Best of Queen West, Toronto: Mini Food Tour
The mini food tour I've always wanted to do finally happened last week. Hah! I'm well aware that these are not the healthiest of food choices so before you judge, let me just say, live a little, indulge and have a donut for breakfast because why not?
My food tour began in Parkdale at Glory Hole Doughnuts, at 1596 Queen St. West. We arrived with an empty stomach knowing fully well we wanted to chow down on some fluffy baked goods. GHD carries a small assortment of vegan doughnuts (yay) and their flavours change regularly, so you never know what you're going to get. My fave so far is the vegan lemon pistachio. NOM.
We walked to Kitten & The Bear next, at 1575 Queen Street West, located less than a block away from GHD. I'll never forget the first time I went here because I thought "This is what magic smells like!" Cheesy, I know but I'm sure anyone who's been here will agree with me. If you want the best scones in the city, this is where you get them. One of the owners told me they only use 5 ingredients to make their scones which is pretty awesome. Goes to show simple is best. They're also known for their amazing in-house jam which changes up all of the time. If you're looking to have Tea For Two here, make sure you arrive early because it's a tiny bakery with only 2 tables. Otherwise, just order from their take out menu and have a scone party at home!
A quick car ride down to the Queen West neighbourhood took us to Sud Forno (716 Queen St W) for just in time for lunch. We grabbed sandwiches made with their in-house breads, mine a grilled veggie sandwich with eggplant, zucchini and caramelized onion and Geoff had some salty meat sandwich that contained eggs. If you're there, make sure you grab one of their bombolone - a sweet fried bun filled with nutella or vanilla cream pastry. Make sure you look down while you're waiting for your food because the floor is totally Instagram worth. Gotta love a good #fwis.
What's a food tour without a bit of shopping? We stopped by Kit and Ace, at 779 Queen St W and fell in love with their outdoor patio. I could live here and just pop back into the store to change my outfit, which is kinda what I did because I ended up buying the grey tank you see me wearing here.
Our food tour ended at one of my favourite places in Toronto, Butter Avenue (477 Queen St W, beside Urban Outfitters). For anyone visiting TO for the first time, or anyone who hasn't been yet, you have to go! They make beautiful and sophisticated French macrons, cakes, tarts and marshmallows and in my opinion, they're the best in the city! Even my birthday cake last year was from BA. That's how good they are!
I hope you guys enjoyed my mini food tour and will love these spots as much as I do. There's so much to discover along Queen West and this is only a tiny fraction. Let me know if you have any suggestions for me to check out.
xo, Nathalie
