Toronto, Canada’s largest city and the fourth largest city in North America, has become Canada’s top tourist destination with more than 27.5 million visitors each year before the pandemic. Destination torontoCity Tourism Marketing Department.
According to agency data, as travel rebounds, Canadian tourists dominate, traffic from the United States has just returned, and visitors from abroad are still low. Summer is usually the high season. This may be the last year to take advantage of Toronto in warm weather before it is flooded again.
During the pandemic, more than 5,100 restaurants across Ontario were closed, said Restaurant Canada, a national industry group. However, the food scene in this omnivorous city has regained its vibrancy. May, Michelin We chose Toronto as the first Canadian city to get our own guide.
“Vitality and diversity are still intact.” Scott Beck, President and Chief Executive Officer of Destination Toronto, said. “Everything that makes our food scene so unique in North America is still there. The diversity of art and culture is still there.”
And yes, the cannabis store has grown exponentially with a pandemic, but “they aren’t events,” Beck said. “Cannabis is legal all over the country. Toronto is not Amsterdam.”
Eating and drinking
The busiest restaurants are usually located in the bohemian fringes of Toronto. But now attractive restaurants are sprouting in the heart of downtown. “The demand for sociable food and entertainment for weekend warriors is actually returning,” said Hanif Haruji, CEO of Scale Hospitality, which operates 14 restaurants. “The streets are busy again.”
Haruji BirchkaOpening since April, it is hidden behind an unmarked door next to the Condo Tower on King Street West. Last Thursday night, the high-ceilinged room was throbbing with what felt like pre-Covid energy. Chef Ted Collard uses Canadian ingredients to fine-tune traditional tapas. Consider the British Columbia Botan shrimp Ceviche, or the Canadian beef Kimituris with Ontario ramps (tapas range $ 9-24 CAD, or about $ 7-18). Haruji will open in August Miss Ricklemore, A Caribbean spot in King West Village. In the fall, Scale and Montreal chef Antonio Park will open a luxury dining spot AP at the top of Yorkville’s Eataly Outpost.
Also in Yorkville, chef Rob Rossi’s Ligurian menu is on display. Hosteria Julia It depicts well-dressed locals enjoying traditional flatbread, salumi and pasta (C $ 32-75 primopiat). Opened in October, it is still the most popular table in the neighborhood. Around the corner Adrac Each employs a team of chefs who specialize in regional Indian culinary styles. The unconventional menu includes smoked salmon and pommery mustard (C $ 29-60 primopiat).
Toronto offers endless choices for all kinds of Asian cuisine.The hot new spot Cà Phê RangOpened to the south of Chinatown by a veteran of France’s flagship Le Select Bistro. The seemingly simple menu creates a luxuriously seasoned surprise, such as Halloumi’s Bainh Mee, Shiitake Escabesh Spring Rolls, and homemade Pralim Peanuts Dip Sauce (C $ 15-20 Primopiat).
At the northern end of Yorkville Mimi Chinese Return to the future in a neon-lit room in a red velvet chaise lounge with a bow-tied server. The menu spans southern states of China, from raw yellowtail kingfish inspired by Guangdong to charred cabbage in Shaanxi. It opened in October and remains a tough ticket (admission from C $ 26 to $ 88).
SmorgasbergThe Brooklyn-born outdoor food market will debut its first international edition on July 23 at Queen’s Key on the Toronto waterfront. Held eight times on Saturday, we will introduce you to local vendors.New in the western annex district Super Fresh According to the organizers, the night market features restaurants “in the style of Asian alleys” and “owned by Asia” in a 4,000-square-foot hall.
Nightlife hasn’t caught up with food services yet, as commercial rents soar, condominiums sprout everywhere, and space is expensive. “We have a lot of restaurants, which is great. The challenge is to find a place to dance,” said Michael Nyarco, community marketing manager at the new Ace Hotel Toronto.
Return to stage
Closed 3 years ago due to renovation work, 127 years old Massey Hall Reopened in November, it features red velvet seats, brilliantly restored stained glass, full accessibility and a crystal sound system. The resurrection had a special meaning for this music-crazy city. “Massey Hall was built a year after Carnegie Hall. The dream for a Toronto band is to play there,” said Kevin Drew, the founder of the Toronto band. Broken social scene, Played the first Massey Hall gig in April. The $ 146 million restoration “did an incredible job of keeping ghosts and warmth,” he said. The royal family of Canadian music from Oscar Peterson to Rush played the hall. Its packed 2022 slate includes soul legends Mavis Staples and alternative star Orville Peck.
Toronto’s live theater scene is one of the largest on the continent and has regained its vibrancy after a pandemic. For the first time since 2019, the Toronto Fringe Festival, which ends on July 17, has revived live performances.Large Broadway-style homes include flashy openings Harry Potter and the Cursed ChildOpened in May. Jesus Christ Superstar (Opened on August 10th) Sing in the rain (September 23). During February Hamilton Return value. Tickets range from approximately $ 99 to $ 260.
On the indie stage, there are interesting works such as the easternmost suburban drama “Detroit”. Coal mine theaterer (until August 7th); World premiere of “Queen Goneril” the day before Shakespeare by Erin Shields Soul Pepper (Opened August 25); “Cockroach” inspired by Kafka Tarragon (Opened on September 13th). Tickets for these theaters range from C $ 25 to C $ 60.
Art and images
After almost two years of online shows and the opening of a stop start, the museums in Toronto are back with a strong lineup. June, Art Gallery of Ontario With 200 works spanning the 4th century and 3 continents, he made his debut in “Faith and Good Luck: Art Beyond the Spanish Empire of the World” (until October 10). A more intimate show by Canadian artists Kenlam and Edpien explores personal history through images and text. A few blocks north, Royal Ontario Museum Open Harry Potter’s Fantastic Beasts: The Wonders of Nature and explore what the museum calls “the crossroads of natural history and pop culture” (until January 2, 2023).
A few blocks to the west, Bata Shoe Museum Introducing “Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to State-of-the-art Kick” and high-tech designs such as Nike’s self-racing MAGS and Zaha Hadid / Rem Koolhaas collaboration (until October 2023).Amazing Gardiner MuseumOne of the only museums specializing in ceramics in North America, “Sharif Bay: The Burst of the Colonial Era” with African-style icons by Syracuse-based artists is on display (until August 28).And 4 years old Museum of Contemporary ArtOffers two knockout shows at a remodeled West End car factory. “Land of Dream”, an unforgettable portrait by New York-based Sirinne Shut, and “Summer”, the first solo exhibition by co-founder Felix Gonzalez-Torres. General Idea, an original queer group that died in 1996 (both until July 31st)
A handful of new hotels
This year marks the flag of the hotel’s opening.Canada’s first Ace Hotel A quiet dead end between the bustling Queen Street and King Street, it will open this summer. Shim-Sutcliffe Architects in Toronto designed a curvy modernist façade. Its soaring concrete interior features the Mediterranean-style restaurant Alder (starting at C $ 349 per night) by renowned Toronto chef Patrick Kriss.
With the closure of the huge Hudson Bay department store in March, I felt the intersection of Younge Road and Blois Road was dark.This month should make you feel better for the first time in Toronto W Hotels, Northeast side. Formerly a Marriott, the 254-room W fine-tunes a Brutalist concrete building with noisy colors and lush greenery. With a tap: A lobby café facing an airy street, a 5,000-square-foot tapas and champagne bar, and a huge rooftop lounge (starting at C $ 475 per night), probably inspired by Yves Saint Laurent’s Marrakech Villa.
The 1 hotel Former Starwood Chairman Barry Sternlicht’s brand made its debut in Toronto last August at the western end of the entertainment district. Promising “sustainable luxury” — and boasting 3,000 vegetation — the 112-room hotel was Canada’s only candidate for Condé Nast Traveler in 2022. Hot list (Rates from C $ 530 per night).
19 rooms in Queen Street West Drake Hotel It’s not entirely new — opened in 1890 and updated in 2004 — but its 42-room Modern Wing just debuted in a sleek, compact building next door.This is a kind of property with a full-time art curator, an innovative and colorful interior Design Agency Live music in the basement. Its windowed restaurant offers stunning sidewalk views (starting at C $ 379 per night).
Assisted by Robert De Niro on the grounds of the former Pilkington Glass Factory near the red-light district Knob The brand will begin its first multi-purpose development in 2023 with a hotel, 650 homes and a knob restaurant.Toronto architect Stephen Teaple designed his perforated black building tuning fork..
