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Trip Reports: @Yehuda's friend
Day Trip @bhys

Toronto:

The Jewish community is broken up in to three main areas
1. "Down South" which is in the area of Bathurst and Lawrence
2. Clanton Park which is a little further north around Bathurst and Sheppard
3. Thornhill which is even further north @ Clark and Bathurst

Downtown, without any traffic is 25 from down south, 30 minutes from clanton park and 35 minutes from Thornhill. Expect those numbers to almost double during rush hour.


Places to eat
There are a ton of fast food type options in the city. There are very few nice restaurants.

Here's COR's List http://www.cor.ca/establishments.html

Down South, Eglinton area, and Clanton Park area:
(See below for Thornhill)


Meat:

Marron Bistro
Meat - Available on UberEats
948 Eglinton Ave W, Toronto, ON M6C 2C5
Mixed reviews on DDF

Prime on Avenue
Steakhouse
Available on DoorDash

Aish Tanoor
The best Middle Eastern Laffa restaurant - Available on UberEats
994 Eglinton Ave. W.,
Toronto, ON M6C 2C5
Tel: (647) 352-5535

Wok & Bowl
Meat - Chinese
Located in the former Auleaf Cafe location
3023 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M6B 3B5
(416) 435-5678

Bubby's NY Diner
3030 Bathurst St
(416) 862-2435

Chicken Nest
3038 Bathurst St

Dr Laffa On The Go
3023 Bathurst St. (there's one almost up north and one down south on the east side of Bathurst, one block south of Lawrence)


Dairy:

Dr Laffa Bakery and Cafe almost up north
2 Champagne Drive Unit B6, Toronto, ON, M3J 3H7

Bistro Grande
1000 Eglinton Ave W, Toronto, ON M6C 2C5
(416) 782-3302
Nice Dairy place- pricey

The Inside Scoop
Ice cream store (Cholov Yisrael Available)
3685 Bathurst St, North York, ON M6A 2E6, Canada

Milk 'n Honey
3457 Bathurst Street
Good french onion soup, cheese blintzes...

Slice N Bites
Pizza, sushi, falafel, salads, etc.
3020 Bathurst St (West side of Bathurst, 1 block south of Lawrence)

Tov Li South
Pizza, falafel, pastas, salads, etc.
3519 Bathurst (between Lawrence and Wilson)

The Haymishe Bakery (now under COR)
Bakery with pizza and a small sitting area. People say the pizza is great (it's My Zaidy's Pizza)
3031 Bathurst St

Pizza Cafe
Pizza, falafel, salad bar
3774 Bathurst St. (north west corner of Bathurst and Wilson in plaza)
Must try the caramelized onion slice. Excellent service!!

Omni 2 - Jewels and Java
Dairy - Available on UberEats
2793 Bathurst St Toronto Moved- now located inside the Lawrence Allen Centre Mall at 700 Lawrence Ave W, North York, ON M6A 3B4

Bubby's Bagels
3035 Bathurst St (Bathurst & Lawrence)
Good breakfast/bagel selection. People say they make Toronto's only 'real' bagels.
A few bar stools on ground floor, lots of seating in basement.

Pantry
3456 Bathurst St (between Lawrence and Wilson)
Dairy - Available on UberEats
Dan's review.
(Takeout only now?)

3SK Cafe
1054 Eglinton Ave W
Small cafe with unique healthy homemade menu options

Surreal Sweets
3513 Bathurst St

Surreal Food Co.
973 Eglinton Ave W

Coming Soon:
Crema Café
3032 Bathurst


Thornhill
Meat:

Kapara
Great Moroccan style restaurant
7700 Bathurst St Unit 12   

Golden Chopsticks
Average chinese food
7000 Bathurst, Thornhill, ON L4J 7L1

Bali Laffa
7117 Bathurst St, Vaughan, ON L4J 2J6
Excellent Israeli grill


Howie T's
Burger joint
1 Promenade Cir, Thornhill, ON L4J 4P8, Canada

Sheli's Burgers & Fried Chicken
7241 Bathurst St.
Thornhill, ON, L4J 3W1
905-597-1984

Dr. Laffa
Shwarma joint. People in Toronto rave about it. Not sure why.
441 Clark Avenue West

Dairy:

D-lites
Dairy Cafe. Breakfast special is an outstanding value- also really good Sushi
441 Clark Ave W Vaughan, ON L4J 5K2

Cafe Sheli
Dairy Cafe- classic Jewish dairy place with a really large menu. 
Everything is good and not pricey
7700 Bathurst St, Vaughan, ON L4J 7Y3

La Briut Cafè
Kavkazi cuisine with a bar. Great vibes for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Notable item is Khachapuri
1118 Centre St Unit 1, Thornhill, ON L4J 7R9

Sips Coffee House
CY Coffee shop with pastries
441 Clark Ave W., Unit 13A, Thornhill, Ontario, L4J 6W8

My Zaidy's Pizza
441 Clark Ave W, Vaughan, ON L4J 5K2

Tov-Li Pizza
5982 Bathurst St, Toronto, ON M2R 1Z1

Top Slice (Thornhill Kosher Pizza) (formerly Yehudale's)
7241 Bathurst St, Thornhill, ON L4J 3W1

Centro Cafe
Pizza, falafel, salads
Located in the lower level of the Promenade Mall- 1 Promenade Cir, Thornhill, ON L4J 4P8

Closed Down:

Aroma Espresso Bar - (this is there only kosher location in Toronto)
3791-3793 Bathurst Street  (west side of of Bathurst one block north of Wilson)


King David Pizza
(three Locations)


Annona Restaurant at the Park Hyatt
Very nice restaurant. Takes over the regular restaurant in the Hyatt lobby on Thursday nights, once or twice a month.
Good food but very expensive ($125/person + tax and tip)
(Closed permanently?)

Windsor Arms Hotel kosher dining
Very Nice Great Reviews on DDF
Sunday-Thursday 5:30-10PM
Also very good food and much more reasonable at $75/person
(Closed permanently?)

Auleaf Cafe
Dairy - Available on UberEats
3023 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M6B 3B5
(416)783-2323


Gladstones Bistro
Steakhouse



Hotels

Park Hyatt Toronto
By no means a luxury hotel, but a good value for CC anniversary nights.
Located in mid-town, around a 20 minute drive (longer during evening rush hour) to the Jewish community @ Bathurst/Lawrence, a few minutes less than that to the restaurants on Eglinton.


Attractions

CN Tower
Toronto's iconic tower, was the tallest freestanding structure in the world from 1975-2007
Nice views, but only if it's a clear day. If it's overcast you'll be surrounded by clouds at the top and you won't be able to see too much.
At the top, there are indoor and outdoor observation decks and a glass floor.
Edgewalk at the CN Tower-
For ~$200 CDN you can walk out (harnessed) on a thin railing-less platform at 116 stories high.
Takes a few hours and is not cheap by any means, but could be cool.

Ripley's Aquarium
Downtown, right next to the CN Tower
288 Bremner Blvd Toronto, ON M5V 3L9
Excellent aquarium. Very expensive

Hockey Hall of Fame
Excellently done. Really cool to be able to touch the cup
Downtown, 30 Yonge St Toronto, ON M5E 1X8

Canada's Wonderland
Theme park (think six flags)
15 minutes north of Thornhill
https://www.canadaswonderland.com/
kosher food options at the park provided by Tov-Li which are available at the Backlot Café

ROM (Royal Ontario Museum
www.rom.on.ca/

Ontario science Centre
https://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/

Centre Island and Centreville
Beautiful island a 5 minute ferry ride from downtown.
Plenty of grass and splash pads and a small amusement park for kids

Toronto zoo
25 minute drive from main areas. Very nice zoo. They have pandas on loan from China for the next few years

Woodbine (Fantasy fair)
500 Rexdale Blvd Etobicoke, ON M9W 6K5
Fun indoor amusement park for kids
Near the airport

Reptilia
What it sounds like
2501 Rutherford Rd Vaughan, ON L4K 2N6

Legoland
Don't waste your money

Bunch Of Fun Playland
Their food is Kosher

Farms & Zoos

DOWNEY’S FARM MARKET
13682 Heart Lake Rd N of Brampton
905-838-2990
Daily: 9am-6pm; Funland: Daily: 10am-5pm;
$7/admission, charged to funland play area and farm animals

EVERDALE ORGANIC FARM AND
ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING CENTRE
5812 6th Line, Erin Township 401 W to Trafalgar Rd, N on Trafalgar to Hwy #7, W on #7 to Trafalgar Rd N again, Trafalgar N to Hillsburgh W on Wellington Rd #22, N onto 6th Line Erin Township to #5812
519-855-4859
Visit Everdale, bring a picnic, walk around and enjoy a day in the country.

FAR ENOUGH FARM
Toronto Island Park, near Centreville on Centre Island
416-392-2628
9am-3pm daily; Free, Ferry: $7/adult, $.3.50/child

FORSYTHE FAMILY FARMS
10539 Kennedy Rd, Unionville 1km N of Major
Mackenzie Dr
905-887-1087
9am-5pm; Summer Fun on The Farm:
$7/2hrs, $8/3hrs (booking required)
Pick-your-own crops, visit The Enchanted Forest and summer fun on the farm.

HIGH PARK ZOO
High Park, Deer Pen Rd, Near Grenadier Café
905-887-1087
Dawn-Dusk;

PUCK’S FARM
16540 11th Concession W on Hwy 9 to King
Con 11; turn left, heading S drive 15 miles
905-939-7036
Weekends & Holidays: 10am-5pm, call for weekday schedule; $10, under 2 free: includes pony & hayrides & activities

RIVERDALE FARM
201 Winchester St (E off Parliament)
416-392-6794
riverdale-farm
Daily: 9am-5pm; Free

SPRINGRIDGE FARM
7256 Bell School Line in Milton
905-878-4908
Daily: 9am-6pm; Fun Farm Yard: $5, weekend pony rides $3 Wagon rides, farm animals. giant sandbox, and straw bale jumping.

TORONTO ZOO
Hwy 401 on Meadowvale Rd N
416-392-5900
9am-7pm; $28/adults, $18/3-12yrs, Free/2yrs-, $10/parking

WHITTAMORE’S BERRY FARM
8100 Steeles Ave E, 6km E of Markham Rd
(Highway 48)
905-294-3275
9am-5pm; $8, $35/Season Pass
Farm yard activities, playhouses, farm animals, wagon rides and pick-your-own-crops.

BROOKS FARMS
122 Ashworth Rd, Mt Albert
905-473-3246
9am-4pm; $8/Barnyard Playland
Barnyard Playland, Farmer’s Market, Pickyour-own.

Activities on the Way from NY:
  • Krispy Kreme in Scranton - on Moosic Street, under KOA with supervision from local Scranton Rav - R' Fine, recommended by Rabbi Eidlitz from KosherQuest.com via email to @Yehuda
  • Corning Museum of Glass ($20) - large museum of varying glass displays and creations, glass blowing demonstrations, has high reviews although @Yehuda didn't think it was that amazing
  • Watkins Glen State Park (free, $8 parking) - hike in a gorge along several waterfalls, more of an upward step climb than a hike which is quite strenuous, @Yehuda recommends going 20 minutes in to see the first few falls then turning back, if you go the whole 1-1.5 hours you can wait for a shuttle school bus to take you back to the parking lot for $5 cash
  • Letchworth State Park - hot air balloons
  • Finger Lakes - can go on a boat cruise or just find a nice place to pull over for a good lunch spot, @Yehuda took Hwy 14, which runs alongside Seneca Lake and found a grassy area with benches.
  • Strong Museum of Play in Rochester ($15) - not exactly on the most direct route, but a fantastic, huge museum of toys and games (many of which you can play) for all ages
  • Howe Caverns ($25) - boat ride in a cave, but close to Albany, so not on a great route to Toronto
  • Destiny USA https://www.destinyusa.com/directory/entertainment in Syracuse NY is great place to stop for various indoor fun activities...The mall has an escape room, indoor ropes course, virtual reality, mirror maze, lazer tag, trampoline park, mini golf, Dave & Busters, WonderWorks museum/entertainment center and more...I found the prices to be quite reasonable.



« Last edited by Yehudaa on January 09, 2024, 12:51:17 PM »

Author Topic: Toronto Master Thread  (Read 723313 times)

Offline aygart

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2300 on: October 04, 2023, 07:38:56 PM »
Ended up at Recreation. Lots of slides and climbing stuff so the kids enjoyed, but too much of a city park for my liking. And too many mosquitoes. These all look like good options to try in the future, thanks!
The first 2 I've been at but not the last 2
Feelings don't care about your facts

Offline Yef

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2301 on: November 28, 2023, 08:21:22 PM »
Are there any hotels in walking distance to jewish community?

Offline Yef

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2302 on: November 28, 2023, 08:34:22 PM »
One day trip in and out. Uber or rent a car?

Offline aygart

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2303 on: November 28, 2023, 08:36:51 PM »
One day trip in and out. Uber or rent a car?

If you are staying around the Jewish Community then parking is not a serious issue. IME rentals are not very expensive there this time of year.
Feelings don't care about your facts

Offline Yef

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2304 on: November 28, 2023, 08:52:40 PM »
Not sure where to stay. 24 hour trip. Need to be in jewish area and then back to airport

Offline aygart

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2305 on: November 28, 2023, 09:10:51 PM »
Not sure where to stay. 24 hour trip. Need to be in jewish area and then back to airport
I would rent if it were me.
Feelings don't care about your facts

Offline Ploni3

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2306 on: November 28, 2023, 09:36:16 PM »
Rental counters and cars of main companies are all within terminal complex so it is convenient to rent.

Offline Yef

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2307 on: November 28, 2023, 10:16:07 PM »
Thank you. Guess I’ll rent.
Where to stay( don’t need points)and of course where to eat?

Offline aygart

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2308 on: November 28, 2023, 10:22:24 PM »
Rental counters and cars of main companies are all within terminal complex so it is convenient to rent.
Yes but when returning be aware that there is a separate return area for each terminal.
Feelings don't care about your facts

Offline Yehudaa

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2309 on: November 28, 2023, 10:57:16 PM »
Thank you. Guess I’ll rent.
Where to stay
There are no hotels in the immediate areas of the frum communities. Probably a 15-20+ min drive to the closest hotels. If you want to go the airbnb route, feel free to shoot me a PM with the address/area to make sure it's not in a sketchy part of town.

and of course where to eat?
Lots of options depending on which frum community you stay near. The wiki is a good start, though double check all info as some is outdated.

Offline Yef

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2310 on: November 28, 2023, 11:26:05 PM »
Got it. Looking to be near lawrence and Bathurst area

Offline aygart

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2311 on: November 28, 2023, 11:59:03 PM »
Got it. Looking to be near lawrence and Bathurst area
Lots of places based on your style preference.
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Offline momoesq

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2312 on: December 05, 2023, 02:14:55 PM »
Are there any hotels in walking distance to jewish community?

There is the Liberty Suites Hotel at Yonge and Steeles which is just outside the Frum community in Thornhill. 15 min walk to the closest Shul (JRCC East Thornhill) and 30 min walk to BAYT. http://www.libertysuites.ca/

Offline Yehuda57

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2313 on: January 08, 2024, 02:17:55 PM »
What are some good lunch/breakfast places (dairy, CY)?

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2314 on: January 08, 2024, 02:19:21 PM »

Offline Chuck2

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2315 on: January 08, 2024, 07:12:27 PM »
What are some good lunch/breakfast places (dairy, CY)?
Thornhill - Cafe Sheli, LA Briut Cafe (if you want something unique)
Down South - Omni, Bubbies Bagels (takeout), Dr Laffa (on Champagne), Milk & Honey (opens at 11)
« Last Edit: January 08, 2024, 07:31:28 PM by Chuck2 »
:-)

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2316 on: January 08, 2024, 07:31:41 PM »
What are some good lunch/breakfast places (dairy, CY)?
Pantry was great, but I think they got rid of their eat-in tables over COVID and I'm not sure if Canada has gotten over COVID yet.

Everything else dairy is pretty mediocre IIRC, though Omni's cheesecakes are good if you're feeling decadent.

Dr Laffa and Marron are the best meat options.
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline Yehudaa

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2317 on: January 08, 2024, 08:38:32 PM »
Some updates, now that this thread has been bumped:

- Omni has closed their old location, and relocated to the Lawrence/Allen Centre. Haven't been to their new location, but there seem to be some pics/video on Facebook here

- Bubby's NY Diner (fleishig) has relocated from 970 Lawrence to 3030 Bathurst, which is one block south of Lawrence (same strip as Slice 'n Bites). Much more central.

- Right next door to that, there's a new cafe coming soon called Crema Cafe. Same owner as Bubby's Bagels and Bubby's Diner. Looks really nice from what I've seen. I've heard it should be open very soon.

- Pretty sure Pantry never reopened their eat-in. I think it's now all takeout/catering, but worth calling to check.

I'm sure there are other updates in Thornhill, but I'm more familiar with down south as that's where I am.

Offline Yehudaa

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2318 on: January 08, 2024, 10:27:17 PM »
Updated lots of down south stuff in the wiki:

Closed down:
- Auleaf
- Aroma
- King David

New places, other than what I mentioned in my last post:
- Wok & Bowl
- Surreal Sweets
- Surreal Food Co.

Also separated Meat and Dary into separate lists.

Lots more hyperlinking/descriptions to add at some point, or someone else can take a stab at it.

Offline Yehudaa

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Re: Toronto Master Thread
« Reply #2319 on: January 08, 2024, 10:33:45 PM »
And just added Chicken Nest. Can't believe it was never in the wiki- they're definitely one of Toronto's longest-surviving Kosher restaurants.