Neighbourhoods
Church Wellesley Village
Church Wellesley Village, home to Toronto's original LGBT-oriented community, is still going strong even if the younger crowd has migrated to Parkdale, West Queen West and beyond. The stretch of Church from Carlton to Bloor also goes by more colloquial names like the Village, the Gay Village, the Gay Ghetto or Gaybourhood, but either way you slice it it's still home to a thriving mix of restaurants, cafes and clothing stores. It's also ground zero for the annual Pride Week, one of Toronto's biggest summer festivals and one of the largest Prides in the world.
Looking for something
specific in Church Wellesley Village?
A La Turque / Restaurants
A La Turque is located in the heart of the Village at Church and Wellesley. For $5.25, you get a delicious shawarma packed to the brim with tzatziki, hummus, garlic...
About Cheese / Grocery Stores
The other day I visited About Cheese (located at Church and Maitland) with Dara hoping to become a cheese connoisseur. I don't think I'm ready to host parties yet, but...
Adam & Eve Chocolatier / Grocery Stores
I first spotted Adam & Eve Chocolatier during this year's Pride celebrations. The plastic banner out front led me to believe that I had stumbled upon something new, fresh...
Asahi Sushi / Restaurants
Asahi just might be the best sushi restaurant on Church St. In addition to the usual nigiri, sashimi and maki, they all serve a variety of Korean dishes including bulgogi...
Bulldog Coffee / Cafes
If you know me well, you know how I like my coffee: bold, bitter, and black. Milk, creme and sugar are my mortal enemies when it comes to my...
Carman's Steakhouse / Restaurants
Carman's celebrated its fifth decade this year in its tudor-beamed home near the gay ghetto, and promptly took the summer off to celebrate. Carman's has old school atmosphere to spare,...
Chino Locos (Church St) / Restaurants
Chino Locos has carved out a spot in a Toronto burrito market as saturated as the demand for more Beatles biographies by using surprising ingredients normally associated with Asian cuisine...
Crepe It Up (Church St.) / Restaurants
Crepe It Up on Church is one of two locations of this popular location crepe mini franchise. The other one is located on the lower level of the St. Lawrence...
Cumbrae's / Grocery Stores
One of Toronto's most popular butchers and a supplier to some of the city's better restaurants, Cumbrae's hand selects their meats from small family farms that meet their exacting standards...
Daybreak / Restaurants
It's Tuesday, it's raining and there's no food in the fridge. Naturally, all I can do is torment myself with thoughts of the scrumptious Saturday brunch I had a Daybreak...
elmspa / Fashion Stores
elmspa is the progeny of Toronto's posh Elmwood Spa. Promising the same service-level, but in "a more spontaneous environment", with "a less formal atmosphere". The description makes it sound like...
Eyes on Church / Fashion Stores
Eyes on Church is small, but makes up for size with glam, and has a loyal clientele that changes eyewear almost as often as their shirts. Owner Farhad Gharemani insists...
Fly Nightclub / Bars
Fly is like a club out of an 80s Madonna movie. It has dark corners and metal staircases and a banging sound system. It's three floors in total, although the...
Fuzion / Restaurants
Fuzion surfaced on Church St. a number of years ago and initially drew acclaim because it's chef was the former personal chef for Oprah Winfrey. He has moved on but...
Ghazale / Restaurants
Ghazale on Wellesley is the latest outpost of the popular local falafel chain. Check out the review of the Bloor St. location here....
Ginger / Restaurants
I've been meaning to write about Ginger's Church Street location for months, but every time I go there, the food shows up looking so good that everyone digs in before...
Guu Izakaya / Restaurants
Guu Izakaya is the first Toronto outpost of the popular Guu group of restaurants from Vancouver. It's located in an otherwise unassuming strip mall on Church Street, though the striking...
Hair of the Dog / Restaurants
Nachos, salads, weekend brunch and many of the usual pub favourites are what's on the menu at Hair of the Dog on Church Street. ...
Indian Hut / Restaurants
The Indian Hut, on Church St. just south of Bloor, cooks up Indian classics like butter chicken and aloo gobi. The big draw though is their reasonably priced lunch and...
Just Thai / Restaurants
Just Thai endures as the most popular Thai restaurant in the Village. The small front patio is a near perfect spot for people watching in the summer....
Kaiseki Sakura / Restaurants
Kaiseki Sakura is a fine Japanese restaurant in the Village. Don't go here looking for cheap sushi. Or sushi at all for that matter. The star attraction is the omakase...
Lola's Commissary / Restaurants
Lola's Commissary opened up earlier this year in an old Victorian on Church St. just south of Bloor. Wanting to check it out for a while, we finally stopped in...
O'Grady's / Restaurants
O'Grady's is a popular pub in the Village that has some pretty sweet patio to stake out space in the summer. Brunch is served on weekends and featured celtic pancakes...
ONOIR / Restaurants
O.NOIR was undoubtedly the biggest dining gimmick to hit the Toronto restaurant scene in 2009. For those unfamiliar, the novelty of O.NOIR centers on eating in a pitch-black room and...
Pita Pan / Restaurants
Pita Pan offers something that is apparently unique to the Toronto area: zucchini in place of chickpeas for the actual falafel balls. This Jordanian twist was so unusual that...
Pusateri Fruit Market / Grocery Stores
Doing a brisk business in quality produce since 1966, Pusateri Fruit Market is owned and operated by the founding Pusateri's son-in-law and his business partner. ...
Spirits Bar & Grill / Restaurants
Spirits Bar & Grill has a big screen TV, karaoke and serves typical pub favourites like nachos, wings and fish and chips....
Straight / Bars
The best way to describe Straight to people not familiar with Church Street, is that it's the Social of the Gayborhood. Located north of Wellseley, this 200 capacity venue in...
The Barn / Bars
The Barn has always been my favourite club on Church St. There is something so seedy in all the sexiest ways about it. From the name down to the location...
The Church Street Diner / Restaurants
As the weather gets warmer, I find myself drawn back to Church Street for afternoon walks amidst the village crowd (and their puppies). This is definitely a part of...
Voglie / Restaurants
Voglie Risto in T.O.'s Church Wellesley Village serves up a modern Italian menu in a gorgeous old Toronto home-turned-restaurant. The elegant converted space is perfect for a date, family...
Woody's and Sailor / Bars
Self-proclaimed as Toronto's hottest gay bar, Woody's has been living up to its name since springing to life in 1989. Famed for its weekly Best Chest and Best Ass contests,...
Neighbourhoods
Other Neighourhoods
- Annex
- Baldwin Village
- Bayview and Leaside
- Beaches
- Bloor West Village
- Bloorcourt
- Bloordale Village
- Cabbagetown
- Chinatown
- Church Wellesley Village
- Corso Italia
- Danforth
- Distillery District
- Dundas West
- East Chinatown
- Financial District
- Forest Hill Village
- Harbourfront
- Junction
- Kensington Market
- King East
- King West
- Koreatown
- Leslieville
- Liberty Village
- Little India
- Little Italy
- Mount Pleasant
- Ossington
- Parkdale
Community
Something missing?
Know a great local business we should include on the site?
