Experience the vibrant LGBTQ scene in Toronto, Canada. Find out about the newest and best places to eat, drink, and socialize.
Returning to this creative, buzzy Canadian city after a nearly six year hiatus (via its convenient downtown airport and Porter airline), I’m excited to discover the new hotels, cultural and retail establishments, reborn and revitalized districts, waves of progressive businesses (including legal cannabis and even “medicinal mushrooms” psilocybin shops), and of course, restaurants galore and a wider, more authentic representation of world cuisine.
There’s still plenty of downtown construction and public transport upgrades in progress, and a new Nobu Hotel and Residences is in the works for an early 2025 opening, but where to begin with what’s ripe and ready?
To start, 2022 saw the arrival of Toronto’s first Michelin Guide, which upped the gastronomy game as chefs and owners chased a coveted star, bib gourmand, or recommendation. One of those star-holding venues, Aburi Hana (102 Yorkville Ave., Unit 4, Lower Level. Tel: 647-343-8887. aburihana.com), is chef Ryusuke Nakagawa’s fine dining Kyo-Kaiseki tasting menu concept, and a four-year-old East Coast spinoff from two of my Vancouver go-to chains for seared aburi sushi and Japanese, Miku and Minami, located in the tony Yorkville district.
Local queer author and illustrator, Derrick Chow, whose first Young Adult horror novel, Ravenous Things, was published by Disney in 2022, joined me for a catch up dinner, and we savored a top notch service of high-end, one-to-two bite size courses, including signatures like otoro in a crispy tapioca shell, paired with outstanding cocktails at the minimalist chef’s counter. Given the meal and flawless service, I’d be surprised if Aburi Hana fails to earn two stars in a future edition.
AVELO Snacks (Photo by Avelo)
It’s worth noting that the majority of 2023 Michelin star holders are Japanese cuisine venues. The city’s population is heavily Asian-Canadian, to the tune of 35% according to recent statistics, but in my experience Southeast Asian culinary offerings, especially Thai, lacked authenticity until recently.
Proving that things have changed for the better, Kiin (326 Adelaide St. W. Tel: 647-490-5040. kiintoronto.com) earned a Michelin recommendation for its take on royal Thai cuisine, and its brunch menu is especially unique thanks to traditional Thai breakfasts like jhok, a congee with chicken meatballs, sous vide egg, crispy vermicelli, and herbs. Tasty stuff.
The following night I was even more pleasantly surprised by the gay-owned Lao Lao Bar (5 St. Joseph St. Tel: 647-948-8018. laolaobar.com), where aromatics and herbs are not skimped on, flavors are on point (I’m a Thai and Lao food snob, FYI), and decor and atmosphere absolutely relaxed yet evocative. A couple in life and business, owners Seng Luong and Jason Jiang, both Laotian immigrants, who by coincidence occupied the same refugee camp as children, and later met as adults in a Toronto club, serve up specialties like mok pa (fish steamed in a banana leaf with herbs including dill), ping sin nam tok (a succulent striploin beef salad with galangal, lemongrass, makrut lime leaf, and shallots) and lao sausage. Besides a sizable gay crowd, celebs like White Lotus star Adam DiMarco and Drag Race judge Brad Goreski have been spotted here. It’s already become one of my favorite Toronto restaurants, and I’m jonesing hard to return.
Although the food is delicious, Indonesian restaurant and bar Little Sister (2031 Yonge St. Tel: (416) 488-2031. littlesisterto.com) also draws a sizable crowd for a downstairs “Dutch speakeasy,” Bar XXX, at its second Portland Street location (102 Portland St. Tel: 416-293-1079. littlesisterto.com/bar-xxx).
OEB Breakfast (Photo by John Lazenby)
If you’re more keen on Western-Canadian cuisine, current favorites, especially for brunch, include White Lily Diner (678 Queen Street E. Tel: 416-901-7800. white-lily-diner.myshopify.com) and Canadian chain OEB Breakfast (125 E. Liberty St. Tel: 416-238-1152. eatoeb.com), the latter offering a creative menu of eggs Benedict iterations including a Montreal Smoked Brisket, Korean Bulgogi, and Truffled Squash for vegetarians. Vegans, meanwhile, need to make a reservation ASAP for La Bartola (588 College St. Tel: 416-792-1550. labartola.ca), which snagged a Michelin Bib Gourmand for its outstanding plant-based Mexican cuisine. Visitors here will also adore the campy decor flourish, like a life-sized Judy Garland as Dorothy in colorful Mexican garb and accessories.
For my return to this every-evolving and fascinating city, I’m staying just a short stroll from Lao Lao Bar and the Toronto gay village neighborhood at Canopy by Hilton Toronto Yorkville (387 Bloor St. E. Tel: 416-921-3333. hilton.com), which represents the chain’s first Canadian property. Opened in 2023 on the east end of Bloor Street, the 184-room property features slick modern design and tech, comfy beds, an indoor pool, a street level cafe, and lobby level restaurant and bar, Dia (diarestaurant.ca), which incorporates mostly Canadian spirits in its cocktail creations like My Wellness Era (Quebec’s amber Ungava gin, St. Germain, cucumber cordial, mint and coconut milk).
In fact, hotel bars and restaurants have become see-and-be-seen spots as popular as the city’s gay and mixed bars. Just a few blocks west on Bloor Street, the 255-room W Toronto (90 Bloor St. East. Tel: 416-961-8000. marriott.com) opened in summer 2022 and is also a draw for its rooftop patio cocktail bar, Skylight.
W Toronto Extreme Wow Suite (Photo by Courtesy W Hotel)
South of Yorkville downtown’s waterfront district, the six-year-old Hotel X (111 Princes’ Blvd. Tel: 647-943-9300. hotelxtoronto.com) boasts a fantastic rooftop bar, Valerie, that actually sprawls from its 27th to 29th floors, with signature concoctions like their “herbaceous riff on an Old Fashioned,” the One Way Ticket, and sour-style Joie de Vivre (Lychee Captain Morgan White rum, pear liquor, and jasmine). These bars also offer spirit-free cocktails, keeping with the growing “sober curious” and “sober bar” movement.
If you’re more into beer, Paradise Grapevine (841 Bloor St. W. paradisegrapevine.com) with multiple locations, is LGBTQ+ owned and produces their own bottles nearby on Geary Avenue.
Craig Pike, Owner
of Craig’s Cookies (Photo by David Leyes)
Toronto’s gay village, a.k.a. Church and Wellesley, continues to pop with action. Some of that action is thanks to the super tasty all-ages Craig’s Cookies (483 Church St. Tel: 416-519-5336. craigscookies.com), a success story born by queer local Craig Pike during the COVID pandemic, when comfort foods like pastries and sweets boomed. Their Village location here sells a whopping selection of addictive cookies with decadent, texture-rich ingredients like embedded, baked-in bite size Mars Bars (chewy caramel and nougat, yum!) and Ferrero Rocher candies.
Just nearby, GLAD Day Bookshop (499 Church St. Tel: 416-901-6600. gladdaybookshop.com), currently the oldest LGBTQ+ bookstore in the world, having opened in 1970, has been relocated and reinvented from an upstairs bookstore to a ground level, multi-purpose cafe and social space. Yes, there are still plenty of books, both new and used, and other queer and locally-made merch, plus locals socializing over coffee and cafe fare, events and readings, and on Sundays, drag brunches at 11 A.M. and 2 P.M.
Although it’s located outside the gay village, late 2023 saw a new queer bar open, Three Dollar Bill, (1592 Queen St. West. threedollarbill.ca) in the Parkdale neighborhood. Meanwhile, one of the longest running queer dance clubs and venues featuring drag talent, El Convento Rico (750 College St. Tel: 416)-588-7800. elconventorico.com) remains a sort of hidden gem to tourists. Opened in 1992 in Little Italy by an Ecuadorian immigrant, Maritza Yumbla, as a space for the LGBTQ+ Latinx communities and allies and for drag queen/king performances (and competitions), today it endures and brings in a jubilant mixed crowd on weekends.
El Convento Rico (Photo by Cutline Photography)
For up to the minute scoop on LGBTQ+ happenings, nightlife, and news during your visit, YoHomo (yohomo.ca) is a one stop online guide founded by part time local DJs Armand Digdoyo, also of queer Asian collective/party series New Ho Queen (instagram.com/newhoqueen), and Phil Villeneuve, a former editor for Toronto publications Fab and Xtra.
Arts lovers should note that many galleries from the Queen Street West district have relocated to the residential and industrial Lower Junction Triangle in recent years, anchored by the multi-floor MOCA Toronto (158 Sterling Rd. moca.ca). Formerly known as Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, MOCA also boasts a nice cafe serving food and craft beer, while one of the city’s best coffee shops and roasters, Ethica (213 Sterling Rd. Tel: 416-516-0009. ethicaroasters.com), is just a block or so away.
Smaller galleries worth checking out during a stroll of this scrappy, buzzy neighborhood include Gallery TPW (170 St. Helens Ave. Tel: 416-645-1066. gallerytpw.ca), and Daniel Faria Gallery (188 St Helen’s Ave. danielfariagallery. com). If you are a comic book fan, make sure to check out long-running store The Beguiling (319 College St. Tel: 416-533-9168. beguilingbooksandart.com), located on the fringe of downtown’s China- town, which also carries Canadian and international queer graphic novels and self published works.
When plotting your next Toronto trip, some events to consider include the annual Pride Toronto (pridetoronto.com) festival, typically scheduled for the last weekend in June; late Spring’s Inside Out (insideout.ca) LGBTQ+ fim festival (2025 dates TBA); and September’s Toronto International Film Festival (tiff.net), which sees Hollywood and international filmmakers and celebrities descending upon the city for premieres and retrospectives, including many LGBTQ+ films.
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