Traveling To Toronto | What To Do, See, and Eat
In May I was lucky to get to visit Toronto for work. I'd never been to Canada before, so in the weeks leading up to my trip I scoured the internet for travel blogs, and yelp for restaurants to go to. I find that it's so hard to find the most updated information on what to see in a city, so that's why I love travel blogs. And thanks to my research, I think I made the most of my first time in the six- especially for the fact that it was just a long weekend trip, where half of which I was working.I stayed at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, which was a bit too business-y for my taste, but I was there for work after all. The best part about the Sheraton was that they had complimentary breakfast in the morning and hors d'oeuvres at night, which really came in handy on the days I worked. If I was traveling for myself, I'd totally stay at a more boutique hotel instead of a chain. But, the Sheraton was centrally located and I was able to access almost everything I wanted in walking distance or a quick uber.
Home now but can't wait to hopefully go back 🇨🇦 #Share3DTOA photo posted by Olivia Frescura (@oliviafrescura) on
When I arrived, I noticed the 3D Toronto sign outside of my window at Nathan Phillips Square. I walked there, got some photos, and then decided to explore. I tried to shop, and my maps took me to the Toronto Dominion Centre, but everything was closed by 6:30 on a Thursday- I guess that's what happens when you're in a business-y area!After that, we were hungry. So, what better first meal in Canada then Poutine? I headed to Poutini's House of Poutine for some traditional poutine. Note: cash only, but they had an ATM inside that I used as I didn't get cash ahead of time. I was unsure how I'd like poutine as I'm not huge on a lot of cheese, and it was my first time trying cheese curds...but, if you like comfort food you'll love poutine. A Canadian spot called Smoke's Poutinerie just opened up in LA as well- so you bet I went there for my fix after coming back stateside.
After eating, I headed to Shopper's Drug Mart to check out the Canadian beauty brands. I wasn't as impressed as I thought I'd be, unfortunately. But, the perk of Canada being so French, was that they had Bioderma. I still had a bottle of the micellar water from when I was in Paris, but, I picked up some makeup remover wipes that are by Bioderma as well, and they were on sale 2 for 1! I also picked up some Kinder Surprise Eggs (why are they banned here? just why.) and some Lay's ketchup and pickle flavored chips, because we don't have them here either! I thought the ketchup chips were disgusting, but the pickle ones are amazing (someone bring me some. please.).
Hong Kong waffle + Lychee/Raspberry & London Fog ice cream 😍🇨🇦🍦A photo posted by Olivia Frescura (@oliviafrescura) on
Then, for dessert (my favorite meal of the day) I walked to Bang Bang Ice Cream & Bakery, which I saw Claire from KitchyKitchen post on instagram during her Toronto trip. There was a huge line outside, so I knew it had to be good. Their specialty is Hong Kong-style bubble waffles as an ice cream "cone". 2 of their waffle makers were down, so I had to wait forever, but it was worth it. The waffle was exceptionally well prepared, which convinced me to look at the waring pro belgian waffle maker reviews and order one for my kitchen. They served the food on these amazing Paper Eskimo paper plates. They had a variety of patterns and colors. Check them out here: papereskimo.com. I got London Fog, which was tea-flavored ice cream...something I had never tried before. I didn't love it, but it was interesting. I also got their Lychee Raspberry ice cream, which I liked more, but it didn't go with the waffle. The waffle was fresh, soft, and warm, and works well to warm up that cold ice cream! It's totally worth the wait.
After that, we headed back to the hotel to wait for my friend Jessika to arrive as she had a much later flight. We met up for a late dinner and nightcap at Fring's, which is Drake's (yes, that Drake's) restaurant. Since I had the poutine, I didn't eat much.
I grabbed a $20 side of truffle fries and a Proper Ting cocktail to get the night started. The fries were amazing, albeit expensive- but they used some shaved truffles, not just truffle oil or truffle salt. It's pitch black in there, so we got some shameless pics using our flashlights.
6️⃣🔛🅰🌊 #candid @champagnepapi | 📸: @jessikamaeA photo posted by Olivia Frescura (@oliviafrescura) on
It has a super cool vibe, and I love the neon sign downstairs by the bathroom. Even the bathrooms are labeled "6 gods" and "6 goddesses" - although no Drake sightings there, they did play great music, including Drake's One Dance, which soon became the anthem of the trip, as it was played everywhere.
If you thought the night would end there, you're sorely mistaken! Thirsty Thursday was in full swing, and Fring's was the perfect place to start as the street it's on was POPPIN. We started at F-Stop Nightclub, which was packed with a young and hip crowd. The music was great- it was the kind of place I'd imagine Justin Bieber to go to. It was a fun place to dance, although it was extremely crowded- I had a ton of fun. And again, a super cool neon sign. Those are my favorite. After F-stop we headed to The Citizen, which was a restaurant & party spot that was packed with people. We continued the dance party for the rest of the night- I haven't had that much fun while going out in a long time.The next day was left for more sightseeing, and a little bit of work. After getting ready, we made our first trip to Sweet Jesus. I saw them on almost every blog or site I had read- so I knew I had to go.
Don't mind if I do 😱 ☕️ ⚡️A photo posted by Olivia Frescura (@oliviafrescura) on
As it was still early, Jessika and I got Burnt Marshmallow Lattes. Besides being such a cute drink, it was delicious as well. As someone with an affinity for s'mores, having them in latte form was basically a dream come true.
Another night we went back for ice cream. I got Krusty The Cone, which is really cute, but somewhat overrated. But, as they don't have anything like it in LA- it's a must-try. It's a bit too sweet for me, and the sprinkles they use are too crunchy, but I'm glad I tried it. Next time I'd stick with a classic swirl, because I do love soft serve. But that doesn't make nearly as cute of an instagram. 😉
Then we perused the St. Lawrence Market, a cute indoor market with vendors, food, and more. I didn't realize until now that there were 3 buildings, we only went into one and checked the vendors out.
We wound up buying a bunch of maple syrup things as souvenirs, because Canada. We decided to get a fancier lunch, so we left and went back to a cute spot we saw by Sweet Jesus.
Such a cute restaurant from lunch today 😍 @figotoronto 🇮🇹A photo posted by Olivia Frescura (@oliviafrescura) on
Figo is an Italian spot with the most gorgeous interior I've ever seen. We saw it next to Sweet Jesus and decided to go back when we couldn't find anything by the market. It wasn't until walking in that I realized it was one of the places I want to go to from my research!
I got the Burrata, which had melon and huckleberry, served with crispy bread. I did have to order a $6 side of toasted bread because it wasn't enough- I'm not the type of girl that can eat burrata by itself, although I love the stuff. Everything was amazing and it wasn't too expensive, you just have to remember you're using a different currency!I had to work for the rest of the afternoon, but, we had a great team dinner afterwards at the Hazelton Hotel's One Restaurant. It was a great dinner- the place was super extravagant so I thought it was worth mentioning if you're looking to go all out. No wonder Drake's mentioned it in his music before, and even Oprah and Bieber have stayed there.
I worked the entire weekend, but I had to try Tim Horton's, so we picked up some donuts for the team. Honestly, the cappuccino I got was terrible, but the donuts were good. Get the maple donuts, again, because Canada. It reminds me of Dunkin Donuts a lot, and I hate Dunkin. But Tim Horton's donuts are better. But what's with these coffee/donut chains having the absolute most disgusting coffee?On the last day, we had an evening flight, which I was super happy about because it meant more time to explore.
For breakfast, we grabbed some pancakes at The Senator Restaurant, a cute dive-y diner. It was delicious!
Once we were full, we shopped til we dropped at both the Eaton Centre Mall and Hudson's Bay Centre. Some noteworthy stores were DAVIDsTEA, H&M (they have a HOME section at the mall, which I've never seen in LA), and Saje Natural Wellness for essential oils. At the Hudson's Bay Centre I only ventured into the department stores & Drake's General Store for cute and quirky gifts.
We did a lot of walking and only a bit of shopping, but it was fun to window shop. Then, we ventured to Kensington Market, which kind of reminds me of the Venice Boardwalk in LA if it wasn't by a beach. It's very edgy- and there are tons of dispensaries and random food places there. There's tons of interesting graffiti there. We got more fries (probably the #1 food I ate in Toronto) at Moo Frites, which was a cool place because they're served in a cone with your choice of sauce. I got gravy, naturally.
It was fun, Toronto 🇨🇦A photo posted by Olivia Frescura (@oliviafrescura) on
The last stop on my Toronto tour was the CN Tower, which became even more prominent in everyone's minds as of late since Drake dropped VIEWS. I skipped going to the top of the tower, as I found it a bit overpriced, but we got plenty of photos of it. We took some cute photos, walked around Lake Ontario- I even bought some Canadian wine for both of my parents, which made an awesome gift.I had such a blast in Toronto, I can't wait to hopefully go back in the future. It's such a great city with plenty to do. If you're planning a trip, definitely check out some of the spots I mentioned, although I've only just scratched the surface!
