Moody, energetic Laotian restaurant on St. Joseph Street. Fringed jute lamps hang over loud tables crowded with shareable plates of tapioca dumplings, crispy coconut rice salad, and bright cocktails.
Intimate College Street cocktail bar running a steady espresso counter during the day. The thirty-seat room packs away the laptops right at five o'clock to clear tables for a daily happy hour and evening drinks.
Spacious second-floor Korean cafe above Spadina Avenue running steady with open laptops and quiet conversation. Fruit-blended matcha lattes and bowls of sweet shaved ice cover wooden tables across the bright, plant-filled room.
Intimate second-floor lounge glowing bright pink above a Yonge Street piano shop. Bartenders pour strong martinis and playful house cocktails across a quartz bar, backed by plush velvet seating and a steady disco soundtrack.
Theatrical, timber-lined room at The Well serving sushi towers and wagyu. Dinner service ramps up into a loud, DJ-driven lounge scene late at night.
Narrow, candlelit listening bar pouring natural wine and serving seasonal small plates. DJs play strictly vinyl on a custom hi-fi system, keeping the room conversational through dinner before turning the volume up late.
Contemporary Pakistani chaat and small plates served in a cozy, wood-paneled room. The space is intimate and dimly lit – ideal for sharing lamb nihari and cocktails like the Tamarind Margarita.
Bright, open-kitchen dining room serving Mexican-inspired dinners to a soundtrack of vintage Spanish and Cantonese music. Cooks press house-milled corn for bone marrow quesadillas and battered mushroom tacos served with dry-aged steaks.
Dimly lit Queen West snack bar styled like a vintage streetcar. A long leather banquette faces the stainless steel bar, keeping the narrow room tight and moody for cocktails and global small plates.
Compact gelateria churning daily batches with ingredients imported straight from Italy. Lines for Sicilian pistachio and espresso often spill onto the sidewalk, leaving standing room only.
Intimate 36-seat Harbord Village restaurant cooking a seasonal menu in a wood-burning oven. The tight, leather-lined space runs loud with shared Filipino-influenced plates and savory cocktails.
Minimalist coffee bar treating specialty espresso and matcha like craft cocktails. Monolithic concrete seating fills up fast on weekends for experimental seasonal drinks, pour-overs, and yuzu Basque cheesecake.
Relaxed downtown dining room serving generous plates of traditional and modern Thai food. The menu mixes slow-simmered pork belly stews with unexpected dishes like tom yum cream pasta and dried wagyu khao soi.
Family-run pizzeria where the chef's Apollo 9 pie earned a top-ten world ranking. The cozy room is always busy; house-made pastas like the truffle lasagna are just as essential.
Tiny Leslieville cocktail bar styled like a warm 1970s dinner party, complete with vintage lava lamps and ceramic cats. The walk-in room fills early for extensive amaro flights, local wines, and fried mortadella sandwiches.
Walk-in Leslieville diner serving Japanese-Italian brunch plates built around thick slices of house-baked shokupan. Retro city pop plays through the bright room over tables sharing fried chicken mochi waffles and wafu pasta.
Intimate Sicilian spot serving house-made pastas and sourdough pizzas from an open kitchen. Diners at the ocean-blue bar watch chefs plate gnocchi and classic cannoli.
Neighborhood bistro built around an open kitchen plating handmade pasta and seasonal crudo. The wine list is a curated selection of natural and low-intervention bottles; reservations are essential.
