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From crafting your own cocktail to sharing a Chinese home-style noodle feast, here are the places to be – and the experiences worth seeking out – in Canada's cultural capital.
With "Diversity Our Strength" as its official motto, Toronto makes good on its promise, in large part thanks to a layered food and drink scene and an events calendar that never seems to stop.
Sports fans will find plenty to keep them busy this season, with world-class international football in town, the Canadian Open (both golf and tennis), and the Blue Jays baseball season ticking along.
Less athletically inclined? Music lovers should head to the Jazz Festival (19-28 June) while Toronto's Pride celebrations – the second largest in the world – scatter parties, parades and events across the city throughout the summer. But no trip here is complete without knowing where to eat and drink between the excitement. Consider this your local's guide to all three.
Get to know the city within a park
Named after the Mohawk word tkaronto, meaning "where there are trees standing in the water", Toronto's charm is shaped in large part by its meandering waterfront along Lake Ontario. Just a 15-minute ferry from the downtown dock, the Toronto Islands make for an ideal day trip, offering peaceful beaches with city views across the water. Explore by bicycle, paddle a tandem kayak at sunset or drift along on a stand-up paddleboard.
Toronto also wows inland. Often described as a 'city within a park', it's home to an enormous network of around 150 parks and ravines. For a wholesome weekend outing, make your way to Evergreen Brick Works, a former brick factory just a short stroll away along the Don River. Here, you'll find a bustling Saturday farmers' market with artisanal products like small-batch soaps, indigenous suncatchers, locally foraged morel mushrooms and farmed cheeses. Free public tours of the site's history run every Saturday too. If you're visiting on another day, you can still take part in activities like seed-planting, stroll through public art installations and a leafy children's garden, complete with outdoor play and learning space.
Rise and shine, the local way
Start your day with a coffee from one of the city's most welcoming cafés, on one of its most picture-perfect streets. Forget Me Not on Ossington Avenue serves seasonally inspired lattes with an East Asian touch, and its cosy seating and sun-drenched backyard keep locals coming back. Pro tip: the banana bread matcha latte is a bestseller. 
Dear Grain Bakery offers lunch classics like tuna melts, chicken clubs and lox sandwiches
For something savoury, pop in next door to Dear Grain bakery. The kitchen locally sources organic and heirloom grains, slow fermented to maximise flavour. Plump for the To The Max Brekky Sandwich, packed with bacon, egg, ham and melted brie in the signature sourdough bun, eaten on the storefront patio or in Bellwoods Park across the street to soak up views of the city in bloom.
For a meal to remember
Edulis' dining room is cosy, decked out with fresh flowers and framed photos of the world's most respected dining institutions
On Sundays, make a proper afternoon of it at Edulis, ranked No.25 on North America's 50 Best Restaurants 2026 list. Here, the specialty is lazy European-style lunch, built around a seasonally driven set menu. Pair it with a full bottle from the wine list, there is a half‑price selection on Sundays. Soak up the sun on the storefront terrace or settle into the thrum of the brasserie indoors.
Action is part Sunnys' charm, where roasted bone marrow is spooned tableside over a bed of mapo tofu (Image: Daniel Neuhaus)
Among the buzzy, bohemian shopping streets of Kensington Market, Sunnys offers a fun take on Chinese home-style dining. Inside, the low‑lit dining room keeps things intimate; out back, a spacious patio with large tables makes it easy to linger over a procession of sharing plates as the sun goes down. Springy and umami-rich, noodles are the star of the show here. Cheung fun arrives with grilled squid and sweet soy, while spicy, maximalist dan dan noodles are mixed tableside with ground pork, peanut and Sichuan spice.
At 20 Victoria, the tasting experience focuses on Canada's bi-coastal larder, such as the singature cured yellowtail kampachi (Image: Pat Ozols)
Head east to the financial district's 20 Victoria for a taste of Canadian cuisine with contemporary flair. Discreetly tucked into the ground floor of a towering office building, the dining room is surprisingly minimal, with velvet chairs and linen tables. A four-course tasting menu is available Wednesday to Friday, or go for the seven-course experience for a taste of Canada's coastal larder. Prepare to be surprised – a kaleidoscopic arrangement of cured kampachi ceviche dressed with seabuckthorn leche de tigre, carrot and caviar, as well as the minimalist blanched white asparagus draped in lobster chileatole and lifted with lime leaf.
Bars worth the late-night detour
Fancy a night cap? Head north to Civil Liberties, ranked No.54 on North America's 50 Best Bars 2026 list. With more than 210 spirits on offer and no menu, this spot takes custom cocktail requests. If you need guidance, the team will more than oblige. They'll ask about your mood, favourite flavours and even your preferred glassware before pouring a drink entirely tailored to you.
Civil Liberties has counter seating alongside round high-top tables (Image: Ava Dor)
Let the kitchen take the wheel at Bar Isabel, a Spanish-inspired restaurant with a selection of global beers and wines. A unique sherry selection pairs cleverly with the moreish, bite-sized pintxos. Celebrate a big-game win with the showstopping whole grilled octopus, or end the evening on a sweeter note with a slice of Basque cheesecake drenched in warm sherry cream. Either way, warm wood tables and colourful glass accents lend the space the kind of lived-in, convivial feel of a classic Spanish tavern – stylish, and never stiff.
At Mother, Distant Shadow combines plum and black cardamom cordial with a house re-fermented red wine
If you're catching the football at Exhibition Place, Mother – just a few blocks north – is a world-class spot to let off steam. Ranked No. 22 on North America's 50 Best Bars 2026 list, this sleek, botany-themed bar is home to some truly inspired drinks. Elaborate garnishes make for memorable drinking: the lemongrass piña colada arrives crowned with a shard of coconut husk cradling melted chocolate, an amaretti biscuit and lilac buds from nearby Trinity Park. Check the bar's social media for information about live music nights and weekend barbecues.
Header image credit: Bar Isabel
Find more places to eat and drink in Toronto on 50 Best Discovery.
