32 h. ago New pub replaces Toronto bar that closed after 16 years in business

A Toronto bar with a cult following closed down last winter after 16 years, and it's finally been replaced.It's been eight months since cult-favourite Dundas West sports bar (and former home of Slammie Sammies), Opera Bob's, closed its doors after 16 years, much to the disappointment and dismay of its devoted regulars.The pub was a local staple for a casual drink, lively night out, and especially for Manchester City football match screenings, as the Manchester City Football Club Toronto has called the bar home for nearly as long as it's been around.Last year, during the Premier League championships, it even got a considerable shout-out from the New York Times.Alas, as Nelly Furtado once said, all good things come to an end, and, in the winter of 2024, the pub closed its doors for good, setting its devoted fanbase adrift, searching for somewhere new to take root.Now, at long last, the space has officially gotten a new lease on life, and Opera ...

Economics

36 h. ago Here's what replaced Toronto fine dining restaurant that closed in under a year

A fine dining restaurant in Toronto has closed its doors after less than a year, and it's already been replaced.Sigh. We know that not everything's built to last, but we had a good feeling about short-lived farm-to-table restaurant The Lost Land.A collaboration between Larry Feldmeier, chef de cuisine at Chicago's Oriole, a two-Michelin-star force, Pidapipo Gelato owner Edison Xue, and chef Cesar Karanapakorn of Judaline and Florette, the restaurant came with some serious promise.Still, it opened quietly to mixed reviews before, just months later, shuttering just as quietly as it arrived.It's not all bad news, though, because, just as swiftly as The Lost Land came and went, it's already been replaced, and its usurper looks just as promising.Now, the space at 146 Yonge St. is home to Bar Filo, a stylish Italian cocktail bar and restaurant, which opened its doors at the beginning of September.The name Filo, the Bar Filo team told ...

Other

64 h. ago Here's why a Toronto bar was forced to close after just over one year

A Toronto bar is closing permanently, a little over a year after opening, due to economic pressures and upcoming construction disruptions.Duke's Refresher, the arcade bar-lite chain by Service Inspired Restaurants (SIR), the hospitality team behind such hits as Scaddabush and Jack Astor's, has existed in Toronto, in various capacities, for over a decade.It once existed at the intersection of Yonge and Gerrard before moving to its popular St. Lawrence Market haunt and, in the spring of 2024, expanded eastward, taking over the Riverside location that, before Duke's, housed the Brickworks Ciderhouse.Before that, it was home to the original location of The Real Jerk. Some might call the space auspicious. Others could call it unlucky.For the case of Duke's, which opened for business in May of 2024, the location is, seemingly, the latter, as Service Inspired Restaurants confirms in a statement that Duke's Refresher Riverside is slated to shutter this month.&q...

Other

3 d. ago James McAvoy gets sucker punched at local Toronto bar during TIFF

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is all about glitzy red carpets, celebrity appearances and, of course, the latest and greatest in cinema.And while the most recent headline-worthy happening out of the annual 11-day fete does involve a famous person, it is not exactly in line with the glamour that the esteemed event usually brings to mind.James McAvoy, who is here for the world premiere of his new flick, California Schemin', decided, like many other big names who are in the city this week, to head out and enjoy some of the local nightlife.Unfortunately, what was intended to be a low-key Monday evening at divey King Street pool hall Charlotte's Room didn't go as planned — in fact, it went quite awry, although the actor-turned-director apparently handled it with grace.As People first reported, a thoroughly intoxicated patron who was not a part of McAvoy's group randomly attacked the Split st...

Other

3 d. ago Actor James McAvoy reportedly assaulted in Toronto bar by a random person

The incident reported by multiple outlets took place two days after McAvoy's directorial debut premiered at TIFF

Events

3 d. ago More than half of Canadians no longer feel safe in their neighbourhoods, poll finds

Also, 87 per cent of respondents felt they had a right to use reasonable force against a home intruder

Other

4 d. ago Toronto cafe to open second location combined with new snack bar

A cafe in one of Toronto’s trendiest neighbourhoods is soon opening a second location, but it has something brand-new tacked on, too.Fall calls for a steamy latte (both of the pumpkin spice variety and not) inside of a cute cafe, the same way that summertime calls for margaritas on a patio, and, we hate to break it to you, but leaves are already changing colours.Fall’s approach isn’t an entirely bad thing, though, because it means that it’s time to dust off that list and add some new spots to check out this season.Lucky for us, William and Carlos Oliveira, the son-and-father duo behind Little Italy’s Café Belém and Mercado in the Castlefield Design District, have something extra special up their sleeves.Despite only opening their Portuguese cafe (Belém) around a year ago, it’s already an inarguable hit in the neighbourhood. Now, they’re gearing up to open a second location of the cafe in Cor...

Other

5 d. ago Here are the Toronto hot spots celebrities have been spotted at during TIFF 2025

TIFF 2025 hit the streets of Toronto with a bang this weekend, and here are the restaurants that the stars have been flocking to.Parties, press junkets and fly-by spottings have been the name of the game for Toronto since the Toronto International Film Festival's 50th anniversary season officially kicked off on Thursday, Sept. 4.While most folks are more focused on what the stars are doing on the silver screen, we want to know where they're eating, and we're sure we're not the only ones.That's why we've compiled a list of the Toronto bars and restaurants that have proven most popular among this year's crop of A-listers so far this season, so that you, too, can eat and drink like you just walked the red carpet.VinnyThe TIFF Lightbox might be the official heart of the film festival, but if we could name a second runner-up, it would be Vinny, the recently opened vinyl bar at 480 King St. W.One of the latest in Toronto hospitality super group INK En...

Other

8 d. ago Wildly popular Toronto BBQ restaurant opens new sandwich and salad concept

One of the city's most celebrated barbecue restaurants has branched out with a new concept, but don't worry: there’s still plenty of brisket.Toronto restaurateur extraordinaire Yannick Bigourdan, the man behind The Carbon Bar, Lucie and Amano, among many more, has once again put his Midas touch on the city's culinary scene. But his latest project is unlike anything he's done before.Meet The Carbon Snack Bar. Think of it like The Carbon Bar's yuppie, spin class-attending little sister. We mean that in the most complimentary way possible.Having officially opened its doors on Aug. 21, The Carbon Snack Bar takes over the historic building at the northwest corner of King West and Spadina, formerly home to Quantum Coffee.Here, Bigourdan and his team serve up a diverse selection of sandwiches, salads, pastries, beverages and coffee, designed to appeal to the hustling-bustling King West crowd, a divergence from the sumptuous sit-down experi...

Other

9 d. ago Staple bar on Toronto's Ossington strip has closed and here's what's taking its place

One of Toronto's favourite dive bars is getting a new lease on life this month as it transforms into a swanky new concept.While Ossington is known as one of the city's ultimate nightlife hubs (it's been said that the strip is the new King West, but the jury's still out on that one), with a trendy Saturday night spot found every 20 feet along the strip between Dundas West and Queen West, Baby Huey was there before it was cool.Originally occupying the space that's now tea-themed snack bar Té for years before it moved a few doors down to 110 Ossington in 2016, Baby Huey was just the sort of bar and music venue that initially drew the who's-who to the neighbourhood.After a months-long closure that left the bar's devoted fanbase in the dark about its future, word has finally dropped that Baby Huey is officially gone for good, the latest local stalwart to leave the neighbourhood.It's not all bad news, though, b...

Other

1 week ago ‘Hero’ dad died defending family from home invaders in Vaughan

The 46-year-old family man's brother says Canadians should feel safe when they’re inside their homes

Events

1 week ago Family of man deliberately run over outside Toronto bar says they don’t feel safe

Ryan Andrews, guilty in the second-degree murder Gabriel Del Castillo Mullally, was in a Toronto courtroom Tuesday for his sentencing hearing.

Other

1 week ago Thousands march in Calgary Pride Parade under shadow of Alberta’s new LGBTQ+ policies

'There's been a lot of feelings of despair in the last couple of years ... but every time I'm down here at the parade, it makes me feel so safe and so welcome'

Events

2 w. ago Hundreds of drunk people in banana costumes to take over Toronto streets

Things are about to get entertaining — or should I say bananas? — in Toronto as the Banana Bar Crawl makes its way back to the city this September. After so much success last year — a total of 1,500 people dressed up as bananas took over the downtown bar scene in 2024 — the Banana Bar Crawl is making its return, and if last year's chaos was anything to go by, things are about to get...interesting.This year, the crawlers will make stops at Dublin Calling, Rock 'n' Horse, Grace O'Malley's, Queen St. Warehouse, Fiction, and more. Does that list sound a-peeling?Tickets for this one-of-a-kind crawl start at $20 and are open for sale starting September 3. Your ticket comes with all the perks you need to have the perfect night out. By that, I mean you get entry into every venue without the cover, a banana suit (yes! The suit is provided. Bananas, right?), cool prizes up for grabs, and drink d...

Economics

3 w. ago Too little, too late for this city council: time to transform the public engagement process

Calgarians are fed up. Everywhere I go, people tell me they don’t feel safe — especially downtown and on public transit, where even our bus drivers have been assaulted. Taxes keep climbing while services decline. Unwanted developments are pushed into communities despite opposition, thanks to blanket rezoning. Small businesses are shuttering, with some resorting to […]

Other

4 w. ago Group of top Toronto mixologists are opening a unique new cocktail bar

A group of former mixologists from high-profile Toronto bars are teaming up to start their own venture, but they're not doing it alone.Cocktail bars have long been staples on the Toronto culinary landscape, and it's not hard to understand why.They're sleek, they're chic, they're dimly lit. Whether sought out as a date location or a post-date rendezvous point to debrief with your friends, there's a conspiratorial air about the cocktail bar that's downright irresistible.The only hang-up comes when the cocktail bar in question is too sleek and chic (read: uptight) to actually allow you to have fun.Lonely Diner, the latest venture from a team of notable mixologists, bar managers and restaurateurs, though, blows the lid off the hoity-toity cocktail bar stereotype, opting instead for something that'll feel comfortable and familiar, while still undeniably stylish.In Lonely Diner, you can expect a vibe akin to a cozy, wood-panelled 1970s basement, b...

Other

4 w. ago Opinion: Why Calgary’s streets feel less safe even as crime falls on paper

Walk around almost any part of Calgary’s downtown and you’ll hear our city’s unmistakable soundtrack: the rattle of foil, the hiss of a torch and drug dealers with their aggressive dogs selling poison to people both literally and figuratively bent in half by addiction. Nevertheless, the 2024 Crime Severity Index (CSI) shows Calgary’s score dropped […]

Events