Toronto is a mega city, a series of suburbs stitched together to make Canada’s metropolitan core. It thrums with diversity – and is not uncommon to hear any of the over 140 languages that are spoken throughout the city. With its myriad neighbourhoods and communities also comes a growing population of affluent, ardent and engaged young people across the city – shopping, eating, exercising, exploring and demanding the best of. No longer do Torontians need to travel east to New York to experience the most ambitious restaurants or sweat at the trendiest gyms, as it’s all within reach in the four corners of the Canadian city.
It’s also an incredibly cinematic city – often providing the body double for the likes of New York and Chicago in big blockbusters. Guillermo del Toro’s Shape of Water and Aaron Sorkin directorial debut, Molly’s Game, starring Jessica Chastain were both recently filmed in the city. And of course, the inimitable Suits is filmed throughout Toronto and its this city that Meghan Markle has chosen to call home while shooting the last seven seasons. Not to mention that fact that it was Markus Anderson, the Soho House Toronto consultant and longtime friend to Markle, who is said to have engineered the ‘when Harry met Meghan’ moment.
Here’s our guide to the best of the area:
Where to Stay
The Ritz-Carlton: There’s truly no hotel group in the world that gets service like the Ritz. It’s telepathic, it’s inherent and it extends through every staff member – from the bellboys to the general manager. The Ritz in Toronto is smack in the centre of the city, minutes from Toronto City Airport and overlooking Lake Ontario. Although I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, you could have a robust trip to the city and practically never leave the hotel – the amenities and services are excellent.
The My Blend by Clarins Spa is a treat and only the second spa in the world – after the Paris flagship – to have the My Blend distinction. Incredibly welcoming to both men and women – the TVs surrounding the spa often play sports and the male changing rooms are handsomely masculine designed in elegant slate greys and mahogany tones. The striking indoor pool is also inviting to all. Their signature is the My Blend facial, designed to suit any skin-type, as its personalised at every bend. Beginning with a skin analysis – using futuristic imaging technology, the likes of which you might expect from Elon Musk – the focus is on long-term health and protecting the skin from pollution. It’s better ageing not anti-ageing.
Chic and welcoming, you won’t find starchy white table cloths at TOCA, the Ritz’s signature restaurant – just straightforward, well-presented dishes championing fresh and local ingredients. The best Italian food eschews pomp and here they have subscribed to just that. The twist on a Caprese served with local lobster is excellent, as is their signature homemade ravioli. The restaurant is also the site of Canada’s only cheese cave – a fact the hotel is deeply and deservedly proud of. Here they offer guided wine and cheese evenings alongside popular chef’s dinners.
The Shangri-La: The entrance of the Shangri-La Toronto is striking. The reception area features dancing fireplaces housed in glass cases and elegant Asian outfits – from the owner’s private archive – encased in glass as well. There’s also a Herculean grand piano that is well-used during the hotel’s jazz evenings. Centrally located, the property is hugged by the Art Gallery of Ontario and the city’s theatre district, while the harbour front is not far. Toronto is lucky to, at times, be a testing ground before a production opens on Broadway – a barometer for future success.
Before any nights out at the theatre, the hotel’s Asian-inspired Bosk restaurant serves delights, such as the hamachi sashimi with fennel, fermented stone fruit and lemon verbena and to finish try the smoked vanilla cream with honeycomb, and a blackberry sorbet. As is the way in restaurants of this esteem, wherever possible the ingredients a local, organic and seasonal. And when it comes time for a nightcap, there’s an intimate outdoor terrance (only open in the summer months) that wraps around the building. The rooms are cosy with creams and beige furnishing and large Japanese prints hang from the walls. Large is an operative word, as these are some of the largest rooms and suites in any hotel around – starting at 490 square feet. Modern conveniences, such as iPads controlling everything from lighting to to valet parking to room service, dominate. And the bathrooms are soothing white marble with pulsing rain showers, L’Occitane bath products and floor-to-ceiling views.
Elsewhere in the hotel there’s a Technogym and a hefty schedule of complimentary classes offered weekly. There’s also a 20-metre lap pool that faces a glass roof, a true feat of architecture and a spa offering a host of treatments by Caudalie Paris, an elegant French brand that is all-natural and paraben free.
The Hazelton: Located in Yorkville, Toronto’s equivalent of the Upper West Side, this unassuming boutique hotel is a favourite of celebs and those in the know. A Leading Hotel of the World, the Hazelton is only 62 rooms at 15 suites – and the design inspiration throughout is the Silver Screen, 1940s Hollywood to be exact. And the cinematic thread is apparent throughout. The hotel often plays host to events around TIFF and film events in general, thanks to the on-site 25-seat cinema. Flanked by stylish shops and restaurants, as well as the Royal Ontario Museum and the fashion-led Bata Shoe Museum, only moments away, the property itself is quiet and set back from the thrum of the city but has every amenity within the snap of your fingers. As well as all the designer outposts, there are a number of independent boutiques, such as women’s clothing shop Kit and Ace, a light and bright shop offering stylish activewear for men and women and the enviable Yorkville Village mall, selling everything from freshly blended almond milk shakes at ELXR Juice Lab to elegant wares for women direct from Paris at Cop.Copine.
Back at the hotel, there’s a slick 24-hour gym and a petit but well-appointed salt water lap pool. The spa uses Swiss-made Valmont products, a brand that leads in its innovation and scientific approach to skincare. They are a dog-friendly hotel, and there’s not much the hotel won’t bend over backwards to make happen or to find for its guests. And as is really expected of a five-star hotel, the restaurant, ONE, is excellent. With Mark McEwan as its executive chef – who has his own show The Heat on the Food Network – the menu is contemporary Canadian with a hint on Mediterranean. Local produce is used throughout the eggplant arrabiata with house-made ricotta is full of textures and flavours and the steaks, all local Prince Edward Island grass-fed are perfect for any meat-eating palettes, while the beer-batter onion rings served with sriracha aioli are unmissable. And for those with late-night cravings or after-hours travel schedules, there’s around-the-clock room service, all delivered at the same calibre as guests receive in the low-lit, high-concept downstairs dining room.
Best Newcomer, The Broadview Hotel: What was once a strip club is now the city’s chicest new property. Only 58 rooms and suites, there’s a rooftop bar with views to infinity and beyond and The Civic restaurant is among the best in the city – don’t leave without ordering the red deer tartare.
Where to Eat and Drink
La Banane: A newcomer restaurant in Toronto that hit it out of the park. This French-style brasserie truly has it all – ambiance, impeccable service and most importantly, startlingly good food. A partnership between chef Brandon Olsen (CXBO, Bar Isabel, The Black Hoof) and King Street Food Company (Buca, Jacobs & Co. and Jamie’s Italian), this place seduces. The decor is considered, from the marble bar tops to the inky banquettes to the gilded-gold chandeliers. There’s a bountiful raw bar swelling with sustainable and ethically sourced seafood from Hooked and Honest Weight. And there’s an element of wit and whimsy here, beginning with the banana-yellow door on entry and ending with the Ziggy Stardust Disco egg, an outrageously impressive dessert, a hand-painted chocolate egg made with apricots, ancho chillies and coffee beans and stuffed with delicate Peruvian dark chocolate truffles.
The Drake Hotel: The Drake has always had a vice-grip hold on cool in the city. From its urbane hotel to its underground music venue, the brand has managed to do the unimaginable and grow with the times and maintain its iconic status. From its Sky Yard rooftop terrace to its home-style burgers and fries, to the latest edition in the family, The Drake Devonshire in fashionable Prince Edward County, they always seem to get it right. The Lounge restaurant is always heaving and the cafe still serves one of the city’s best brunches. Dinner at the Lounge is eclectic and charming – it features all the chef’s favourite dishes, and takes that concept literally. Hopscotching from sushi to sweet potato fries to a Brussel sprout caesar salad with cashew dressing, and always remember to sub-in for the fancy fries, which are sprinkled with pecorino and brown butter.
Soho House: Nick Jones began the Soho House group in London as a place for conversation and collaboration between the UK’s young creative set. As your correspondent learned from speaking with Zaib Shaikh, the Film Commissioner and Director of Entertainment Industries for the City of Toronto, “More than 30,000 people are employed in the city’s TV and Film industry.” Thus its no surprise that Toronto became the first – and only- Canadian outpost for one of the glossy London private members’ clubs. A creative culture runs through the city as Shaikh continues to explain, with TIFF now being “the world’s largest publicly attended film festival – seen by more than 450,000 people a year. It’s also been great to see the international recognition and success of Canadian- and Toronto-produced series such as Orphan Black and to have acclaimed and popular TV series like Suits, The Expanse and Designated Survivor returning to the city.” Now back to the club itself, this multi-level oasis tucked into a corner of Adelaide Street West has all the Soho House greatest hits. They offer the signature bottomless Sunday brunch, have an expansive rooftop terrace and of course a great deal of privacy. It’s no wonder that it’s a consistent favourite amongst celebrities and royalty alike.
Kiin: Their tagline is ”discover a different side of Thailand” and it fits. Shared plates teeming with fresh and vibrant ingredients populate the tables at Kiin. The menu is inspired by the chef’s travels across all of Thailand – as opposed to a single region. The decor is simple and inviting with plush emerald-green banquettes and naked filament lights suspended from the ceiling.
Piano Piano: A casual neighbourhood restaurant with large portions and smiling service. The decor is simple and as you look around the room, one gets the sense that it’s teeming with locals and regulars. The brussels fritti are divine.
North of Brooklyn Pizzeria: With four locations dappled across the city and a takeout/delivery option, there’s no excuse for not visiting North of Brooklyn. They offer by the slice, as well as 14- and 18-inch pies, as well as a couple salad options. The slice of kale and bacon – mozzarella, kale, double-smoked bacon, garlic and pecorino – does not disappoint.
Sweet Jesus Ice Cream: This Toronto-born ice cream shop has well-earned cult status. To call this a soft-serve ice cream spot is reductive. It’s more like edible art.
Where to Sweat
Soul Cycle: It’s so popular for a reason. The all-over workout on the bike now has two Toronto outposts, on King Street West and in Yorkville. They’ve got the peppiest instructors in the business.
Torq Ride: For those in the east of the city, there’s Torq Ride. Clients find motivation here through competition – as the instructor can see each students’ level of engagement and RPMs throughout the class and uses that to spur you on.
Barre Beautiful: Light, bright and airy – this is just the type of space that inspires the inner ballerina in us all. You can sweat it out in their cardio barre or tighten and tone in the sculpt class. These low-impact, high-results workouts combining Pilates and dance always hit the mark.
