20 / 07 / 17

5 Great Restaurants at Bloor & Dufferin

Smoked Fish & Doughnut-Bagels at Bloor & Dufferin

Like the community that houses it, the food scene at Bloor & Dufferin is on the come up. With a mix of old favourites and new hangouts, plus some of Toronto’s top vegan restaurants, you need never go hungry at Bloor & Dufferin. These are some of our favourite neighbourhood eateries.

Burdock

Burdock is a microbrewery, music venue and restaurant on Bloor. It features a seasonal menu of locally sourced comfort food, a welcoming atmosphere and plenty of microbrew.

The most popular offering on tap is BUMO, Burdock’s collaboration with Pearl Morissette. Made with wild wine yeasts and bacteria from Niagara, this brew is 40% pinot noire rose grape juice and 60% saison. The result is a pinkish, sparking wine-beer, with lots of fruity notes. It’s an ideal choice for summer.

But Burdock is more than just barrel-aged beer, it’s also home to a music hall, not-so-secret, secret wine list and mouth-watering sourdough baguettes. The Burdock has all the necessary ingredients for the perfect date night.

To learn more about Burdock visit http://burdockto.com/

The Hogtown Vegan

The Hogtown Vegan is the go-to Bloor & Dufferin destination for vegan comfort food. With offerings like ‘unchicken’ parm sandwiches, vegan ceasar club wraps, spicy black bean and sweet potato burritos, this casual dining hotspot dishes out all the favourites, vegan style.

The menu is entirely plant-based and features vegan replicas of a host of American staples like chicken and waffles, mac n’ cheese and classic reubens. Lunch and dinner menus are also full of gluten-free options.

The Hogtown Vegan is also a haven for plant-based junk food (think soy ice cream and deep fried bananas). It’s definitely one of Toronto’s trendiest vegan hotspots and it’s right here at Bloor & Dufferin.

To learn more about The Hogtown Vegan visit http://www.hogtownvegan.com

The Steady

Voted as one of Toronto’s best brunch spots by BlogTO, The Steady is a Miami-inspired restaurant that wears many hats. Throughout the day The Steady functions as a café and restaurant serving vegan brunch. A menu highlight is the vegan doughnut-bagel hybrid, which appeared on the Food Network’s Donut Showdown. At night, The Steady becomes a bar, dancehall and all around party spot.

Come for the vegan doughnut-bagels, stay for the dance parties, stand-up comedy, book launches and live music.

To learn more about The Steady visit http://www.thesteadycafe.com

Karelia Kitchen

Karelia Kitchen is a Nordic smokehouse and café. Situated on Bloor, just west of Dufferin. Karelia Kitchen features a menu of open-faced sandwiches, pastries and modern interpretations of Nordic classics.

Some standout menu items include the dark rye smorrebrod, Swedish-style pittle y panna potato hash with house-smoked bacon and over-easy eggs. But the main attraction is the smokehouse platter, a smorgasbord of house-smoked salmon, organic chicken, trout and cured pork tenderloin, served with pickled pumpkin, beets and grapes. It’s Nordic cuisine created using locally sourced, organic ingredients and there’s a reason Karelia Kitchen continues to be one of Toronto’s favourite lunch and brunch spots.

To learn more about Karelia Kitchen visit http://kareliakitchen.com/

Wenona Craft Beer Lodge

Wenona Craft Beer Lodge is a local bar and restaurant in the heart of Bloor & Dufferin. Celebrating its 2-year anniversary in June, this local watering hole offers some of the best craft beer in the city.

The beer offerings, food and entertainment are all catered to the neighbourhood’s creative class. Most of the musicians who play at Wenona Craft Beer Lodge live in the west end of Toronto, making this a true neighbourhood establishment

DJs spin vinyl on Saturdays and guest breweries hosts tap takeovers on the first Friday of every month. And for the thirsty creatives who still aren’t sold, Wenona is live streaming new episodes of Twin Peaks every Sunday.

To learn more about Wenona Craft Beer Lodge visit: http://www.wenonalodge.ca/