Neighbourhoods
Ossington
Amid auto repair shops and fading karaoke lounges, an influx of bars, restaurants and boutiques has transformed the stretch of South Ossington between Queen and Dundas into Toronto's latest and greatest destination for drinking and dining. Cozy up to locals at Sweaty Betty's, Dakota Tavern or the Crooked Star. Try to get a table at Foxley or Delux or join the weekend revelers at LeVack Block, Reposado or The Ossington. When all else fails there's always the city's best pho (and cheap Tsing Tao) at Golden Turtle.
Looking for something
specific in Ossington?
Academy of Lions / Fitness Clubs
Academy of Lions is one of a few options for west ender's looking for a CrossFit-affiliated work out space. Newly settled into its third location near Ossington and Dundas, the...
Alex Rei dos Leitoes / Restaurants
With 38 years in the same location, Alex Rei dos Leitoes has watched its fair share of gentrifying upstarts come and go, and has fed them all. The chicken is...
Amaya Express (Ossington) / Restaurants
Amaya Express is continuing its domination of Toronto with something Lower Ossington sorely lacked - a place to grab tasty Indian eats. Food here is best grabbed to go but...
Angell Gallery / Galleries
Angell Gallery was one of the first to set up shop on the now art-centric West Queen West corridor. But having occupied its 750 sq. ft. space just southwest...
Annie Aime / Fashion Stores
Annie Aime is the latest concept shop to set up camp on the stretch of Ossington which has seen an incredible influx of new storess, restaurants and even gourmet butchers...
AWOL Gallery / Galleries
Established in 1999, AWOL Gallery and Studios was one of the first galleries to open in what is now a hot Toronto Queen West Gallery District. AWOL Gallery and...
Baby Huey / Bars
Baby Huey is THE ultimate underground hipster hangout. I try to stay away from using the word "hipster" as a general rule, but I just can't get around it in...
Bazara Asian Cuisine / Restaurants
Bazara Asian Cuisine offers a prix fixe lunch menu with choices of items like hot and sour soup, spring rolls, pad thai and sushi, with similar, though more varied, offerings...
Bellwoods Brewery / Restaurants
Bellwoods Brewery is one of three new restaurants to open on Ossington in the last month, along with The Saint and Hawker Bar. Still in its first month, the brewpub,...
Boehmer / Restaurants
Boehmer is the first restaurant by Toronto chef Paul Boehmer (ex. Ultra Supper Club, Spoke Club) and finally he has a place he can let his cooking do the talking....
Buffer Nails & Waxing / Fashion Stores
Buffer Nails & Waxing on Ossington offers all the basic nail and wax services. They do polish changes, manis, pedis, shellac, and other fancy stuff. Their waxing is reasonably priced...
Burger Shoppe Quality Meats / Restaurants
An offshoot of the Burger Shoppe in Riverside, Burger Shoppe Quality Meats is a larger sit down affair on Ossington just south of Dundas. On the menu are all the...
Cote de Boeuf / Grocery Stores
Cote de Boeuf is an adorable butcher and grocery store on Lower Ossington from the same team behind Union restaurant. They specialize in fresh cuts of meat, but the place...
Crafted by Te Aro / Cafes
Crafted By Te Aro is the latest addition to ever growing Lower Ossington. An outpost, if you will, of the popular original Leslieville location, Crafted brings westward a fancy...
Crooked Star / Bars
The Crooked Star doesn't post its name on the door, opting instead for a small red star. I'm known for my directional deficiencies, which always makes finding this cozy little...
Dakota Tavern / Bars
The Dakota Tavern is a subterranean throwback to the dusty saloons depicted in classic American westerns. The walls are littered with guns, mounted horns, boomerangs, band posters, and snowy Canadian...
Delux / Restaurants
Delux must be doing something right. We went in for the Cubano Lunch last Saturday at 2pm and were surprised to walk into a full house. Established on Lower Ossington...
Don't Tell Mama Gallery / Galleries
Don't Tell Mama Gallery is a new addition on Ossington, having had its soft opening in December and its first exhibition is January 2012. Located in a second floor space...
Emporium by I Miss You / Fashion Stores
Emporium by I Miss You has nothing of the dust-collecting chachkies vaguely suggested by the words vintage and emporium. Nor does it have the Value Village-salvaged trinkets suddenly turned...
Fishbar / Restaurants
Fishbar has recently surfaced on bustling Lower Ossington near the corner of Dundas. William Tavares and partner Albino Silva of Salt Wine Bar have created a broad menu of tapas...
Foxley / Restaurants
Foxley Bistro is new, yet it still has a past. The menu is fresh, but not without its own unique history. Foodies all over Toronto are excited about it, but...
Gallery at 129 Ossington / Galleries
Contributed by andi argast Another sign of gentrification along the once unloved Ossington Avenue strip, 129 Ossington is helping to make the area a destination for gallery-goers. Located at (surprise, surprise)...
Golden Turtle / Restaurants
I live near a stretch on Ossington (between Queen and Dundas) overflowing with vietnamese eateries. I'm a regular customer of one of them, a place called Golden Turtle (otherwise known...
Hawker Bar / Restaurants
Hawker Bar is the latest manifestation of the street food that's hit Toronto — Singaporean street food to be exact. Located on Lower Ossington, Hawker joins the Saint as a...
I Deal Coffee (Ossington) / Cafes
I Deal Coffee on Ossington is the second location of the popular coffee house. With the original still thriving in Kensington Market, this Ossington outpost also has an under-designed feel...
I Miss You / Fashion Stores
I Miss You is one of those stores that I tend to avoid for fear of dropping mad cash, as the sheer girth of the wad I'm usually tempted to...
Imperial Tattoo / Services
Imperial Tattoo is found in an unassuming black building directly across from CAMH on Queen, just a smidgen north on Ossington. Like most of the city's top custom tattoo joints,...
Interaccess / Galleries
InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre is a gallery and production space dedicated to expanding the cultural space of technology. For 30 years, the organization has played a critical role in...
Jonathan + Olivia / Fashion Stores
Christmas came early this year for me. Each year, when I wing my way back to Vancouver for the holidays, I make sure to set aside an afternoon to visit my...
LeVack Block / Bars
Two years ago I often wandered by the corner of Ossington and Humbert to admire an old, near dilapidated three story building. The place was vacant but the building had...
LP's LPs / Services
LP's LPs has a note hanging on the door when I first stop by. "Be back at 5:30. Go grab a coffee. I had to run an errand. I'll see...
Lush & Lavish / Fashion Stores
Lush & Lavish, the only certified Eminence Green Spa in Toronto, opened a year ago on now-hot Lower Ossington. Co-owner Linh Diep is a mini west-end retail maven, also the...
O'Born Contemporary / Galleries
O'Born Contemporary has all the poise and polish of a regular commercial art gallery, yet it's clear they're determined to do things a little differently. Exhibiting only contemporary works by...
Oddseoul / Restaurants
Oddseoul, a new late-night eatery is now open on Ossington. Brothers and co-owners Leeto and Leemo Han are already known for their four-year old Korean restaurant, Swish by Han, but...
Our House / Bars
Our House is the newest lounge to hit Lower Ossington. With windows blocked by heavy drapes, minimal furniture to allow for max capacity, DJs and occasional cover charges, all indications...
Oz Studios / Galleries
Oz Studios was once a boutique featuring the latest design of Evan Biddell but quickly transformed into a studio space/gallery/special events space run by photographer Joe Fuda....
Painted Lady / Bars
The Painted Lady has been my favourite bar on the Ossington strip this year, which all started when I ended up there on Easter Sunday only to hear a DJ...
Parlour / Fashion Stores
Parlour has opened on Ossington becoming the second salon in as many years to call the strip south of Dundas home. I first discovered it a few weeks back when...
Philip Sparks / Fashion Stores
Philip Sparks has left the pop-up life behind to open a new, permanent shop on Ossington at Foxley. The Toronto designer has moved just up the street from his temporary...
Pho Tien Thanh / Restaurants
The first thing I notice walking into Pho Tien Thanh on a Saturday evening is the crowd: every table is full. The second thing I observe is the hush. Pho...
Pizzeria Libretto / Restaurants
Eating pizza is a lot like having sex: great anytime of the day including first thing in the morning; even if it's bad it's still pretty good; and if...
Rescue Vintage / Fashion Stores
Rescue Vintage, if not for the chalkboard sign sitting loudly on the sidewalk, is easy to miss for the everyday Ossington passer-by. Though hidden by well-kept hedges, the storefront is...
Rock Lobster / Restaurants
Rock Lobster Food Co. opened up their first proper restaurant on Ossington Ave. just over two weeks ago, and their opening night line-up was just a hint of things to...
Salt Wine Bar / Restaurants
Salt Wine Bar on Lower Ossington has had a long struggle to get up and running but that's a story we've all heard many times. What matters is that now,...
Silver Falls / Fashion Stores
Silver Falls is the newest addition to high end vintage on Lower Ossington. The boutique/art gallery opened a few months ago beside Sweaty Betty's. Silver Falls offers a fine selection...
Stussy Toronto / Fashion Stores
Stussy has moved from its inaugural Toronto home at Richmond and Spadina to an airy space at the foot of Ossington on Queen. It's a big move for the local...
Sweaty Betty's / Bars
Do not ride your bike over to Sweaty Betty's on a Friday or Saturday night. This place attracts fixie- and cruiser-riders like an indie rock concert, yet there are no...
Telegramme Prints (Ossington) / Galleries
Telegramme Prints, with their new, second location on Lower Ossington, is a one-stop shop for all things art, framing, posters and printing. Without a doubt, it's the premier store for...
Terra Cotta / Fashion Stores
Just north of Queen on Ossington, this easy to miss basement studio boutique is found through a gate and down an alleyway. Featuring women's clothing that can easily be altered...
The Ossington / Bars
In the midst of my weekend shopping a couple months ago I ducked into The Ossington for some sustenance and shelter from the cold. The beautiful barista Danielle warmed me...
The Saint / Restaurants
The Saint Tavern finally opened earlier this month after long licensing battle saw the Ossington Avenue restaurant sit in limbo for roughly three years. Despite the wait, owners Peter Tsebelis...
Tiger of Sweden / Fashion Stores
Tiger of Sweden opened on Ossington last week as the latest addition to the influx of new luxe designer boutiques along what's quickly become one of the city's most covetable...
Union / Restaurants
After a year of renovating, Union on Ossington has finally opened its doors. The chef behind the restaurant is a lad named Teo Paul, a Toronto native, who spent years...
Unleashed in the City / Services
Unleashed in the City is all about active, healthy pups, and promises lots of ball-chasing and pack running (along with the occasional couch snooze) during a day at its Ossington...
Venezia Bakery / Baked Goods
Venezia Bakery at the corner of Ossington and Argyle specializes in Portuguese bread and baked treats. It's also a good spot to stop for a morning espresso. ...
Vintage Mix 1 / Fashion Stores
I often walk by Vintage Mix 1 (as it's on the way to a friend's house), and it speaks highly of its wares that I always stop to stare in...
Williams Craig Design Studio / Design Stores
Williams Craig Design Studio is making use of its new streetside digs by combining its corporate business with its own carefully curated design boutique. The firm spent more than 13 years...
XPACE / Galleries
XPACE. XPACE. XPACE. This, my friends, is what is known as search engine optimization. The sooner I mention the name of what I'm profiling, the more...
YogaSpace / Fitness Clubs
YogaSpace is a busy studio. They run back-to-back classes daily, filling the common areas with rotating and anxious yogis-in-waiting. I had barely enough time to pack up my mat and...
Yours Truly / Restaurants
Yours Truly isn't just a valediction anymore, but the latest restaurant-cum-bar on Lower Ossington. Chef Jeff Claudio has created a modern-styled daily prix fixe dinner and a small plate menu...
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
Community
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Know a great local business we should include on the site?
