For my birthday a couple weeks ago, I asked the family (yes baby too!) for a food and drink tour exploring the Danforth and some of the food and drink spots. Luckily they obliged! I thought this would be a better way to spend the day versus just a dinner because it allowed us to explore one of Toronto’s most delicious neighbourhoods. The Danforth is known for its Greek culture and dining options, but our line up did not include even one Greek spot! Not that we don’t like Greek, quite the contrary, but I wanted to see what else the Danforth has to offer.
Staring with Nova Scotian style donairs seemed like the right thing to do. The hubs is always raving on how amazing the East Coast donairs are and so we had to check it out. It’s a bit of a hole in the wall where the a.c water drips on you as you enter the shop, but hey… donairs are usually had after a night of heavy drinking, so I’m sure no one notices. Right? The donairs were quite delicious. I LOVE the hot sauce.… truly worth spending extra on. Truth be told I needed the spice to cut some of the sweet donair sauce. Verdict – it’s not as good at the Halifax ones apparently but they are pretty darn good! We’ll probably be back! There’s other options besides the Nova Scotian Donairs but obviously that’s all we ate.
Next up was some pints down the street. It wasn’t a busy afternoon so we snagged a spot on the patio with plenty of space to park the stroller. No high chairs were offered but the little one enjoyed interacting with the two puppies by the side of the patio and sharing her Cheerios with them. We didn’t nosh on anything here (and had heard lackluster food reviews) but they had a decent list of beers, though all the low ABV ones I wanted were out! The hubs and fam enjoyed some local craft brews and some Belgian ones too. I’d stick to the beers and wine here!
This was an unplanned stop and boy am I glad we stumbled here! It’s such a cute little spot with friendly service. There were a lot of kids inside but we lucked out with the ONLY table on the patio (I think it’s really just for a quick smoke) and had some drinks. Great cocktails here and they even made FRESH lemonade for me. Talk about service! Food can only be served inside so we didn’t sample any but both kids and adults alike looked like they were having a good mexican inspired meal. Couldn’t help noticing the saloon’s decor which encompassed a lot of repurposed art deco, including a coca cola advert that was found behind the drywall! Definitely will be back.
A craft beer fiend’s hideout, we’d been here before and love that they are kid friendly. The cafe side has cozy sofas with story books for adults and kiddies and the bar portion has game boards. We tested out both sides and the Little Monkey was welcomed with smiles and her dad was welcomed by some good brew finds. A great spot to grab some pints with the kids in tow…during the afternoons. I’m assuming they usually get busy in the evenings but it was the long weekend and Toronto was deserted (last cottage weekend yáll!).
It was time for dinner and after all those drinks we were looking for something delicious! I’ve given a full review (click here) on how amazingly kid friendly these guys are and their pizzas are always getting rave reviews – we agree!
I guess the final spot was my folks’ place on the Danforth where we had cake and some more drinks! How do you like spending your birthday? Stay tuned for Thursday’s post when I’ll talk about exploring Kensington Market on a similar tour the next day, but with friends this time!
Victoria Ess
September 18, 2013 at 10:40 pmWhat a coincidence! I was just chatting with a friend about donairs, as she’s from NS! I had NO idea what they were, but she’d love if I took her! Thank for making my night!
Yashy
September 19, 2013 at 10:25 pmTalk about timing! It’s a very interesting sauce that Donair sauce.
Victoria Ess
September 20, 2013 at 12:15 pmI’ve never had one! Turns out she is a regular at The Fuzz Bar, and she will probably take ME there instead of the other way around! Now THAT’S a coincidence.