Hey all, i'll be visiting Toronto April 14th-18th and was looking for advice on where to eat. My girl friend is not really into beer so restaurants do not have to be beer specific. Just looking for general advice. We will be staying down town at Toronto, ON Delta Chelsea Toronto 33 Gerrard Street West Toronto, Ontario M5G 1Z4 Canada of course i would like to know what are the good bottle shops around and what are must bring back state side beers? Any advice would greatly be appreciated. Cheers
Beer wise: Bar Volo: best local tap offerings, good bottle list and pretty good menu Beerbistro: decent taps, great bottle list, really good food as well....a little on the pricey side Both of them are downtown and close to some really good spots in the city. Check out the Distillery District lots of cool places to eat and shop, Mill Street Brewpub is there as well. Parkdale is also worth checking out lots of really great restaurants and shops, The Rhino is at Queen and Ossington and worth stoping by if you are thirsty. If you do end up at Volo (or in that area) Papaya, just south of Volo on Yonge Street serves some great Thai fusion and really well priced. Porchetta & Co. at 825 Dundas St. West is fantastic. Southern Accent in Mirvish Village has really good Cajun/Creole food. The Stockyards at Christie and St.Clair is really good as well. Murray's Sandwich Emporium at Queen and Bathurst is also really, really good too....more of a casual lunch thing though but worth checking out for sure. As far as bottle shops go.....sorry! your best bet is the LCBO at Summerhill, just north of bloor on Yonge. You will find some decent seasonals (Charlevoix Lupulus, Mikkeller Frelser Triple Bock, Tree Double Hophead, Muskoka Spring Oddity, Beau's Beaver River I.P.Eh, Norrebro VarTripel) as well as Flying Monkey's Smashbomb, Muskoka Mad Tom, Great Lakes Crazy Canuck, Creemore Kellerbier. Your best bets are the bars though...Beerbistro has a bunch of Cantillon on the menu for about the price you see them for on shelves in the states.
You are walking distance to Volo, so definitely make your way there. If you are willing to hop in a cab or walk for about 20-25 mins, C'Est What is another great option.
If you want some good casks and good eats, C'est What is always where it's at. Volo for a solid bottle selection and very good Ontario (and Quebec occasionally) taps. Beer Bistro for the food, fairly extensive cellar (all of your Cantillon needs) and exceptional service - perhaps the best in Toronto. A variety of others are all within reach as well by public transit (The Burger Bar on Augusta Ave., Bryden's, Granite Brewpub), and are all recommended.
Is Cantillon pretty readily available in Toronto? I probably should have been checking this thread more often as i'm headed up in a week. Looking for bottle shops where i can score some Cantillon as it's a pain in the ass to get in MN
You will not find Cantillon in any bottle shop here, as if you plan to buy beer here, it will be from the Molson-Labatts-Sleeman 'Beer Store' monopoly or the government operated LCBO. The LCBO (certain locations) has a wider selection of craft beer needs, especially currently, but no Cantillon. Don't even bother with The Beer Store. To my knowledge, unless you're going to meet up with some BA's for beers, Cantillon can ONLY be had at the Beer Bistro.
I see, So what beers are must bring back state side? I actually just called delta and apparently traveling to Canada does not include a free checked bag so now i gotta figure out if it is worth it to pay the $25 for the first checked bag or not. With that said i'm looking for stuff i can't get in the states.
Really depends on where you plan on staying and your proximity to a good LCBO, there are only a select few in Toronto. What styles are you into?
I once had a fantastic meal at Ruby WatchCo. It's not a beer-centric place either, so it might be better for your lady. http://rubywatchco.ca/ BeerBistro is another nice place. http://www.beerbistro.com/ Love the calamari at C'est What? http://www.cestwhat.com/ Mill St. Brewpub is pretty good. http://www.millstreetbrewpub.ca/
