Here's a look at new Toronto hotels, conference centers, restaurants, private rooms, and other spaces to open for events this summer. The new and renovated Toronto venues are available for conferences, meetings, corporate parties, weddings, fund-raisers, outdoor functions, business dinners, teambuilding activities, and more.
East Room opened in Toronto’s growing East End of Riverside, where the 8,000-square-foot membership-based workspace doubles as an event venue. Owned and operated by Derreck and Sam Martin (third-generation antique dealers), the venue includes multiple boardrooms, large meeting spaces, and more. The 3,500-square-foot East Room Lounge holds 550 for receptions or seats 400; the East Room Second Floor accommodates 150 for receptions or 220 seated; and the East Room Boardroom seats 15. Amenities include commercial surround sound, Wi-Fi, televisions, and a kitchen. For non-members, space rentals are available on weekends or after 6 p.m. on weekdays.
The Line Design Lab & Espresso Bar opened last September. The Toronto-based design store and studio, covering more than 9,000 square feet, is a unique event venue that gives vendors an exclusive space to showcase their art or wares and give attendees an interactive experience. The space has a live pianist every week, and a cocktail capacity of 300 people.
After an extensive renovation, Biff’s Bistro reopened in April. The new space includes a sound system, a brightened bar with high-tops, and leather banquettes in the main dining area, plus two private dining rooms. The intimate, 210-square-foot Grey Room seats 12, while the 612-square-foot Red Room, which seats 36, boasts 18-foot ceilings and spacious seating.
In response to Toronto's explosion of craft beer enthusiasts, Creemore Springs opened its own brew pub, Batch, in March. Located in a former heritage building, the 2,500-square-foot space was designed by Tongtong and offers four different seating areas available for full buyouts, private dining, or semi-private dining. Areas include the main bar, the café, a back dining room that features a stage for live performances, and a 50-seat private dining room on the lower level. The overall space, which holds 400 for receptions, has a typical sports bar feel with several large screen televisions for game watching, as well as a ping-pong table downstairs. In the café, there is a coffee bar as well as a drop-down projection screen available for meetings.
In May, the owners of Bandit Brewery transformed an old 4,000-square-foot garage on a sleepy stretch of Roncesvalles into a beer garden. Using the glass garage doors from the original structure, the brewery opens to a tree-lined patio. There are currently no private dining options, but full buyouts or semi-private dining options are available in the 80-seat space.
Inspired by the Tejano culture in Texas and the border towns of Mexico, Macho Radio Bar is a equal parts cantina and cocktail bar, owned and operated by Ink Entertainment. Designed by Studio Munge, the 3,770-square-foot space, which includes a patio, has custom furnishing with traditional American ranch culture in mind: Colorful multi-layered chevron structures are adorned with bespoke neon lighting, and there is a dazzling garnet pink mosaic countertop. The space can accommodate full buyouts and can incorporate large parties in the 85-seat main dining room.
In January, Nota Bene underwent a massive renovation by design team of Tongtong. The redone split-level space—which includes a private dining room, main dining room, and bar—has a chic, art gallery feel, with tumbleweeds hanging from the ceiling and neon-lit displays hanging from the walls. The restaurant can accommodate full buyouts—with 175 seated or 300 for cocktails—or both semi-private and private dining throughout the space. There is a private dining room that seats 36. The restaurant serves Canadian cuisine with some fusion dishes.Â
Maple Leaf Tavern, originally built in 1910, reopened in May following a renovation that began in 2013. Now owned by Ralph and Todd Morgan of RB Morgan Construction, the 3,000-square-foot restaurant is modern and chic, with two main dining areas that seat 60 and a horseshoe bar on the main floor that also seats 60. The back room provides a semi-private dining option that seats 15, as well as a front-row view of all the action happening in the kitchen. Still waiting to open are the basement lounge with a bar and a new side patio.
Contemporary space Entice Culinary Lounge opened on Queen West in February, serving a menu of globally inspired food. Under the direction of Charles Shao of Cricket Design, the 2,500-square-foot, 70-seat space is a tech nerd’s paradise, with tables featuring charging stations for devices and bar tops embedded with flat-screens to play silent movies. A private dining room seats 10 and offers a custom menu developed by chef Ryan Wilson-Lall, formerly of the Art Gallery of Ontario.
