its progenitor Juice for Life, or "Hippie Shake" as it's been called. Gone are the old hanging ferns and the dream cat...
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Fresh on Spadina
147 Spadina Ave
This lunch-hour hot spot serves up organic vegetarian fare; its vitamin-infused shakes and juices are particularly popular with yogis. $ Other Location:...
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Gardiner Cafe
111 QUEEN’S P
In place of Jamie Kennedy’s former swish restaurant, a casual cafe now offers faster, cheaper fixes from the celeb chef. Rustic sandwiches, like p...
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Gio Rana's Really Really Nice Restaurant
1220 Queen St E
Rustic Italian fare served in an unfussy space that's generally boisterous. $$...
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Grace
503 College St
College Street’s latest restaurant serving upscale comfort food comes from Lesle Gibson, who used to co-own Xacutti. Gibson left Toronto and moved...
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Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner
111 Queen's Park
The Gardiner Museum’s patrons can’t seem to get enough of Jamie Kennedy’s resto, open for lunch and Friday evenings. Like the building...
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KiWe Kitchen
587 King St W
Proving that resto-lounge dining isn’t synonymous with pretension, KiWe Kitchen brings simplified supper clubbing to swish King West. Designed by ...
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Kultura
169 King St E
Renovated by Bryan Chartier of Core Architects and furnished by Queen West zeitgeistmeisters Commute Home, this tapas bar is unlike a lot of design-cons...
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Le Petit Castor
1118 Yonge St
This is the very archetype of what could become a new breed of eatery – the Canadian bistro. Understated by intention, Bradley ...
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Le Saint Tropez
315 King St W
An authentic interpretation of southern French gastronomy, Le Saint Tropez emphasizes seafood, light sauces, fresh herbs and pastas. $$-$$$ ...
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Live Organic Food Bar
264 Dupont St
Dedicated to nutrition and digestion, cooked foods follow macrobiotic principles, and raw dishes (nothing is heated above 46C) are inventive. $ ...
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Loic Gourmet
722 Queen St E
A take-out joint with French-inspired epicurean delights prepared by chef David Kokai. $ ...
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Madeline’s
601 King St W
It’s the old Susur space, but Madeline’s can’t compete. With bits and pieces taken straight from Shang, Susur Lee’s re...
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Maro
135 Liberty St
Maro, by the restaurateurs who brought you Brant House and Brassaii, leans more toward the club end of the supper club continuum. Designers Marc Kyriacou a...
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McEwan
Shop at Don Mills (Don Mills & Lawrence)
Half of this cavernous space is a grocery store, but the half that counts offers packaged food – like North 44’s salmon pastrami or Bymark&r...
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Mildred's Temple Kitchen
85 Hanna Ave
Polished concrete floors and ottomans crafted from paper and non-woven textiles (from Vancouver’s Molo) are the main ornaments at the newly re-loc...
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NOTA BENE
180 QUEEN ST W
Nota Bene – the place is perfectly named. It was the last thing added to the KPMB's federal court building at Queen and University, arriving like ...
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Nadège
780 QUEEN ST W
Designed in collaboration with Nelson Kwong Architects, Nadège Nourian’s pastry shop resembles one of her desserts: little bursts of flavou...
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Nyood
1096 Queen St W
Opulent high ceilings and stainless steel doors at Nyood (pronounced nude) set the mood for this resto/nightclub, where owner Hanif Harji and chef Roger...
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Odd Fellows
936 Queen St W
On the Castor Design site, Castor principal and Odd Fellows co-own...
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One Eleven
111 Yorkville Ave
The latest addition on the Yorkville block (by Michael Etherington of Lobby fame) serves up decadence in the form of a champagne and caviar bar. $$$$&nb...
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Opus
37 Prince Arthur Ave
Opus wows local residents and visitors with its staggering wine list of some 45,000 bottles, which rest in the cellar below the restaurant. $$$$...
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Origin
107-109 King St E
Already well-acquainted with chef Claudio Aprile’s aesthetic – having co-designed Colborne Lane in 2007 – local firm Stroudfoot mined ...
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Osteria Ciceri e Tria
106 Victoria St
Designed by Giannone Petricone Associates, this new family-run joint is everything an osteria should be. There’s a communal table, pine ...
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Paramour
94 OSSINGTON AVE
Let’s get this out of the way: Ossington Avenue’s Paramour is already a classic. If you are a woman wearing fur and delicate gloves or a man...
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Prop
770 St Clair Ave W
For a minimalist space, the People’s Republic of Pasta packs a lot of character. Among architect Simon Eagar’s dark reclaimed wood and windi...
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School Bakery & Cafe
70 FRASER AVE
Designed by exec chef Brad Moore, this black brick “schoolhouse” in Liberty Village channels David Lee Roth’s “Hot for...
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Splendido
88 HARBORD ST
After light renovations by Michael Rietta of Giannone Petricone, the mysterious, old and high-priced Splendido, one of Toronto’s to-be-seen-at res...
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Swirl
946 1/2 Queen St E
Design aficionados and gourmands will find much to admire at this new wine bar, a cozy space done up like a sophisticated boudoir by local designers Fam...
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Table 17
782 Queen St E
Italian, Spanish and French cuisine housed in a button-cute bistro. Don’t miss BYOW/ prix fixe Sundays. $$$...
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Terroni Adelaide
57a Adelaide St E
This trendy trattoria has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 1992 as a single ...
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The Comrade
758 Queen St E
Comrade is a wine, beer and cheese bar furnished with a combination of bentwood loungers and modernist sofas redolent of 1930s and '40s Vietnam. The who...
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The Hoof Cafe
923 DUNDAS ST W
The Black Hoof’s hip younger sibling serves up carnivorous brunch and bar snacks such as suckling pig benny, pigtails and grits in a quaint space ...
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The Stockyards Smokehouse & Larder
699 ST. CLAIR AVE W
Tiny and hot from all the roasting, 14 can sit in this sliver of a space with large tile floors and barn wood ceilings but don’t be one of them. L...
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Tomi-Kro
1214 Queen St E
Not a novelty, Tomi-Kro beats newer kids on nearby blocks. The industrial, casual decor – rough wood floors and Jasper Johns-y paintings...
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Ultra Supper Club
314 Queen St W
Alligator-grain leather sofas and a wacky chicken and feather motif on the walls (by Munge Leung) – yes, Ultra’s had yet a...
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Veritas
234 King St E
Chef Brad Livergant’s menu is local fare served up as bistro classics. Dine upstairs, lounge downstairs with appetizers, or grab a table on the en...
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