Downtown Yonge’s
hidden gems

Salad King received Canada’s first Thai Select premium restaurant designation from the Thai government, just like Bangkok Garden up the street. This eatery used to be located across the way, on Gould Street, and continues to be hugely popular with students from nearby Ryerson University. There’s an expanded seating section, but even though it’s a larger, more airy and whimsically-decorated space (check out the bathrooms!) Salad King had to bring along those beloved communal, cafeteria-style tables. Now, there’s less jostling with hungry students for plates of Salad King’s beloved pad thai or coconut curry soup. It’s a neighbourhood staple.

A go-to spot for comic book and collectible lovers of all ages, Silver Snail recently relocated to the centre of the city at Yonge and Dundas after 36 years on Queen Street West. The addition of the Black Canary Café – which has a coconut water-based ‘Captain Americano’ on the menu – is more incentive to spend hours browsing the cozy second-floor hangout. It’s stocked from floor-to-ceiling with signed comic books, graphic novels, tees, games and collectible figures, and often hosts special events like Free Comic Book day.

Managed by a cheerful Chinese-Jamaican family, Play de Record (or Play de, for short) is an essential shop for vinyl enthusiasts and hip-hop DJs. Back in the day, you’d have to pass through a small convenience store just inside the doors to get in, but Play de has remodeled itself to be more inclusive in the years since. Indie rock and pop records are mixed in with the latest rap and instrumental hip-hop releases, and digital music production gear is available for sale alongside record players. Plus, the back half of the shop is now a space for aspiring producers to hone their skills in workshops, tutorials and lectures. Play and learn!

There are lots of gym options in the downtown core, but this centrally located YMCA is beloved amongst its members – and not just for its little-known green roof, complete with running track. It’s the largest Y in downtown Toronto, boasts a ton of adult and kid-friendly classes (including trendy barre workouts) and you can often find a pick-up game of basketball happening at any time. This bustling facility is a true testament to the growth of Downtown Yonge as a diverse residential hub as much as a commercial one.

Before craft beer was a ‘thing,’ ale aficionados could always find something interesting on tap at Bar Volo. Opened in 1985 as an Italian restaurant, Bar Volo is now short on food – though there is a small bites menu available – and more of a haven for beer lovers. That is, there is no Heineken or PBR on the premises. Friendly staff helps guide you through the large menu of local, national and imported beers, and – if you’re totally clueless about the stuff – are happy to make interesting recommendations.

The Senator, which opened in 1929, has the distinction of being one of Toronto’s oldest existing restaurants – it was even recently written up in the New York Times. When the restaurant was set for demolition in 1984, it was rescued by Bob Sniderman – the son of Sam The Record Man himself – who has been the owner ever since. In the last year, the retro-style diner has received subtle updates – a new chef, better espresso, a prix-fixe dinner – but still retains a classy, throwback vibe and its renowned from-scratch menu. Fresh squeezed orange juice and spiked milkshakes are on the menu next to fancy, fruit-flecked salads, catering to the theatre-going crowd and comfort food enthusiasts alike.

Paramount is a chain of Lebanese-owned restaurants popular with Middle Eastern families and others living in the suburbs, and its two-storey downtown Toronto location is on a busy stretch of Yonge right across from the Eaton Centre. Stop in for one of their thick, fresh mango juices, fill up on fresh-baked pita bread, or linger over a massive platter of shawarma, falafel or BBQ skewered meat.

This museum-quality, climate-controlled gallery sits atop Ryerson University’s School of Image Arts and hosts some of the city’s most eclectic and powerful photography exhibitions. Take in an opening or lecture, or browse the Centre’s permanent collection, which includes black and white photos from Black Star, a historic New York City-based photographic agency that supplied many of the photos for LIFE magazine during its prime.

One of Toronto’s most beloved steakhouses and, yet, one if its best kept secrets, Barberians is the place to go when you want a well-prepared meal in a cozy setting. Barberians has maintained a stellar reputation for over 50 years and the vintage decor and schmaltzy service isn’t a gimmick; it’s a small feat of preservation in a city that looks – and eats – differently, day by day. In recognition of the changing ways in which Torontonians spend their money on food, the owner recently opened a lunch shop a few doors down called TLP, serving Canadian favourites like peameal bacon sandwiches and butter tarts.

There used to be a plethora of jazz houses in Toronto, but the numbers have dwindled over the years. It’s a savvy preservation of a venue and part of the city that has a long legacy of live music. Jazz Bistro books acts for single and multiple-night residencies, with an eye for both burgeoning Canadian talent and seasoned performers.

A Toronto institution, Fran’s is a small chain of diner-style restaurants popular with, well, just about everyone since it’s open 24-hours a day. The very first Fran’s opened in 1940 on St. Clair Avenue West as a tiny 10-seat eatery. In 2001, that location closed after 60 years of business, but not before Fran’s had expanded to include three locations just off of Yonge Street including one on College, which was a go-to when Maple Leaf Gardens was open, and another on Victoria Street that’s kept busy by tourists, shoppers, theatre-goers and late-night partiers.

If you love Caribbean food, you probably have an opinion about coleslaw. In Toronto the side dish can be hit and miss but Ritz, a small chain of Caribbean restaurants with three locations on Yonge, has a reputation for some of the best slaw in the city. Theirs is refreshing and slightly crunchy with a bit of sweetness: a perfect accompaniment to popular dishes like jerk chicken and ackee and saltfish. Ritz has been open on Yonge Street, in various locations, since 1999.

Not to be confused for an actual subway station – but designed with tiles and yellow paint, similar to the TTC’s aesthetic – this restaurant is nestled in the bustling hub of Yonge & Richmond. Run by former Top Chef Canada winner Carl Heinrich, and business partner and chef Ryan Donovan, Richmond Station is a haute cuisine alternative to the grab-and-go bites that serve Downtown Yonge’s large population of pedestrians. And, in keeping with its interior calm, the food is familiar, if not decadent, neighbourhood bistro fare: think burgers, salads and house-made charcuterie.