Nearby Westin Harbour Castle

[kayla8]

Hello Toronto Chows!

Family of 6 ( w/ 2 young toddlers) will be in Toronto for a week in mid May. We need recommendations for restaurants that are kids friendly. Good food is the top priority & within 10' walk or 15' drive from the hotel is preferred. We'll be visiting China town, kensington, Lawrence Market, Yorkville., Toronto Place/Island. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, bakeries, & chocolate shops are what we will indulge ourselves in Toronto.

We may revisit Spring Rolls & Le Select Bistro fr. our last visit few years ago.

Many thanks!

[Finnegan]

AVOID CAPTAIN JOHN'S

[elvisahmed]

Well if you make a trip to Distillery District I suggest you go down to Cherry street to T&T super Market. I like the Food Court there for Value. And on a good just walk there for (30 min from Harbour Castle) for a quick Dimsum fix.

[CoffeeAddict416]

Of for the island make sure you pack your own food
There is nothing good to eat on the island and it's all overpriced
Pinicing is definetely the way to go

Also when you'r emaking your way to the island take a water taxi there and take the ferry back. The ferry back is free and the water taxi will let you skip past the crazy lines at the ferry docks.

The water taxi should be able to pick you up along by the park near the hotel or over by the Queen's Quay Terminal. Note there's also another grocery store in the queen's quay terminal (where the il fornello is)

[abigllama]

Harbour Sports Grille across the street has decent food. It's nothing groundbreaking, but will serve in a pinch for a quick meal, kid friendly pub food to boot.

[torontofoodiegirl]

You should definitely visit the Distillery District while in TO. It's a pretty short drive from the Westin (though a fairly long walk, especially with kids). You'd probably be better off snacking there (eg. chocolate at Soma or baked goods from the bakery, the name of which escapes me at present) than having a real meal. It's a great place to wander around on a nice day.

The area in the immediate vicinity of the Harbour Castle doesn't have a lot of great restaurant options but, as one poster mentioned, you might want to check out Il Fornello at the Harbourfront Centre (and I note that Harbourfront might ahve fun stuff going on for kids).

[CoffeeAddict416]

It looks like you've been in the area before so this is probably redundant but...

DO NOT GO TO CAPTAIN JOHN'S AT ANY COST

I'll leave other recs to other users but if you're dying for food near the hotel and you cannot drive out for whatever reason and just wanna grab something quick, the japanese restaurant Oyshi (sp?) sushi does serviceable korean items and korean style udon. I wouldn't have sushi there though. There's a sports bar next to it that does serviceable pub food too. There's many many better options within a 10-15 min drive but those two I can vouch for for a desperate situation.

There's also a large supermarket called Loblaws and a large liquer store called the LCBO to the east of the hotel very close by.

Edit: I see you're probably from the States so i should say that the liquer stores here are controlled by the government so that's the only place you can legally buy liquer in the province of ontario. They also sell beer there and wine. Compared to the states I would call it a mid-range alcohol emporium.

[Teep]

Oyshi - agree about the sushi - fish not fresh - but the hot food is good and cheap. The nabe udon at $9 is good. The "ebi fry" dinner (shrimp, chick, crabsticks, coated with bread crumbs and fried) is enough for 2 kids, if not 3.

If you walk west there are more options in the Harbourfront Centre area, like the Il Fornello Italian place. Search for posts on "Harbourfront" on this board.

Not sure why you would go to Spring Rolls if you're visiting Chinatown!

[kayla8]

Where to eat in Chinatown beside Bright Pearl? I totally forgot where else we ate last time & would like to try new ones. It doesn't have to be strictly on the Harbour front ; we have car rental & can drive as long as not more than 15-20' away. Also, insider tip of where to park the car near the restaurant would be great!

Last time, we stayed at the Sheraton & just walked to most of the restaurants; never trek to the Harbor or ferried out to the island.

On my research record so far is the Croissant Tree & Coach House. I need more to try for the whole week staying there. :>)

[Teep]

Two of the board's favourites are E Pan and New Sky (my vote is for the former), they are on the East side of Spadina, north of Bright Pearl. I believe there is parking just north of where E Pan is, but you can go to the underground "Green P" Parking on Dundas, East of Spadina - it's very reasonable.

[kayla8]

Teep: Thanks for the search tip; more results come out. I'm compiling a list vs. yelp 's review. Now, it is exciting & mouthwatering. :>)

[kayla8]

CoffeeAddict416: Thanks for the grocery tip! We need that for certain time. Last time, we had some decent lunch at a grocery nearby the airport area. It was nice surprise since we just went in for milk for the our little baby. It was quick & pleasant; they had a nice sitting area. It worked out well since we were still jet lag fr.a very long flight the day before & tried to make it to Niagara Falls before 3PM.