10 Innovative New Patio Experiences Across Canada

Located in the heart of Toronto’s King West neighborhood, this outdoor dining destination is located at Canada’s first 1 Hotel property—replacing the Thompson Hotel, which closed in 2019. The Garden Pavilion, which opens on Aug. 4 along with the hotel’s official opening, surrounds guests with organic fruits and vegetables that fuel the hotel’s kitchen. The pavilion, which can be booked for private events, seats 32 guests at reclaimed harvest tables or 80 guests for a cocktail reception.

In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Glowbal Restaurant Group unveiled a patio renovation at its downtown location inside Vancouver’s TELUS Garden. Glowbal's makeover, designed by Vancouver’s Monarc Interiors, includes greenery draped down metal screening to create an open-air, semiprivate outdoor dining experience, complete with a hand-carved wooden entrance archway, hanging ambient lights, private birdcage-style booths and a ‘selfie’ station with a floral backdrop created by Ashley Johnson of Faux Floral. The menu, which showcases a wide range of West Coast and international dishes, is being led by Glowbal’s new executive chef, Alex Kim, and the restaurant offers several private event booking packages, including a full venue buyout option.

Quartier des Spectacles and Montréal centre-ville, in collaboration with Tourisme Montréal, have curated 11 oasis-themed patios popping up throughout Montreal's Quartier des spectacles neighborhood. Called Les Aventures Du Cœur De L’île, each unique space is interconnected in a walking trail encircling the islands and will host a variety of spontaneous artistic performances for residents and visitors to enjoy all summer. Patios include Les Grands Jardins, a spring-inspired urban lounge featuring a vegetable garden tended to by community partners; Terrasse gourmande, which offers take-out selections from Montreal’s Time Out Market; and Plage Saint-James, which has set up a beachfront complete with reclining furniture in front of St. James United Church. Alcohol is permitted if consumed with food at some of the locations.

Toronto's Entertainment District picnic table pavilion, RendezViews, returns with 30,000 square feet of outdoor event space, 84 picnic tables and a view of the CN Tower. This year’s edition of the pop-up features “Reflection,” a colorful life-size mural surrounding the outdoor space that was conceived to illustrate community resilience and celebrate the city’s reopening. It was created by local visual artists Bruno Smoky and Shalak Attack, and commissioned by Collective Arts Brewery. A savory handheld eats menu, which The Fifth and Ballroom collaborated on, is part of the table service. RendezViews has also hosted Euro Cup viewing parties on a big screen and is planning a large-scale, socially distanced drag bunch this month. Requests for private events bookings can be submitted directly online.

British Columbia-based cafe chain Artigiano has expanded the patio outside its North Vancouver Shipyards location, which offers a stunning water view of Vancouver’s harborfront as well as an outdoor fireplace. The cafe partnered with Salty’s Lobster Shack, an East Coast street food truck and caterer, to give visitors the opportunity to enjoy seaside snacks including Maine lobster rolls, crab bisque and crab rolls from Atlantic Canada in the West Coast. Throughout July, Artigiano will also serve fruit-infused cocktails by Botanist, a local Scottish gin distillery, in addition to its selection of gourmet coffee, espresso and iced drinks as well as baked goods, breakfast and lunch favorites.

Salt Yard Social, an extension of the annual Stubborn Goat Beer Garden, operates as Halifax’s first waterfront wine bar. Since the Develop Nova Scotia project was put on hold in 2020, Legendary Hospitality Group, which operates five restaurants in the area, designed the venue to allow guests to mingle in the multilevel beer garden, while keeping the menu focused on local and international wines, craft cocktails and staples of Nova Scotia cuisine, including fresh seafood platters, hand-tossed pizzas and shareable pub favorites. Salt Yard Social’s two-level space will also feature a fire pit, a stage for live entertainment, fairy lights and a view of the ocean.

Since its beginning in Edmonton farmers' markets, Brew and Bloom, which curates custom floral arrangements and home and beauty gift packages, launched a new cafe in the city's Queen Mary Park neighborhood. This spring, the venue opened its Secret Garden meeting area, which—in addition to a private garden patio—offers indoor space with high ceilings, 9-foot windows to enhance natural lighting and dimmable bamboo lights. The cafe menu features fresh soups, salads, tartines, mains, pastries, and signature hot and cold cafe beverages. The cafe also includes outdoor seating, and the Secret Garden is accepting bookings for various events, including workshops, classes and seminars.

Toronto Beach Club, an expansive beach house-style Mediterranean restaurant and lounge located steps away from Woodbine Beach Volleyball club, offers a lavish 4,200-square-foot beachside patio that can seat approximately 176, as well as an additional 136 in the indoor dining area. The lakeside, summer-themed decor and menu—which focuses on sharable seafood favorites such as raw oysters, mussels escabeche and crisp calamari—was spearheaded by Hanif Harji, CEO of ICONINK, which launched Toronto’s Patria, Shook and Byblos. Venue operators intend to host live entertainment this summer, while two dining rooms on the premises, which seat 72 and 56 guests respectively, are available for private bookings.

Terrasse newHaūs, a 3,000-square-foot jungle-themed terrace, has popped up on the roof of Tokyo Bar in Montreal's Plateau Mont-Royal; it seats roughly 300 guests. The team behind the neighborhood’s newHaūs nightclub developed the patio to capture the feeling of an all-night dance party while allowing guests to relax in a safe environment under the sun and stars. The third-floor, wooden deck terrace features palms and tropical hanging plants, cushioned wicker furniture and bar stools, a DJ booth, outdoor flat-screen TVs for catching the NHL playoffs, and a full-service bar and kitchen providing beers, cocktails and sangria by the pitcher. Throughout the summer, 15 DJs will perform live from the rooftop weekly from Thursday to Sunday.

Calgary’s National Music Centre (NMC) collaborated with King Eddy to develop a new patio experience to host live entertainment at the restaurant. The fourth-level rooftop space, which historically has only been used during Calgary Stampede festivities and to host private functions, now invites the public to enjoy regular music and special events from spring to fall. The design offers a full-size pergola as well as a retractable awning to block rain and wind, and it draws inspiration from Calgary architectural styles used in the early 1900s when the venue was originally built. In addition to its annual Calgary Stampede fireworks viewing party, the patio will host daily happy hour concerts throughout the festival and showcase a variety of Canadian musicians for the duration of the summer.