Toronto’s West Queen West is renowned for its eclectic mix of art galleries, vintage shops, and trendy boutiques. The neighborhood's vibrant atmosphere and bohemian spirit have made it a popular destination for art galleries, live music, and all kinds of events.
Most famous for its unique character, the area has also emerged as a hub for culinary enthusiasts, with delicious options ranging from Mediterranean delights to innovative contemporary creations. Whichever restaurant you choose, the neighborhood promises a memorable experience.
To Eat
Edulis (One Star)
Cuisine: Mediterranean
"Sweet" can sometimes be a somewhat pejorative time, but there’s something very earnest and endearing about this charming little house, with its small flower-filled patio in front. The interior is filled with assorted bric-a-brac and comes in a warm yellow palette. The pride and passion of the husband-and-wife chef-owners and their staff is also undeniably evident, and the atmosphere is welcoming and nicely relaxed.
Inspector Notes: The set multicourse menu is largely inspired by the Mediterranean. The kitchen focuses on pairing complementary seasonal flavors, such as Mahone Bay scallops with wild onion, and Newfoundland cod with Manila clams and Butifarra sausage. Freshly carved Spanish ham, cheese and dessert are available as add-ons.
Prime Seafood Palace
Cuisine: Seafood and Steakhouse
To find the front door, you’ll have to follow your nose. The scent of barbecue wafts down an alleyway fitted with stacks of firewood. Inside, find a dazzling space lined with maple slats, a domed ceiling and salmon-pink booths and walls. There is nothing like it around, and no surprise that Chef Matty Matheson is the mastermind here behind the city’s newest and most ambitious steakhouse.
Inspector Notes: The menu is tightly curated balancing fantastic seafood, big meats cooked on the grill and serious vegetable preparations. Sicilian crudo and delicate ricotta dumplings are proper preludes to a bone-in dry-aged strip loin. Supplements like palace potatoes, cacio e pepe-inspired cauliflower and steamed carrots with pink shrimp aim to be more than sideshows.
Henry’s
Cuisine: Contemporary
Of the city’s many, many wine bars, Henry’s is both the newest and one of the most accomplished. Globe lighting, forest green cushions and gold-trim tables lend a certain mid-century modern sleekness to this inviting, airy space, which includes a backyard patio and a retail wine shop just next door.
Inspector Notes: The menu makes no commitments to any one cuisine, beyond working exceptionally well with the wines on hand. You could assemble dinner solely out of appetizers like beef tartare with smoked crème fraiche, shrimp toast and fried zucchini blossoms. But then you’d miss that superb skate wing set in a fiery curry. Some might choose wine for their dessert, but a recent ancho-chili and chocolate mousse made a compelling case for never skipping sweets here.
To Stay
1 Hotel Toronto (One Key)
Steps away from West Queen West, 1 Hotel Toronto features cutting-edge sustainability measures, ultra-stylish interiors, and a handful of popular restaurants and bars, from the farm-to-table 1 Kitchen to the self-explanatory Harriet’s Rooftop bar. The rooms are surprisingly sunny, and their crisp contemporary design is warmed by plenty of organic textures and living houseplants. Like its sister hotels it’s proof that in boutique hospitality, virtue and pleasure don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
Hero image: 1 Hotel Toronto
