Here's a look at the best new Toronto restaurants, corporate event venues, hotels, conference centers, and private and party rooms to open for events this summer. These new and renovated Toronto venues can accommodate groups large or small for private and corporate events, conferences, meetings, weddings, business dinners, teambuilding activities, cocktail parties, and more.
The new-wave pan-Asian restaurant R&D, which opened in March, boasts 3,400 square feet of space in the Chinatown neighborhood. From Alvin Leung (Bo Innovation, Hong Kong) and Eric Chong (a winner of MasterChef Canada), the restaurant was overseen by Commute Design and features an open-concept space that is divided into three separate areas: a bar/lounge, the chef’s rail, and the dining room. Faux crumbling walls and oversize U-shaped LED lights were installed to reflect the concept of dualism throughout the restaurant. It seats 85 or holds 119 for cocktails.
The Backyard Axe Throwing League has come a long way from, well, the backyard. In February, the league opened its fifth location, the 8,000-square-foot BATL Yorkdale in North York. The grounds have five throwing areas to host events, each of which has four targets, and there is space for groups of as many as 200 people. A dedicated axe-throwing coaching staff is on hand during events.
After a successful first year with their Small Town Food Co., Cameron Hutton and Steve McKeon, joined by new partner Simon Ho of the Drake Hotel, opened Fat City Blues in March. The 1,800-square-foot space, inspired by the rich culture of New Orleans, has a piano sitting in the center of the restaurant, a chest of voodoo curiosities, and a Bourbon Street hand-printed mural on the walls. The space seats 60 indoors and 40 on the patio.
Lawn games come inside at Track & Field Bar. The 5,000-square-foot basement space, located in Toronto’s Little Italy, features two lanes each for boccie ball and shuffleboard as well as a crokinole board. Bar snacks are available, but groups can bring in outside catering. It holds 158 guests and opened in April.
Owners Ike Huang (Liberty Noodle) and Trevor Lui (La Brea Food) opened the long-awaited Kanpai Snack Bar in April. Green Tangerine designed the small space with reclaimed materials, and uses clever decor accents such as handles for the on-tap cocktails and beers made from imported knives from Taiwan to illustrate the marriage between Canadian and Taiwanese cultures. The space seats 50 or holds 70 for cocktails.
Opened in November in Parkdale, the Tempered Room is a 1,000-square-foot patisserie and event space from Paris-born owner and chef Bertrand Alépée (of Amuse-Bouche Bistro). Alépée redesigned the two-story space to feature brick walls and his collection of antique furniture. The space seats 45 or holds 75 for receptions.
Formerly known as the Panorama Lounge, the 51st floor of the Manulife Centre in Toronto was renovated and rebranded as the One Eighty in March. The venue features a 3,000-square-foot interior with a showcase bar, a built-in DJ booth, and high ceilings, as well as 1,500 square feet of outdoor space with sweeping downtown views. The entire venue holds 250 for cocktails or seats 80 for dinner. A private dining area seats 30.
Lit Espresso Bar expanded its coffee chain with a new location in Bayview Village that opened in May. A former children’s play center, the 1,200-square-foot space features a marble-topped bar, reclaimed wood walls, and copper ceilings. It seats 30 or holds 45 for cocktails.
A horseracing venue for more than 40 years, Ajax Downs and Slots finished a renovation in April that added a new patio and paddock area. More renovations are to come for the 30,000-square-foot facility. The venue sits on 75 acres, accommodating more than 2,000 people outside on the patio and grandstand areas, and more than 200 people inside the simulcast facility.
