Neighbourhoods
King East
King East is famous for its high end, designer furniture stores, community college (the city's top culinary institute) and burgeoning restaurant scene. Line up for brunch at waffle-specialists Le Petit Dejeuner or settle in for some post-theatre nosh at Kultura, Veritas or the student friendly Betty's. Only blocks away are the famous St. Lawrence Market, swing dancing at the Reservoir Lounge on Wellington or the molecular gastronomy foreplay at Lucien or Colborne Lane.
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Academy Cafe / Cafes
Academy Cafe is very much as it sounds. Located in the former home of Fahrenheit Coffee on the Esplanade, this new espresso bar is actually the front retail spot of...
All City Storage / Services
All City Storage has two locations in North America - one in San Marcos California and the other at Cherry St. and Eastern Avenue in Toronto. All units are climate...
Allan Parss Salon / Fashion Stores
Allan Parss Salon on Wellington offers a range of services including men's and women's cuts, blow outs, colour and spa treatments. Cuts for women start at $55 and go up...
Amsterdam Bicycle Club / Restaurants
The Amsterdam Bicycle Club has emerged next to the Old Spaghetti Factory on the Esplanade. ...
Andrew Richard Designs / Design Stores
Andrew Richard Designs has two locations in Toronto including this one next to Up Country near Adelaide and Parliament. Don't go here without your Platinum card as the outdoor furniture...
Area Fitness / Fitness Clubs
Area Fitness is a small gym located near Berkeley and the Esplanade that caters mainly to those working in the Berkeley Castle....
Betty's / Restaurants
Betty's is a favourite haunt for George Brown students to grab a burger and watch whatever game happens to be on TV. ...
Bier Markt (The Esplanade) / Restaurants
The Bier Markt on the Esplanade is the original location of one of Toronto's favourite meet markets. There's plenty to drink here - with a large selection of imported beer...
Big Smoke Burger (King East) / Restaurants
Big Smoke Burger on King East is the third location of this mini burger chain and the first one to open under the new brand - as opposed to the...
Bikram Yoga (Colborne St.) / Fitness Clubs
Bikram Yoga on Colborne St. offers a convenient space for Bay St. professionals to sneak away for some relaxation and rejuvenation. Classes are offered throughout the day and showers and...
BoConcept Toronto / Design Stores
BoConcept has arrived in Toronto, bringing with it its contemporary line of functional furniture. At Adelaide and Jarvis, the Denmark-based furniture chain, has more than 340 sales units worldwide, and...
Bolet's Burrito / Restaurants
Bolet's Burrito is a super casual, mostly take-out, joint on Lower Sherbourne. Options include standard beef and chicken but also a tasty shredded pork....
Bombay Palace / Restaurants
In the mood for some takeout Indian last night we decided to order from Bombay Palace. It had been ages since I ate anything cooked up in their kitchen, but...
Bravi Ristorante / Restaurants
Bravi Ristorante is easily one of the city's most romantic restaurants. Nestled in a busy street of restaurants and bars (Trevor Kitchen Bar, Lucien and Pravda are neighbours), and across...
C'est What / Restaurants
Amidst my group of friends, C'est What has earned a reputation as a great "first date place". With a mixed crowd, warm atmosphere and diverse menu, it welcomes most...
Calligaris / Design Stores
Calligaris has recently opened a location in Toronto. Found on King East, it's a bright but tight showroom stocked with their signature chic Italian furniture and design. Most items are...
Carisma / Restaurants
Carisma is an Italian restaurant on King East from the former owner of Il Mulino. On the menu is the antipasti quartet, fish carpaccio, ricotta gnocchi, veal piccata al limone...
Churrasco of St. Lawrence / Baked Goods
Churrasco of St. Lawrence has been in business for 21 years and is still going strong. Owner Eugene knows everything there is to know about Portuguese custard tarts and if...
Colborne Lane / Restaurants
One of the best new restaurants of 2007, Colborne Lane even won Joanne Kates over. Check out her review in the Globe. ...
Corner Place / Restaurants
The Corner Place takes over from a long line of unsuccessful restaurant ventures at the corner of Front and Jarvis Street. The problem all these places have is they think...
Cosmopolitan Hotel / Hotels
The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Toronto centers promises a Zen-like hotel stay that will relax and rejuvenate. They basically attempt to revamp your lifestyle, one hotel stay at a time. For...
Domison Toronto / Design Stores
Domison Furniture Boutique has opened a showroom in Toronto - branching out from its flagship store in Montreal. The furniture strikes me as part comfy/classic, part modern, and part retro....
Eco Stems / Design Stores
Eco Stems is Toronto's best eco-friendly florist. Their designs use only local, organic, and fair trade flowers....
EQ3 / Design Stores
EQ3's huge two-story showroom on King East has a range of contemporary tables, chairs, sofas, bedroom sets and design accessories. Ask a staff member to show you the discount area...
Fahrenheit Coffee / Cafes
Fahrenheit Coffee has reemerged, though there are surely hoards of the under-caffeinated still wandering around the Esplanade. Move north, friends; for Fahrenheit already has. In October, we noted that Fahrenheit's former...
Feheley Fine Arts / Galleries
Feheley Fine Arts is a gallery on Hazelton Avenue in Yorkville the features contemporary Inuit art from across the Canadian Arctic. ...
Flux + Form / Fashion Stores
Flux + Form is tucked away in an old space on Sherbourne Street between Queen and Richmond. The jewellery store offers stunning pieces made of precious and semi-precious stones and...
Foundation Room / Bars
Foundation Room is a long-standing lounge at the foot of Church Street. Hours of operation here are irregular at best but it usually features DJs spinning house, hip hop or...
Fresh & Prestige / Fashion Stores
Fresh & Prestige does one thing really well. They specialize in custom-made men's dress shirts. They all carry a selection of ties....
Fusaro's (Richmond East) / Restaurants
Fusaro's has just opened a second location on Richmond St. East and it's already getting crowded. Compared to the original location on Spadina, this new spot is even smaller but...
FuZen / Restaurants
FuZen is a small Japanese restaurant along Front Street a block or so east of the St. Lawrence Market. I'd heard good things about the maki here so a group...
G for Gelato / Restaurants
G For Gelato may be new to Toronto, but its history traces back to more than half a century ago in Italy. The business started as a little gelateria (if...
Galangal Thai Fusion / Restaurants
Galangal Thai Fusion is the latest incarnation of this Thai restaurant on Colborne Lane. Open for lunch and dinner, the restaurant serves up Thai classics like crispy spring rolls and...
Gautier Toronto / Design Stores
Gautier is the latest addition to Toronto's fancy furniture row, otherwise known as King East. The new shop hosts the designs of a 50-year-old French brand that, despite the going...
George Street Diner / Restaurants
The newly crimsoned exterior of the George Street Diner is a welcome and arresting sight for anyone who finds themselves around the King East area in a famished state. The recent...
Gilead Cafe / Restaurants
Jamie Kennedy has moved into Corktown with his latest culinary installment, Gilead Cafe. My friends and I popped in for lunch and fully enjoyed our meal, owing to...
Golden Thai / Restaurants
One of Toronto's original thai food restaurants, Golden Thai is still going strong and serves up a huge assortment of rice, curry and noodle dishes....
Great Burger Kitchen (Church St.) / Restaurants
Great Burger Kitchen has opened a second location, next to the Wine Bar and Hank's on lower Church St. Check out our review of their original Gerrard East location....
Hank's / Cafes
Hank's manager Angie just wants people to know their location, that's all. So maybe 9 1/2 Church St is a weird address, but when you're the delightful sidekick to Jamie...
Harlem / Restaurants
It is evident that a lot of love has been poured into creating this unique spot that serves soul food of both literal and figurative varieties. Inspired by the...
Hiro Sushi / Restaurants
Long acclaimed as one of the best sushi restaurants in Toronto, Hiro stars chef and owner Hiro Yoshida's fresh and inventive Japanese creations. ...
Hostelling International / Hotels
Hostelling International is one of the three good youth-hostel options in Toronto. What distinguishes this from the other two is (a) it's on the east side of the city near...
Hot House Cafe / Restaurants
Hot House Cafe at the corner of Church and Front Streets specializes in pizza and pasta. Cajun Shrimp Fusilli, Grilled New Zealand Rack of Lamb and Jambalaya are some of...
Ichiban Sushi (Wellington) / Restaurants
Ichiban Sushi has numerous locations in Toronto including this one at Church and Wellington. Like the other locations, the offerings here are standard if unremarkable. But for moderate priced sushi...
Il Re Trattoria / Restaurants
Il Re Trattoria is a new entrant on the King East lunch scene. This small restaurant offers both table service and take-out of Italian food made with organic ingredients....
InDesign Furnishings / Design Stores
InDesign, a two-storey showroom on King East, carries a mix of modern and contemporary furniture including sofas, chairs and tables. ...
Ital Interiors / Design Stores
On the corner of King and Berkeley, Ital Interiors carries high-end, contemporary Italian furniture and design. ...
Jardin de Ville / Design Stores
Jardin de Ville has recently opened a Toronto showroom on Lower Sherbourne just south of King East. The store - part of a global chain - retails high end outdoor...
Jason George / Restaurants
The Jason George is a pub near Jarvis and Front that draws a mixture or locals and tourists. On the menu are pub staples like beef dip and chicken fingers...
King Edward Hotel / Hotels
The King Edward Hotel is one of the grande dames of Toronto hotels. While it's glory days are in its past, the hotel still has a certain charm and is...
Kiosk (King East) / Design Stores
Kiosk has opened its latest store in Toronto, this one near King and Berkeley just a stones throw from Klaus. The new showroom is essentially a multi-level museum of avant-garde...
Kirei Sushi / Restaurants
Kirei Sushi + Bar brings upscale sushi to what used to be the location of a series of all you can eat Thai restaurants....
Klaus by Nienkamper / Design Stores
Klaus by Nienkamper, on the east end of the design corridor along King East, is a chic, sophisticated showroom of modern furniture and hip design elements. The store feels like...
Kultura Restaurant / Restaurants
There has been a lot of good buzz about Kultura. Everything from great service, good eats and beautiful space, I heard it all. But, I am not one to listen...
La Maquette / Restaurants
La Maquette endures thanks to its busy summers where it seems to be always booked for a wedding. It's a big space - with seating on two floors - as...
Le Papillon / Restaurants
Serving French and Quebecois fare (onion soup and crepes are particularly noteworthy), Le Papillon is popular with fresh-off-the-VIA-train tourists, the business crowd, and local concert- and theatre-goers....
Le Petit Dejeuner / Restaurants
Located on King St East, Le Petit Dejeuner is sandwiched in between the Chocolate Lounge (where I can not even afford to smell the food let alone dine) and Gabby's...
Limitless / Design Stores
Limitless, formerly Bullfrog & Limitless when it first opened early this year, still sells too imported lines of furniture that are exclusive to North America. Limitless is from Holland while...
Lucien / Restaurants
Starring chef Scot Woods and ex-Mercer Street and YYZ-er Simon Bower, Lucien has been proclaimed by Joanne Kates as one of the best new restaurants and in the same league...
Ma Zone / Design Stores
First, it's pronounced "May-Zone", not "Mah-Zone". I made that mistake and was quickly corrected by Armin. Armin is the nervously cheerful, charming and absolutely serious owner of this shop. He's the...
McVeigh's / Restaurants
McVeigh's is the place where everyone lines up for miles to get in for a drink on St. Patrick's Day. The rest of the year it gets by with basic...
Mengrai Thai / Restaurants
Mengrai Thai has been open since 2007, hidden on Ontario in the former Regal Brewery. This place does phad thai two ways - the more sweet and tomato-y kind favoured...
Miyaki Sushi / Restaurants
Miyaki Sushi is a good neighbourhood options for cheap enough maki, sushi and other Japanese and Korean food....
Morning Glory / Restaurants
Sunday my partner and I made our way to Morning Glory at 457 King street (east of Parliament). My first impression was a kind of homey, but light and...
Mystic Muffin / Restaurants
Mystic Muffin is a popular take-out spot at Jarvis and Richmond that serves tasty cheap eats including egg salad sandwiches, soup, chili, falafel and its famous apple cakes. Photo by Roger...
Nami / Restaurants
Nami Sushi on Adelaide East has been serving up fresh sushi and Japanese cuisine in Toronto for more than 20 years....
Nari Sushi / Restaurants
Nari Sushi is a great take-out sushi spot near King and Sherbourne. Expect pre-packaged (but freshly made) quality maki at a decent price....
Navigate Space / Fashion Stores
Navigate Salon has managed a seemingly impossible feat for a downtown Toronto hair salon — somehow, it has garnered a mass of positive reviews and nearly zero negative online reactions,...
Novotel Hotel / Hotels
The Novotel Hotel in Toronto is found just down the street from the St. Lawrence Market and very close to Union Station. The appeal is its central location as well...
Olympos/Crowbar / Restaurants
Olympos/Crowbar is a small diner that's open for breakfast and lunch. An assortment of tables, chairs and padded stools compliment the kitchen's offerings of steak on a bun, corned beef...
Optic Zone / Fashion Stores
Optic Zone is Joe Singh's dizzying jumble of a shop near the foot of Jarvis. It can be a bit overwhelming. "We carry everything," he insists, and he might be...
Origin / Restaurants
Origin is Claudio Aprile's second restaurant in Toronto. Located on the corner of King and Church, this $1.3-million project was envisioned to be a casual dining place for fans of...
Origo Books / Bookstores
Origo Books is an independent boutique bookshop specialized in the alternative and metaphysical, recently open in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood. Their manifest purpose is to provide a unique place for...
Pacific Junction Hotel / Restaurants
The Pacific Junction Hotel has recently opened in the old Veritas space on King East. The new restaurant is owned by the folks behind Betty's and has a cheeky menu...
Paganelli's / Restaurants
Paganelli's is the new name and concept from the restaurant formerly known as Romagna Mia. An enoteca and a risotteria, Paganelli's specializes in homemade risotto, pasta, pizza and salumi....
Pat Quinn Lounge / Restaurants
Pat Quinn Lounge isn't owned by the former Leaf hockey coach. Instead, the man behind the scenes here is another Pat Quinn - a 70 something Irishman who owns a...
Patrician Grill / Restaurants
Patrician Grill is a classic diner on King East that seems to be open more for film shoots than it is for serving hungry patrons. Nevertheless, they server good and...
Petite Thuet (King East) / Baked Goods
Petite Thuet has a high-end, woodsy cottage feel with a Parisian inspired menu. With gold and red patterned dining room chairs, Manitoba maple wooden tables and a chandelier made of...
Pravda Vodka Bar / Bars
Pravda Vodka Bar is a Russian themed bar on Wellington that stocks more Vodka varieties than anywhere else in Toronto. ...
Prologue Lifestyle / Fashion Stores
Prologue Lifestyle near King and Parliament is part spa, part lifestyle store. Shelves feature products like Nellie Tier hand cream and Ocean + Pure Collagen Gel while attentive staff provide...
Reservoir Lounge / Bars
The Reservoir Lounge, located on a sub-level space on Wellington, is the best place in the city to get your swing dance on. Photo by AtillaSoylu in the blogTO Flickr Pool....
Resource Furniture / Design Stores
Resource Furniture is a global chain of furniture stores specializing in space saving furniture. While the designs are cool and unexpected (and undoubtedly space saving) it all comes at a...
Richmond Rogue / Restaurants
Richmond Rogue is a pub that was featured on Restaurant Makeover (and survived that show's apparent bad luck curse). Some of its more popular offerings are its chicken wings (which...
Roche Bobois / Design Stores
Roche Bobois is the source for high end modern furniture at the corner of King East and Parliament....
Roomy Interiors / Design Stores
We're all living in condos, now. We're each doing the ecologically friendly and politically proper thing by single-handedly densifying the downtown core. "Home" ownership is rising as fast as builders...
Rooster Coffee House (King East) / Cafes
Rooster Coffee House opened its second location this past week in the brand new attachment to the Toronto Sun building. The cafe's Riverdale location is housed in a cozy home-like...
Scotland Yard / Restaurants
Scotland Yard is an English style pub, found at 56 The Esplanade. Serving a traditional pub menu, with a great Guinness stew in a Yorkshire pudding bowl, fish & chips,...
Shawarma House / Restaurants
Shawarma House has recently opened at the corner of Princess and The Esplanade. On the menu is shawarma, falafel and other Middle Eastern eats. ...
Spice Shack / Restaurants
Spice Shack has recently opened near the corner of The Esplanade and Princess St. The bare bones restaurant is mostly a take-out and catering operation but is worth the visit...
Stacklab / Design Stores
Stacklab tries to distinguish itself from Toronto's other reclaimed wood design shops in one important way — and it involves impressive (at least, to me) computer software. "We're not just...
Starfish / Restaurants
Many rank Starfish ahead of Oyster Boy and Rodney's as the best oyster house in the city. Always busy, their menu is a bit more refined (and pricier) than the...
Studio B / Design Stores
Studio B, occupying two floors of loft space at King and Parliament, stocks luxury brands including Baker, Dedon and Baccarat....
Sultan's Tent / Restaurants
The Sultan's Tent on Front Street cooks up four course Moroccan prix-fixe dinners and features live belly dancing every night of the week. ...
Swish by Han / Restaurants
Swish by Han, the brainchild of Leemo and Leeto Han, was conceived back in 2006, but took a while to come to fruition. When the brothers finally managed to...
Terroni (Adelaide) / Restaurants
Terroni is the King of pizza and casual Italian eats in Toronto. Here at its Adelaide St. location is has plenty of room for hungry diners to indulge in one...
The Black Canary Espresso Bar / Cafes
The Black Canary Espresso Bar is the rebranded, redesigned incarnation of the former Bisogno Espresso Bar. The fundamentals — that is, the coffee, the snacks, the overall atmosphere is the...
The Chef's House / Restaurants
The Chef's House is home to budding George Brown culinary students testing their chops on diners like you. Open for lunch and dinner, Monday through Friday, the restaurant features an...
The Keg (Esplanade) / Restaurants
The Keg (Esplanade) has a similar menu and atmosphere to the other Toronto Keg locations. You'll find the usual options for classic steak (cooked to your specifications), sirloin, rib steaks,...
Tidy's Flowers / Design Stores
Tidy's Flowers is the go-to florist in the Financial District. Bankers looking for a last minute gift for the wife, the assistant or, um, the mistress rely on them...
Tilted Kilt (Esplanade) / Restaurants
Tilted Kilt (Esplanade) is a cozy pub with comforting pub staples on offer, such as nachos, hot sandwiches, and pizza. To drink, you'll find beer and beer cocktails, premium spirits,...
Trevor / Restaurants
Hip, modern, cozy, chic, smooth all seem apt to describe Trevor, a fine-dining establishment sans the elitism. Order from the main dinner menu, or from a smaller, more modestly...
Triple A Bar / Restaurants
Triple A Bar opened up just over a week ago, and I'd dearly loved its previous incarnation as Laide. For this reason, I went prepared to dislike it (expecting a...
Ueno Take Out Sushi / Restaurants
Ueno Take Out Sushi is found in the lower level of an office building on Sherbourne. It serves up your usual assortment of creative maki, nigiri, bibimbap and other Japanese...
Up Country / Design Stores
Up Country on King East is a two floor showrown of modern and contemporary furniture. Go here for a wide selection of sofas, chairs, coffee tables and bedroom furniture....
Veritas / Restaurants
Veritas likes to keep it local. On a recent visit we start off with the daily soup - a puree of green peas with bacon. While I'm not usually a...
Weezie's / Restaurants
Located at the corner of King and Power Streets, Weezie's is a popular Corktown spot for lunch and dinner. ...
Wine Bar / Restaurants
Wine Bar is the re-branded Church St. restaurant that used to be known as Jamie Kennedy's Wine Bar before financial troubles forced him to sell it. The menu, though, still...
World Salon / Fashion Stores
World works on their eco-footprint as diligently as on their cuts. On Adelaide, the other side of St James Cathedral. ...
Wynn Fitness / Fitness Clubs
Wynn Fitness is a fitness club chain with six locations including this one on The Esplanade just a short walk from Union Station. ...
Yes to Fresh / Restaurants
Yes To Fresh is a new quick service restaurant near St. Lawrence Market that specializes in healthy wraps, salads and sandwiches. The menu features a range of toppings and combinations...
Yoga Lounge / Fitness Clubs
The Yoga Lounge's Church and Richmond space has been freshly renovated and bisected to allow for more flexibility in the schedule. Hatha runs simulataneously in the adjacent studio while I...
Yuzu Sushi (King East) / Restaurants
Yuzu Sushi, a large sushi chain based in Quebec, has opened their first location in Toronto on King East between Sherbourne and Parliament. The mostly take-out spot (they do have...
Neighbourhoods
Other Neighbourhoods
- Annex
- Baldwin Village
- Bayview and Leaside
- Beaches
- Bloor West Village
- Bloorcourt
- Bloordale Village
- Cabbagetown
- Chinatown
- Church Wellesley Village
- Corktown
- Corso Italia
- Danforth
- Distillery District
- Dundas West
- East Chinatown
- Eglinton West
- Etobicoke
- Financial District
- Forest Hill Village
- Harbourfront
- Junction
- Junction Triangle
- Kensington Market
- King East
- King West
- Koreatown
- Leslieville
- Liberty Village
- Little India
- Little Italy
- Markham
- Mount Pleasant
- North York
- Ossington
- Pape Village
- Parkdale
- Port Lands
- Queen West
- Richmond Hill
- Riverside
- Roncesvalles Village
- Rosedale
- Scarborough
- St. Clair West
- St. Lawrence Market
- Upper Beaches
- West Queen West
- Yonge & Bloor
- Yonge & College
- Yonge & Dundas
- Yonge & Eglinton
- Yonge & St. Clair
- Yonge & Wellesley
- Yorkville
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