Hi there. I’m going to be in Toronto again soon, this time staying in Beaconsville Village and going to a show at some point at The Danforth Hall. Do you have any favorite spots in either neighborhood? I am mainly interested in dinner recommendations but, really, any recommendations would be most welcome. Any cuisine is fine. Ideally places that are not vegetarian per se but have a few vegetarian options. Thank you!
Beaconsfield Village puts you on West Queen West, which also means the restaurants on Dundas W, King W, and Ossington are quite close.
Ossington has a lot of trendy restaurants packed into a 500 m stretch between Queen and Dundas. I dine at Union (72 Ossington) the most, which is a bistro that serves lunch and dinner. Soos has good southeast Asian food. There’s a Cuban place called La Cubana, as well as some Mexican places. Superpoint pizza, Pizzeria Libretto. Favorites Thai BBQ. Lots of options, mostly fairly upscale. There’s a new Vietnamese streetfood place I haven’t tried that @calam1ty recently mentioned in this [Toronto] Vietnamese downtown thread . There are also 2 cheap Vietnamese restaurants serving pho and bun, and a coffee shop that sells banh mi.
I have to admit, I haven’t eaten in Queen West too much over the past 10 years. The Drake Hotel is close to Beaconsfield, and it used to have a decent restaurant. I haven’t heard anything about the food over the past 7 years, which I am guessing means it has slipped.
I sort of set up some threads that I’ve started by theme, and others by neighbourhood, and crosspost.
The Danforth Music Hall is a 5 to 8 minute walk east of Greektown. Greektown is less Greek these days, than it once was, but it is still the heart of the Greek community for TO.
That said, the Greek food on the Danforth isn’t better than what you’d find on Parc Ave, or Laval, so I wouldn’t go out of my way for Greek on the Danforth if you’re living in MTL.
I think the food options overall are better near Beaconsfield Village than the Danforth Music Hall.
There are some good pubs on the same block as the Danforth Music Hall (Allen’s which also has a back patio, and the Edmund Burke) and one of my favorite bakeries, Dough Bake Shop, is also nearby, although it will be closed by the time your concert begins.
It might be easier if you let us know what kind of food you want to eat, and your price range.
Here is a thread about some restaurants on Dundas W.
Pizza Badiali is right in the centre of Beaconsville. A neighbourhood fav spot but so much so that you might get a long lineup depending on your mealtime.
2 Likes
What kind of dinner are you looking for?
Beaconsfield Village is bounded by a lot of restaurants as Phoenikia noted above. I would highlight her picks of Superpoint (get the beef cheek reginette) and La Cubana (for the namesake sandwich and the guava shortrib medianoche). I’ll add Foxley for superb Asian fusion, Bellwoods for beer (love their sours), and Bar Piquette (must have the mortadella sandwich). Save room for ice cream at Bang Bang.
Up on Dundas West, Affinity Fish does wonderful omakase dinners, featuring Ontario fish. A bit further north on College is Ten, with veggie and seafood focused set menus. Giulietta is also good. Bar Isabel remains great for Spanish.
If you are preferring dinner near Danforth Music Hall, Ryus is good for ramen (the vegetarian broth is impressive), Rodeo has decent Brazillian BBQ (but is meat-focused), Azura has some lovely tasting menus, 7 Numbers has good Italian, Sher-e-Punjab is fine for Indian, Herby is a nice casual Persian place (good veggie options), and Momo Hut has tasty momos.
2 Likes
Nice recs, DrJohn.
I’ll add Completo and its little patio at the Broadview location for another option on Broadview, for something that might not be common in MTL. Completo on Broadview closes at 8 pm.
1 Like
Thanks, everyone! I guess I don’t want anything very heavy and not French. I love spicy - actually spicy, not Montreal spicy. Any cuisine/price point is fine. Out of the places you list, Soos is at the top, but Ten, La Cubana and Badiali look very promising, too. I definitely don’t need to eat near the concert venue. It sounds like there are a ton of great options close to where I’m staying. If you have any favorite bakeries, coffee shops, cocktails, anything else, I’m all ears. Just nothing super loud. Thanks again - I really appreciate the help.
A lot of my favourite coffee shops are within a 20 minute walk of where you’ll be staying. Ossington St between Queen and Dundas has at least 8 coffee shops. Sam James, Rooms, iDeal, Jimmy’s, banh mi place called Saigon Snacks with Vietnamese coffee, another coffee shop across the street with Dalgona coffee. Quite a few bakeries on Ossington, too.
Also Forno Cultura for Italian pastries, coffees, sandwiches, on Queen W.
Several Portuguese bakeries on Dundas W and College St.
I really like Café Bélem at 546 College St, in Little Italy, for Portuguese baked sweets. That’s closer to a 25- 30 minute walk from Beaconsfield.
I like Bricolage at 981 College St for baked goods with an Asian influence by a Korean chef who trained in Japan.
Here are some treats at Bricolage. I was there today.
Peach cookies this month at Coco’s coffee shop on College, in Little Italy.
The other bakeries I like closer to Queen West are Castle and Coal,
and Robinson Bread at 6 Brock Ave.
Brodflour in the Liberty Village has good stuff, but I rarely walk as far south as King.
Ba Noi on Bloor near Christie Pits also has some Asian twists on Ontario things. The Ba Noi butter tart, which is like a salt caramel tart in a light flaky crust.
Bakeries and Pâtisseries in the [Greater Toronto Area], 2024 Edition
Recommended Desserts Toronto & GTA
I recommend following @elvisahmed , because he tries a lot of nice pastries around town, around Yorkville and also downtown.
I mostly buy for other people.
3 Likes
You are amazing - thank you!!
1 Like
