Toronto Travel Forum

Hi there,

Hope everyone's doing well. I'm currently in California, and I'll be traveling to Toronto with a few friends in September, and none of us have been there before...but the one thing we do know is that for the very few days we're there, we plan to find some foodie havens (we like the hidden gem/ hole-in-the-wall places, but will pay for specialties if the food is not-to-be-missed :))

I think we'll be arriving by car (from Buffalo airport) in the late afternoon, and then be in Toronto only for a day or two (yes, I know, way too short, but that's what happens when we base our trip on timed airfare prices ;)), so we want to make the most of our time there.

I've read about the main attractions posted (Casa Loma, Distillery, St Lawrence's Market, Hockey Museum, Royal Ontario Museum, etc), but it seems all of these would probably be worth looking into if we had more time -- so I know I'll probably be back at a certain point to explore these places in depth. However, in the meanwhile, as a group, we will at least visit the CN tower, and at least one chinese restaurant. So, here are my questions:

1) What are your top 3 suggestions for Toronto chinese restaurants? Or top 5 restaurants/food places/local eateries on your list of favorites?

2) About Toronto nightlife -- what are some of the best places/most lively places to go to (clubs, bars, 24hour places, karaoke, etc)? Is there much activity on a Sunday/Monday night?

3) We haven't booked a hotel yet. What hotel locations might be optimal for easy access to transportation (like the subway stations)? Or, since we'll have a car, how is it finding parking around the restaurants and activity areas listed above?

4) What's the average price for paying for parking in Toronto (is it like NYC, where you pay upwards of $15-25, or like downtown los angeles where one can pay $3/whole day)? Do they have local parking like l.a. where after a certain time parking at the meters are free?

Sorry those were some really intense questions, but any help anyone could provide would be *much* appreciated.

Thanks a bunch for your helpful suggestions,
Cheers,
Ellie

As for eating, I highly recommend Greektown. It is between the Chester and Pape subway stations. There are just tons of good Greek restaurants there, and on a warm night, everyone is eating out on the street patios. Lots of good people-watching as well. It is a very lively, very cool area, without being at all pretentious or expensive.

Not Just Noodles on the corner of Yonge and Wellesley, you can find their menu at www.notjustnoodles.ca and their spicy shrimp are the best i've ever had. Swatow Restaurant on Spadina has great soups and beef dishes. I don't know their website but its very popular with the club crowd. Marcello's Pizzeria on St. Clair and Dufferin has great pizza and a great salmon pasta dish. The Keg Mansion on Jarvis and Wellesley has great steak. Fran's on College and Yonge has great breakfasts.
If you want easy access to public transportation stay in downtown Toronto, on and around Yonge St or on and around University Ave, our transit system is one of the best in the world. Parking is expensive about 15-25 dollars a day. If your lucky to find parking on the street its free between 9pm to 7am. happy travels

Top Three Chinese Restaurants??

That is still being agrued.

Google www.chowhounds.ca

Downtown look at "Lai Wah Heen" in the Metropolitan Hotel near City Hall.
A bit expensive. Caters to Chinese business men.

Better is " Lai Toh Heen" on Mt. Pleasant south of Eglinton. Nice restaurant.

There are a lot of good Chinese restaurants north of Highway 7 in the Richmond Hill area.Can't say which is the best but they are fun to go to.

Hotels - there are 3 centrally located Holiday Inns:

370 King Street West
280 Bloor Street West
111 Lombard St.

Referencing Google maps, and using Nathan Phillips Square as a central point, will show you how close you'll be to areas of interest.

All (hotels) are on TTC (public transit) routes - bus/street car/nr. subway. Using TTC/taxis would probably be easier than finding/paying for parking, and you may well be able to walk to most places you want to see. (Purchase TTC tokens instead of paying full cash fare)

Check out the Harbourfront area on the lake; although I'm not sure how lively it'll be Sunday/Monday.

Queen Street West is good for pubs/clubs, etc. but I don't have info. on hours/24 hr clubs.

The Eaton Centre at Dundas or Queen St./Yonge St. is good for shopping and connects with the underground Pathway going south (shops/restaurants/Hockey Hall of Fame as well, I think).

... and should you find yourself around the Bayview/Sheppard area, Oliver & Bonacini's Grill (at Bayview Village Mall) is nice - although you probably won't have any reason to be in suburbia!

Have a great time here! ;)

VTer Ekaterinburg's son played The Cameron Public House at 408 Queen Street West a few days ago. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get there that evening so I don't know what it's like - just a suggestion for some night life. The CH website seems comprehensive.

A good centrally-located hotel at a good price is the Delta Chelsea.

Hard to say what are the top 3 chinese restaurants. If you are going for authentic Chinese meals and don't want to go to the suburbs (ie. Richmond Hill, Markham, Scarborough), your best bet is Chinatown. I'm not sure what type of Chinese food you are interested in. Hong Kong style "tea" restaurants, Sichuan food, hot pot, dim sum...certainly not all restaurants serve the all types of food. Lai Wah Heen, as mentioned earlier, is at the very top end of Chinese restaurants. If you have a lot of money in your pocket, it maybe worthwhile to experience the fine cuisine.

The old (Bloor & Christie) and new Korean Town (Yonge Street between Finch and Steeles) is worth going if you want to try Korean food. Very authentic Korean food at just about any restaurants.

With only 1-2 days, you'll want to stay near downtown. The best Chinese is no longer downtown but you can still find decent restaurants. Lee Garden on Spadina is very reliable and very friendly towards non-Chinese speaking customers. The wait staff speak English and will take the time to explain things to you. It's been there forever.

Toronto is full of great restaurants. Everybody has their favourites. Splendido, Canoe, Centro or North 44 are the usual suspects (amoung dozens) in the high end range. Susur is also wonderful but almost impossible to get a table now that chef, Susur Lee is leaving for New York.

I recommend Jamie Kennedy's Wine Bar near Jarvis and Front St. It is a wine and tasting menu. Fun, not overly expensive and great food. They take no reservations. If you show up at 6:30PM, you will not get a table until 8:00. Go early, like 5:00PM or even earlier.

Another fun place is the Drake Hotel on King St. W. Food is decent and you can stay all night since it's a real meet market/hipster place. Head to the rooftop patio after dinner. Then, when you are well lubricated, head to Gladstone Hotel, just west of the Drake for karoake.

Parking rates are 4-6/hour at street meters. 10-20 for the day in parking lots. There is plenty of street parking if you hunt around. Driving is fine in Toronto except during rush hours. Do not even attempt to drive between 4-6pm. And pay attention to No Stopping/Tow-Away zones. These are the major streets and strictly enforced from 4-6pm. Your car will be towed and you will be paying $150 to get it back.

Skip Casa Loma (lame), the ROM (even lamer). Go to Kensington Market instead of St. Lawrence. Kensington Market is near Chinatown. Hockey Hall of Fame is good if you are a hockey fan. Distillery District is cool if it's a nice, warm evening when you can walk around. Stay away from the Eaton Centre or Dundas Square.

Other suggestions are Little Italy (College and Clinton St.), Koreatown (Bloor St. and Christie), the Danforth (Greek area) and Yorkville.

Nightclubs are centred around Wellington and John St. but they are very trendy and expensive. Usually full up with teenies from the suburbs. Lots of testosterone fueled fights, drunken fools and the occasional drive-by.

Many thanks, everyone, for your input on things to do in Toronto -- I'll definitely run this thread by the other 3 friends and see if they're up for the suggestions -- they all sound like good options for the day or two we'll be in town. We'll have a rental car, so very glad to know what to expect cost-wise for meters and parking issues...If we decide to leave the car parked at the hotel, would you say the bus/metro system are the way to go? Are downtown Toronto activities fairly spread out where we would definitely need a car, like Los Angeles, or more compact and near each other so we can walk from place to place, like in NYC?

Thanks again,
Ellie

Everything downtown is within 20 minutes of walking distance or if you take the subway most everythinng is on the lines.

Hi Ellie,

You will love Toronto and with a couple of days you can see and do much. We had a 2 night stopover June 2007 and highlight was dinner at CN Tower Revolving Restaurant, we went on a group package $60 great restaurant meal, daylight view before and then after dinner up to the glass observation deck for evening view.
This is a must.

Walk the Old Town and Harbourfront , very easy, also if time available take a short ferry cruise to Islands, great photos of city and CN Tower from Lake Ontario.

Good Luck,
Mike

Take the subway if your destination is within 10 blocks of a subway station. Take a taxi otherwise. Bus service is slow, tedious and hard to figure out. Basically, the subway follows three corridors - Yonge St., University Ave. and Bloor St. If your destination is within 10 blocks of these corridors, then use the subway.

I disagree with the person that said the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) is lame. If you like museums, the ROM has an excellent Egyptian collection, an excellent Far East collection, and an excellent dinosaur collection. Its Far East collection is known internationally, in fact. The interior of the new 'crystal' is also really impressive (much nicer than the exterior). Right now, there is a Darwin exhibit on, which is really good.

Queens St. East is brimming with multicultural restaurants. Walk along for a block or two and you are sure find a mix of everything.

Queens St. East is brimming with multicultural restaurants. Walk along for a block or two and you are sure find a mix of everything.

Queens St. East is brimming with multicultural restaurants. Walk along for a block or two and you are sure find a mix of everything.