Toronto Restaurant & Bar Guide in Canada, Food, Toronto, Travel on 09/30/18This post is like a MILLION years overdue, so to anyone I promised it to a while ago— please, please forgive me! I wrote one short Toronto centric post over the summer and have always meant to publish a Toronto restaurant and bar guide; I just had a feeling it would take forever to work on (I was right, day 7 over here ha). Soo many photos to go through and edit. Sooo hard to not write a ten thousand page thesis on something I’m so passionate about. My favorite city, and food. I am a total foodie and Toronto has an amazing restaurant scene; I’ve definitely been incredibly spoiled over the years. And especially this summer! I ended up having a total of three-ish weeks in the city and it was just incredible; I stayed in a neighborhood that was totally new to me, took the subway and the streetcar regularly, walked a ton, went to super cool bars for after work happy hours, took a class at a local barre studio— just the greatest. I was born and lived in Toronto until I was six, when we moved to the States, but I’ve always felt such a deep connection to the city whenever I’m here, and it has always, always felt like my true home. It’s seriously the coolest city, and I love getting to share bits of it with you guys. If you’ve never been, you need to put Toronto at the top of your travel bucket list (and bookmark my Toronto restaurant and bar guide heheh). Drinks The Addisons Residence From their website: “But few people know who they are, and even fewer have ever made their acquaintance. They collect fine art and always have a stocked bar. They have amazing food on hand, and their friends are all so charming. And their house – my God. Have you seen their house? They really do have it all. It’s just too bad they’re never around to enjoy it.” Pique your interest at all? Despite the fact that when my sister and I went we ended up waiting close to an hour and a half in a line (long story short, the fire department was called due to the place being over capacity, but we were SO pumped to go here we decided to just ride it out), I absolutely love this place. And, clearly, we went on a bad night. The Addisons Residence is a bar disguised as this insane house; the concept being the Addison family own it, have these amazing parties, but they’re never around to enjoy them. There are walls lined with board games, foosball, air hockey, a full living room, a backyard with fire pits and cabanas, at midnight they bring out pizza… unreal. The decor is super funky, palm print chairs everywhere, communal tables (for making new friends, duh! Fun fact, we actually found some besties to play giant jenga with and it was so fun). Seriously unlike any bar I’ve ever been to and it’s right in the King St West area, which is crazy fun. You can see unobstructed views of the CN tower everywhere you go. The Porch A kiiiiiiller summer bar— I mean, how amazing are those sand bucket drinks?! I can attest that the trek of what seems like 274 flights of stairs to the rooftop is worth it. My sister and I met here for happy hour drinks after work (she was interning in Toronto all summer and I was working remote in the city for the week). They played super fun music, had awesome snackies, and the drinks and views were unbelievable. Lavelle Technically, Lavelle is mainly a restaurant, as well as a pool club you can get a membership to during the summer, BUT I personally think it is the perfect place to come for drinks, apps, and views. My family and I came here for my 24th birthday dinner this summer and I wasn’t super impressed with the food— the panoramic, 16th floor rooftop views of the city are just to die for. Convenience Whooooo likes secret entrance bars?!? I know I do! Convenience is oh so cleverly named, as you pass through what looks like a run of the mill convenience store to access the restaurant and bar. Nostalgia will hit ya hard here; neon signs, pac man machines, random hot pink retro phones with the words “Party Line” above them because why not? Photo via BlogTO Photo via BlogTO The Shameful Tiki Room Love a good Tiki bar! Very vast menu, shared bowl drinks, live music… Definitely put it on the list if you’re looking to grab drinks somewhere fun. Restaurants Kōst Definition VIEWS FOR DAYS. I mean seriously?! Can you believe??? I pretty much had a freaking heart attack when my sister and I stepped off the elevator at Kost for dinner; I had never seen such an incredible view of the CN Tower! The restaurant has a little pool, panoramic views of the lake (we watched sailboats come in and out of the habor), and it feels like you can reach out and touch one of Toronto’s most famous landmarks. This place had been on my list for the longest time and it did nooot disappoint. Sister and I got a bunch of things to share— ceviche, tomato and burrata salad, lemon, spinach & ricotta pappardelle, and a chocolate torte. They also make a mean margarita. Kasa Moto Sister and I went here for our last dinner together for the summer (SAD). Have I mentioned I’m ready for us to live in the same place?? We went out with a bang and had wine, ceviche, lobster miso soup, delicious sushi… Alllllll the good shit. Kasa Moto was maybe my favorite meal of the whole trip; I was super impressed. It’s in Toronto’s Yorkville neighborhood, which is such a fun place to people watch and walk around, which I would definitely recommend doing if you come here! O&B Canteen A place I will admit, I have only been to for lunch, but that said, I would definitely recommend it as one of my fave lunch spots. Nothing too extraordinary about it, but the food is great. I actually went here for lunch with my mum and sister on my 24th birthday; I had this popsicle raspberry prosecco drink, a tomato and watermelon salad, and a forbidden rice salmon poke. Planta Hands down, and you can quote me on this, the SEXIEST vegan food you will ever see in your life. This place is so innovative, even the meatiest meat lover will be satisfied. Idk what they’re doing back there but I’ve never failed to be blown away. The overall atmosphere is super hip; palm print walls everywhere, hanging swing seat pod things (for some reason felt obliged to share that detail), killer cocktails, and a DJ that makes things super lit at night. You gotta go for dinner! Top: some sort of Asian inspired tofu and brussels sprouts lettuce wraps, with kimchi, cashews, cilantro, basil, and pickled cucumbers as fixings. On a wooden board. Casual. On the bottom: just some plain ole, delicious jackfruit tacos. Planta is a great place to do shared plates, but you could totally order your own main entree. Terroni One of my favorite restaurants. Ever. I’ve celebrated countless birthday dinners here, my family has been known to come here strait from the airport, and I’ve even eaten at their one and only US location in LA. Like I said, one of my favorite restaurants in the world! The Rigatoni Arcobaleno will change your life. Portland Variety Ohhhhh, my dear, dear Portland Variety… Just looking at this photo makes me happy. Just look at me and sister just casually enjoying our rosé flight mid workweek lunch… Lol as if that’s a proposition I could ever turn down. This place is always on my brunch or lunch Tdot list; it’s super cute inside, really light and airy, and you’re in a bopping neighborhood (King St W again!! My fave). The rosé flight is a must have imo; my other favorite thing to order is the ridiculously amazing looking pasta dish below… It’s so simple, just peas, basil, lemon, butter, and looootsa parm. Heaven in a bowl. My sister and I split an order of it and then got marinated olives and a smoked trout salad the last time we were here. Piano Piano Building goals, am I right? I do feel obligated to let you all know that my sister and I had to have a bit of a confrontation with the managing staff when we were here… Basically, they had gotten us a bottle of wine from a store across the street, didn’t tell us the price, and then charged us for 3 glasses each even though we only had around 1.5, because they kept topping off our glasses before they were empty. They somewhat made it right in the end, but it was kinda an uncomfortable moment and ended our lunch on a sour note. So, be warned that they apparently like to just refill your glass without asking, because they don’t want to “interrupt your experience.” Sure, Jan. Besides that, food is AMAZING and they have a crazy cheap lunch special. For I think like $20 you get a full pizza, choice of appetizer, and espresso. It’s also just so, so cute inside. And for that, it makes the list. Bar Reyna One of my favorite things about Toronto are all of the patio restaurants, many of them nestled and tucked away in what feels like private owned porches. Bar Reyna has the most adorable back porch (those little umbrellas!!). Over the summer, we had brunch, enjoyed the sunshine, the decor, and some amazing food. Sister got avo toast, I got the “grapefruit brûlée,” and no joke one of the best salads I’ve ever had in my life. Beets, chickpeas, crispy onions, radishes, mint, goddess dressing… Unreal. Oh, and they have an entire section on the menu for Mediterranean inspired french fries. We got the greek ones (see below); super crispy frites topped with wild greek oregano, shaved feta, olive oil, lemon + feta dip. Okurrrrr.