Cafe restaurants in Ontario
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A
Commensal
Cafeteria-style Commensal sells 100-plus buffet dishes from breakfast to dinner, many of them priced by weight (lasagna is $2.43 per 100g). Fresh salads, hot mains with international flavors, and naturally sweetened desserts are a step above normal cafeteria food. Also accommodates most dietary restrictions.
reviewed
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Growing Season Juice Collective
Healthy blended juice is the name of the game here, but it also does scrumptious dishes to accompany your smoothie. Wash down your carrot sticks with a shot of organic wheatgrass, which just happens to be grown on-site!
reviewed
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Garden’s Gate
Manitoulin’s favorite restaurant is near the junction of Hwys 6 and 542. Don’t let the pastels and floral prints fool you: this place has seriously good food. With a steadfast commitment to promoting provincial products, the tantalizing menu offers a local wine selection and an assortment of wild berries. Rose, the owner, makes everything from scratch; she’s always inventing desserts, which are regularly featured in the local newspaper.
reviewed
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B
Kalendar
It feels like France in Little Italy, with dark wood, tiled floors and a dainty sidewalk patio. The menu funks things up with different types of scrolls (crepe-style roti topped with all sorts of veggies and sauces) and nannettes – naan topped with yummies such as pesto, artichoke hearts and asiago cheese. There’s a long list of cocktails to help you wash it all down.
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Marty’s World Famous Café
Well, it might not be world famous, but Marty’s is locally loved for butter tarts (try the butter tart ice cream – divine!), as well as giant apple pies, home-made pizzas, quiche and bread. Owner Marty is a character himself, and has authored a cookbook that dishes all his recipe secrets. Show up early – the butter tarts sell out quickly.
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Gilead Café
Counter service meets haute Canadian cuisine in this Jamie Kennedy kitchen. The menu, featuring items like gourmet poutine, Canadian artisan cheese plates, and cider mayo, is written on the chalkboard daily. Ingredients are sourced from Ontario farms; if you’re watching your mileage, the Gilead is a great choice for the 100-mile diet.
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Down the Street Bar & Restaurant
Darkly atmospheric, with gorgeous gilt mirrors and old neons stirring memories of Parisian cafes, this place offers pre-theater dining, microbrews and wines by the glass. The menu is multicultural (thin-crust pizzas, goat cheese enchiladas) and late night the bar steps up as one of Stratford’s more kickin’ nocturnal haunts.
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C
7 West Café
Three floors of moody lighting, textured jade paint, framed nudes, wooden church pews and jaunty ceiling angels set the scene for a dazzling selection of pizzas, pastas and sandwiches, and 24-hour breakfasts. Make like a vampire sipping blood-red wine (by the glass or bottle) as the moon dapples shadows across the street.
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D
Aunties & Uncles
An always-bustling place with a line on the sidewalk outside the picket fence, Aunties & Uncles does yummy breakfasts with a whole lot of housemade items such as ketchup and chorizo. Plop yourself down in one of the mismatched chairs and dig into dishes like grilled brie with pear chutney and walnuts on challah.
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E
The Swan
This art-deco diner features a small and deceptively simple menu, with items like smoked oyster with pancetta and egg scrambles, club sandwiches, and mussels that sit iced in a vintage Coca-Cola cooler. The coffee is divine, and it’s a great place to sit at the counter and read the paper on a rainy Sunday.
reviewed
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Cornerstone
Thick stone walls plus scuffed wood floors equal serious comfy-ness at this well-loved vegetarian cafe. Go for coffee in the morning and return for a pint and some live music in the evening. If you’re looking for a sandwich, consider the Taste of Downtown: avocado, brie, red peppers and garlic aioli ($8).
reviewed
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Epicurean
By day this fare-thee-well cafeteria dishes up fresh, tasty sandwiches, salads, pies and quiches. The ambience ramps up at night with a bistro menu offering the likes of crispy-skin chicken with steamed rice, scallions and shiitake mushrooms in Thai coconut curry. The street-side patio is always full.
reviewed
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F
Sassafraz
With a red-carpet parade of celebs filing through (Jude Law, Matthew McConaughey, Joan Collins etc), Sassafraz feels more like LA than TO. Jazz combos serenade weekend brunchers; sassy receptionists distribute clientele between the sun-drenched patio and indoor courtyard. The food? Predictably good.
reviewed
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G
The Rectory
Propped up next to the boardwalk, this cozy gallery-cafe serves light meals, cups of tea and weekend brunch with views of Tommy Thompson Park. Reservations recommended for brunch and dinner; quick snacks and drinks are more casual. Try to nab a seat on the lakeside patio if the sun is shining.
reviewed
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H
Sleepless Goat
With a name that sounds like an Alanis Morissette lyric, it’s no surprise that this low-key joint attracts gaggles of artists and angsty intellectual types. A self-proclaimed co-op, the restaurant is run by a clan of savvy cooks who churn out the tastiest veggie options in town.
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I
Cafe la Gaffe
Stripy cotton tablecloths and fresh-cut flowers adorn the tables in this little cafe. A small patio sits under leafy trees, where you can dine on market salads, a filet mignon sandwich or the hand-tossed pizzas. A small-print wine list offers an extensive selection.
reviewed
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Tango Café & Grill
Aromatic coffee has bean-fiends tangoing through the doors here, many of whom decide to stay for a tasty sandwich, omelet, burger or salad. Fair trade coffee blends include the light-roasted ‘Sleepy Monk’ and tongue-in-cheek ‘Moonbucks.’
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Elk and Finch
This ‘coffee pub’ serves more than caffeinated and alcoholic beverages: sandwiches, salads and thin-crust pizzas will fill you up. Sip your trendy brew in the wobbly house or park yourself at a table on the grassy lawn.
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J
Beacher Café
This long-standing cafe looks like a seaside cottage and boasts a narrow but eternally sought-after sidewalk patio. The egg and pancake brunches are particularly good. Local artwork changes monthly.
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Garden Shed
The Garden Shed takes rustic charm to a new level by placing you right inside a working greenhouse. Nibble amongst flats of greens, or sip your coffee in the light and airy shed.
reviewed
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Mad Hatter Café
Bustling and cheerful, this place has excellent coffee and baked goods, all of which will have you grinning like the Cheshire cat.
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