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Toronto, Canada
Photo: Toronto map.png Lencer derivative work: ויקיג'אנקי, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Kensington Market and Chinatown are neighbourhoods in the western side of downtown Toronto. Kensington Market is one of the most eclectic and unique locations in the entire city. Everything from fresh food markets to restaurants and bars, vintage clothing boutiques, spice markets, and music shops are all contained in two small north-south streets and a handful of cross-streets. Chinatown, the second largest in North America after New York City, contains many Chinese and East Asian restaurants, shops and businesses. At the eastern edge of Chinatown is the acclaimed Art Gallery of Ontario. And south of these neighbourhoods is Queen St West and the Fashion District, home to both mainstream and independent shops.
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AGO
The largest art gallery in Canada, redesigned from 2004 to 2008 by architect Frank Gehry. Home to many famous pieces of art ranging from very recent to artwork hundreds of years old. Artists from Monet to Warhol are represented here and the AGO has one of the largest collections of Henry Moore sculptures in the world. It has a great Canadian paintings exhibit and the European paintings exhibit has a few excellent pieces. The gallery also has one of the world's most expensive paintings on view (Ruben's The Massacre of the Innocents).
Ontario College of Art & Design
This stunning, fanciful building, designed by British Architect Will Alsop, is a box suspended four storeys off the ground by a series of multi-coloured pillars. The box is connected to the older building below by escalator and elevator shafts.
The Grange, a national historic site, is a Georgian manor which is today part of the Art Gallery of Ontario. The structure was built in 1817, making it the 12th oldest surviving building in Toronto and the oldest remaining brick house in the city. Visitors to the AGO may be able to view exhibits within the building.
This grand park used to be the ample front lawn of The Grange before it became a museum. It features a carriage way, water features, a Henry Moore sculpture (Large Two Forms), a playground with an artistic theme and the ruins of a church (at John St).
Thirty women artists created a series of murals on buildings along an L-shaped laneway running from McCaul Street through to D'Arcy Street. The project name was "Uplifting Each Other".
Kensington Market was the site of the Canadian television sitcom King of Kensington] which aired on CBC Television from 1975 to 1980 and starred Al Waxman, who was himself born in the neighbourhood. A life-size statue of Al Waxman was erected following his death in 2001, and depicts him casually standing between two park benches as if to converse with anyone sitting there.
When walking along Dundas St east of Spadina Ave, look down the alleys between buildings as there are 4 long alley murals, 3 on the north side and 1 on the south side, each having a Chinese theme.
Two streetcar stops are decorated with dragons coiled in a figure 8 perched on top of columns. Because the pronunciations of "eight" and "luck" in Chinese are similar (both sounding like "baht"), eight is thus a lucky number to the Chinese community.
Heritage space with 2 stages dedicated to staging Canadian plays, from experimental to traditional.
Delicious and inexpensive empanadas in both meat and vegetarian varieties. To permanently close in March 2026.
A Chinese-style vegetarian restaurant.
Known for its seafood and tropical decor.
Likely one of the best places to buy cheese in the city. Excellent, friendly, knowledgable staff.
A wide selection of Asian fusion dishes, and the bar is quite popular with bright young people in the evening. A bit more upscale (in decor, menu and price) than the rest of Kensington.
Market 707 is an open-air food court with vendors housed in retrofitted shipping containers. This space offers various types of international street food. There are a few picnic tables on the sidewalk patio. For washrooms, visit the nearby Sanderson Library around the corner off Bathurst St during library hours.
One of the newest cafes in the Market, it's gotten a good deal of attention for its espresso. A spacious enclosed patio in the rear makes for a nice place to hang out in warmer weather.
An enormous selection of coffees and teas, and vegan baked goods. Patios in front and back.
An authentic Chinese noodle joint, great selection of congees, chow mein, fried noodle in generous portions. Sit at a big round table with a bunch of other patrons happily slurping and chewing. Excellent dim sum.
龍翔酒樓
One of the premier dim sum restaurants in Chinatown. Almost all dishes are quite good. Much larger variety than other smaller restaurants in Chinatown. In addition to bilingual menus, it has menu with pictures for dim sum dishes.
A basic but good restaurant. Seafood is quite good here and many types of fish are available fresh from the tank at the back of the restaurant. If King's Noodle is full, this place is a good alternative.
A more upscale noodle joint, smaller better portions, same round tables, more crammed-in ambiance. Cantonese cuisine, rather than Szechuan, so not as spicy.
Popular both with Chinese families for dim sum lunches, and with inebriated university students for post-club snacking, Rol San has something for everyone. For dim sum, anything with shrimp is recommended (and very cheap!).
One portion serves at least 2 very hungry people and costs $8.
Northern Chinese cuisine including northern-style dim sum, distinctly different from Cantonese dim sum. Dim sum for 2 persons: pork potstickers, rolled onion pancake with sliced beef, sesame biscuit stuffed with egg & pork floss, pan fried green onion pancake.
This intimate French bistro has been charming visitors and locals alike with its appealing cuisine. Favorite dishes include luscious Camembert fritters, garlicky escargot, accompanied by a stellar wine list.
Good Indian restaurant. Can get very busy.
This place at the eastern end of Queen West follows the Toronto trend of Victorian-Bohemian cafe-bars. It serves mostly pan-asian cuisine.
St. Patrick's Market
Built in 1912, this historic building was once a fresh market, but was last used as a food court. As of March 2018, the facility has been closed since March 2018 for renovations. St. Patricks Square is at the rear outside providing park benches under shade trees.
Cozy place to get a drink, with couches and booths as well as a patio in the summer.
They have reasonable priced pitchers of some popular Ontario beers.
A small, hip dive with a patio that is usually jam-packed.
Péché et Rédemption
Belgium-themed pub offering 80 varieties of beer (mainly Belgian and German brands) either on tap or bottled, plus a menu with many choices. Behind the bar is a replica of Manneken Pis in action. The pub is located across from St Patrick's Church. When the church pastor was asked to comment on the pub's name, he replied: "Even God has a sense of humour."
El Mocambo has frequent musical acts upstairs and is one of Toronto's oldest musical venues. Acts that have performed here include Elvis Costello, who recorded a live album, and the Rolling Stones.
Grossman's Tavern is a very unassuming hole-in-the-wall that hides it's truth as one of the most respected blues joints in Canada. Many legends have played this room. Live musicians play most nights of the week. Very casual, almost rustic, if an urban dive bar can be such. They also serve food that is extremely cheap and surprisingly good.
The Comfort Zone is perhaps the most notorious club in Toronto. Opening at 6AM Sa&Su, Comfort Zone is the home of the late late LATE night partiers, and some of Toronto's best tribal house music.
This is a Queen West institution and has featured some of the biggest names in Canadian music before they became famous.
Bovine Club, BSC
This is a Queen Street institution west of Spadina. It has no sign or visible window, but can be recognized on the north side of the street by the large selection of metallic junk welded together as what passes for their sign. It caters to an extremely eclectic crowd of people - some with mohawks, some who wear their mohawks inside their head - and plays an eclectic range of music. If you are not scared by the term 'punk' then you should be right at home. Note that the 'Sex' in the bar's name is purely provocative - this is not a strip club or swingers bar.
The Horseshoe Tavern is another Queen West institution, which specializes in quality modern live music. Assorted bands and artists perform almost every night of the week, at a range of ticket prices. Although the name suggests country and western, the entertainment rarely has any relation to that genre, falling instead into the broad category of Alternative Music.
This hotel is nearly a Toronto institution, with the restaurant playing host to some of the greatest jazz performers.
An eclectic vintage clothing store. A must-see on any trip to Kensington Market.
Vintage clothing, mid-century furniture and recent fashion finds.
Tea lovers will be fascinated with this store, which offers an unsurpassed selection of teas (some unusual to Western tastes), and hundreds of beautifully handcrafted teapots. In addition to green teas, fermented black tea, and ginseng, one of the teas available is called “monkey pick” because it is grown on cliffs that are so inaccessible only trained monkeys can harvest it.
Used-apparel retailer showcasing vintage tees & casualwear that has been a staple on Queen West since the 1980s. Once upon a time, everything they sold was $10 or less, but even though prices have changed, it is still well worth a visit for high quality thrift store finds.
Source for a mix of modern & vintage-style fashions for men & women, plus accessories & handbags.
Toronto's oldest independent record store; specialty: vinyl.
Independent music shop with new & used records, CDs, movies & T-shirts.
College Street near Spadina Ave has several computer, technology, and repair stores. Computer products sold here may be cheaper than what you would find in big box stores elsewhere.
Apple products. Of the computer shops in the area, this has the most attractive interior suggesting products might not be cheap here.
Largest of the computer shops in the area, and part of a store chain. Consumer electronics are sold at a separate store at 366 College location.
Modcom
By car
As Kensington is quite comparable to an open-air market, it's not an especially car-friendly place.
By foot
Kensington Market is one of the most walkable neighbourhoods in the city. It is located immediately next to the University of Toronto and adjacent to Chinatown.
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