Toronto Vacation Help - September 2013

DM4 · #1 Posted **Jun 14, 2013, 4:02 AM**

Hi, my girlfriend and I plan on visiting Toronto from Cleveland this fall. I was hoping some of you would have suggestions on what to see, where to go, etc.

What are some interesting neighborhoods to visit?

Also any suggestions on good, large, cheap, accessible pizza?

Best breakfast place?

etc.?

After the pizza question this will sound weird, but my girlfriend is vegan and I was wondering if you had any suggestions for good vegan places as well?

Thanks in advance!

btw neither of us drink so bars/nightclubs dont interest us much.

DrNest · #2 Posted **Jun 14, 2013, 11:40 AM**

Check out Kensington Market. There's a lot of various places to eat with all types of cuisine. I'm pretty sure there's a good vegan restaurant there.

Also St Lawrence Market is a good place to wander around. Although I should warn you, the to avoid the vegan restaurant in the lower level there. My wife and I ate there and spent the next 48 hrs sick with the runs.

Pizza Pizza is a standard Canadian pizza chain that offer 'by-the-slice' or will cook to order a whole pizza. There are numerous locations in the downtown core and the suburbs, so would be easy enough to find one. I've often found that walking in and getting a slice has been ok, but nothing special, however, if you order a whole pizza cooked to order, they've always been very good. I particularly prefer the multigrain crust they do.

I also like Mimico as a neighbourhood to visit. From the downtown core it's easily to get to either by the GO Train or the 501 streetcar. There's a nice Italian bakery near the Mimico Go station, and further down Royal York towards the lake is a good local pizza to take away place called Il Padres. I would recommend walking along Lakeshore Blvd in this area as there's a number of interesting little stores to explore. There are also a number of cheap tack stores, but in my opinion it's worth visiting. I've always loved that area, and my wife used to live near Il Padres.

On the corner of Lakeshore Blvd and Primrose Ave there's a great little coffee shop called Birds & Beans. I've spent many an hour in there reading and drinking coffee. Or getting one to take away and walk along the nearby waterfront park, where there are good views back towards the Toronto skyline.

Tony · #3 Posted **Jun 14, 2013, 12:38 PM**

Here's a map I made for another SSP tourist:

Toronto - tourism by SSP Tony, on Flickr

Vegan Pizza can be had at Magic Oven and Pizzaiolo... not so sure about Pizza Pizza (which honestly kinda sucks).

There are a ton of good breakfast places, so many Greek-owned greasy-spoons. But if you want a local chain, give Fran's a try.

I'm assuming you'll be staying somewhere near downtown?

DrNest · #4 Posted **Jun 14, 2013, 1:10 PM**

Useful map Tony!

flar · #5 Posted **Jun 14, 2013, 1:30 PM**

Take a streetcar over to Cabbagetown for a nice, compact walking tour of Toronto-style Victorian homes.

Ramako · #6 Posted **Jun 14, 2013, 1:38 PM**

I'd definitely recommend exploring Queen West. It's an interesting walk all the way from the core west to Ossington and beyond. Lots of cool shops, restaurants and bars. Ossington's worth checking out too.

I'd also consider taking the ferry over to the Toronto Islands. Nice place for a picnic.

The campus of the University of Toronto are quite large and picturesque. Lots of very old and beautiful architecture to explore.

For shopping there's the Eaton Centre, as well as the Yorkville neighbourhood and Bloor Street between Yonge Street and Avenue Road.

Some of the best pizza places in town are Terroni's (there's one on Queen West) and Pizzeria Libretto (on Ossington) - try their margarita pizza. As far as chains go, I like Mamma's Pizza. Also try the Mad Italian on College Street for their pizza cone. Speaking of College Street, it's got a lot of good Italian restaurants, like Teatro.

For a good breakfast place, try Cora. It's a Canadian chain with a couple locations in Toronto.

If you're interested in Thai food, I recommend Khao San Road on Adelaide Street, but be warned that there will likely be a lineup to get in.

niwell · #7 Posted **Jun 14, 2013, 1:53 PM**

People seem to have covered off quite a bit, but since you requested Vegan places I can chime in there (not vegan but have been to quite a few). Hogtown Vegan on Bloor near Grace is my absolute favourite - it serves southern style comfort food... that's vegan. Sounds strange but it's amazing. Sadie's Diner on Adelaide near Portland is a vegan breakfast place, which would fulfill two of your requests.

In Kensington Market there is King's Cafe (asian), Urban Herbavore (sandwichs/soups) and Hot Beans (mexican) which are all worth checking out. There's a new high end vegan place on Queen and Portland called Grasslands - haven't tried it but the previous restaurant on site by the same owner was pretty good.

Also here's a decent list of vegetarian restaurants by blogto: http://www.blogto.com/toronto/the_be...ts_in_toronto/

Their #1 pick, Fresh, is a decent chain with multiple locations. It's not my favourite but people seem to really like it.

As for Pizza don't go to Pizza Pizza. It's terrible.

Tony · #8 Posted **Jun 14, 2013, 3:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by niwell

There's a new high end vegan place on Queen and Portland called Grasslands

Nice name, as if vegan food doesn't sound boring enuf.

Ramako · #9 Posted **Jun 15, 2013, 1:57 PM**

I'm not sure how we all missed it, but you've definitely got to visit the Distillery District while in Toronto. It's the largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America, and it's full of shops, restaurants and galleries.

DM4 · #10 Posted **Jun 15, 2013, 2:10 PM**

Thank you everyone, very helpful!

DrNest, thanks for the suggestions!

Tony, awesome map! Im going to print it out and use on vacation so thanks again. A yes we will be staying downtown.

flar, looks interesting, ill have to try to get over there during the trip.

Ramako, we are going to try Terroni's which seems to have a nice location. Thanks!

niwell , thanks for all the vegan suggestions. We will definitly check out Hogtown Vegan.

Tony · #11 Posted **Jun 18, 2013, 2:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DM4

Thank you everyone, very helpful!

DrNest, thanks for the suggestions!

Tony, awesome map! Im going to print it out and use on vacation so thanks again. A yes we will be staying downtown.

flar, looks interesting, ill have to try to get over there during the trip.

Ramako, we are going to try Terroni's which seems to have a nice location. Thanks!

niwell , thanks for all the vegan suggestions. We will definitly check out Hogtown Vegan.

No probs.. i think I need to highlight Distillery District as Ramako noted.. I have not idea how I missed that!

Cabbagetown is similar to the walking streets I identified between Annex & Queen West but with some more grit. Which is great, if that's your thing.

I've also heard really good things about Hogtown Vegan, but you will need to hop onto the subway for a short ride to get to it. Or walk, it's roughly 1 hour walk from the core. That's the thing about Toronto, for a North American City, it has pretty awesome walkability (that isn't dull).

DrNest · #12 Posted **Jun 18, 2013, 2:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony

No probs.. i think I need to highlight Distillery District as Ramako noted.. I have not idea how I missed that!

Ditto on the Distillery District!!

MonkeyRonin · #13 Posted **Jun 20, 2013, 3:27 PM**

If you're visiting in September, you may also be here during TIFF or Nuit Blanche. Among other festivals, though I'm not sure yet what else will be happening then.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrNest

Pizza Pizza is a standard Canadian pizza chain that offer 'by-the-slice' or will cook to order a whole pizza.

...Did you seriously just recommend Pizza Pizza?

DrNest · #14 Posted **Jun 20, 2013, 3:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

...Did you seriously just recommend Pizza Pizza?

Yes.

By the slice, like I said, it's not great. But if you order one to be freshly made, especially the wholegrain crust, it's actually quite nice. There's a huge difference between the two. Almost like being from a different company.

Denscity · #15 Posted **Jul 16, 2013, 11:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony

Here's a map I made for another SSP tourist:

Toronto - tourism by SSP Tony, on Flickr

Vegan Pizza can be had at Magic Oven and Pizzaiolo... not so sure about Pizza Pizza (which honestly kinda sucks).

There are a ton of good breakfast places, so many Greek-owned greasy-spoons. But if you want a local chain, give Fran's a try.

I'm assuming you'll be staying somewhere near downtown?

Hey Tony. Been lurking for some downtown T.O. as I will be visiting at the end of this month. BTW, what do the different colours mean on your map? Thanks in advance!

Denscity · #16 Posted **Jul 17, 2013, 12:07 AM**

Nevermind I figured it out. It corresponds with the name of the neighbourhood or area in the same colour. Duh.

Tony · #17 Posted **Jul 17, 2013, 6:54 PM**

lol. Glad I could help. Feel free to download a full-sized version for printing.