Eating, Drinking, and Shopping in Toronto: An indieWIRE Insiders Guide

Even further west finds a bigger group of options. Shanghai Cowgirl (538 Queen Street West), Squirly’s (807 Queen Street West), School Bakery and Cafe (70 Fraser Ave), Petit Dejeuner (191 King Street East), and Saving Grace (907 Dundas Street West) all received mentions, while Easy (1645 Queen Street West) got particular notice as its “themed after ‘Easy Rider’ and has the best Huevos Divorciados!” 

But if you reasonably can’t make it that far, perhaps Wish (3 Charles Street East) is a better option. “It’s perfect location from which one can dash to TIFF screening or for meeting at the Sutton Place Hotel.”

DRINKS/COCKTAILS:
The recently remodeled Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen St. West), originally designed in 1889 by local architect G.M. Miller in the Romanesque Revival came up a lot in regard to nights out, as well as in regard to the possibility of an earlier drink. “The Gladstone makes the most filling and delicious Caesar,” said one insider. “Not only does it come with your standard celery stalk but it also boasts a dill pickle and a huge chunk of cucumber.  Two of those and who needs breakfast?”

Also noted was The Gladstone’s more famous down-the-street cousin, The Drake Hotel (built a year after the Gladstone in 1890) which has become a haven for industry folk during the festival. One insider raved about the patio but asserted to “avoid the lobby.” There’s also room for a bar crawl with nearby Unit (1198 Queen St. West), The Paddock (178 Bathurst St.), Reposado Bar & Lounge (136 Ossington Avenue) and Sweaty Betty’s (13 Ossington Ave.).  Many insiders also noted Dakota Tavern (249 Ossington Avenue), specifically for “great music, has amazing fish tacos and other southern comforty foods, cheap.” Though one warned - you won’t get a cell phone signal from within the bar.

Happy hour doesn’t really exist in Toronto (due to archaic liquor laws). “I wish we had happy hour here,” noted one local.  Her suitable stand-ins came in the form of The Embassy (223 Augusta Street) or Ronnie’s (69 Nassau Street), both in the Kensington Market area.  Another suggested The Black Bull (298 Queen St. West), and The Pilot (22 Cumberland Street), which has a much more festival-friendly location and “a fantastic rooftop patio.”

Other festival-centric spots include the Park Hyatt rooftop patio, which offers more of a swank environment (and a late-night opportunity to really get your schmooze on with film industry execs) and a chance to ponder the architectural question mark that is the Royal Ontario Museum.  It was recalled a few years back that the roof bar was divided between two rooms. Some patrons called one side of the divide “Los Angeles” and the other “New York.” Check out for yourself if you can guess which is which…

EXPENSE ACCOUNT DINNER:
As for that place to go when someone else (or their company) is paying, one insider suggested Canoe (66 Wellington Street). at the TD Centre in the financial district.  The restaurant offers an astounding view at the top of one of Toronto’s tallest buildings, and “inspired Canadian cuisine” to boot.  While centrally located suggestions include Truffles, in the bottom of the Four Season’s Hotel, and One Restaurant (116 Yorkville Avenue).

There’s also famed chef Susur Lee’s famed restaurants Madeleine’s (formerly Susur) and Lee, located side by side (601 and 603 King St. West). Lee’s the same chef that last year opened Shanglocated in the Thompson Hotel in the Lower East Side of New York City.

Other suggestions came in the form of Chinese restaurant Lai Wah Heen (108 Chestnut Street), La Palette (256 Augusta Avenue), a fantastic French restaurant in Kensington Market, Japanese restaurant Blowfish (668 King Street West) Oddfellows (936 Queen Street West), which features one long table in the middle of its narrow space and serves up a delicious array of meals (try the quail), and Cowbell (1564 Queen Street West), which was noted as having “great ambiance with naturally-raised, organic meat and produce, sourced from local farmers.” Support the Toronto-area agricultural commmunity on your company’s dime!

-this article is continued on page 2-