Once considered the desolate northern border of the city, this ’hood now boasts tonnes of bars, fresh fruit markets, and top-notch restos. The prices aren’t always cheap given the bourgeois target market (Forest Hill and Rosedale mansion owners), but there are plenty of affordable gems between Bloor and Eglinton along the longest street in the world.
OLD STANDBYS The service won’t blow your mind, nor will the shrieking home-for-the-summer Queen’s undergrads, but the third-storey patio at Scallywags (11 St. Clair W., 416-922-3737) ain’t half bad. Wait patiently through Jack Johnson tunes and the music may momentarily redeem itself with a solid Radiohead track.
If you’re not a jock, sports bars can be lame, but big patios are hard to come by. At the corner of Yonge and Heath, Fox and Fiddle (1535 Yonge, 416-967-3400) achieves a happy medium. On the multi-level patios, you can ignore the Sportsnet if you choose, while slurping down a Caesar (or four) on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Better yet, come en masse on a weeknight and share a bucket of beer on the Fiddle’s oversized beach-themed rooftop patio.
Not into surprises? Rest assured, you’ll always know what you’re getting at any of the Firkin pubs: a big bar, lots of beer and, more often than not, a decent patio. Quail and Firkin (1055 Yonge, 416-962-0782) has one that’s full of picnic benches and men in suits, but it also happens to be a perfect spot for puppy-watching.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK The folks at recently reno’d Fionn MacCool’s (21 St. Clair W., 416-925-7827) have knocked out their street-side bricks and replaced them with an enormous garage door–like window. Almost as good as an actual patio, the open façade leaves nothing between you and the homeward-bound business types, except maybe a bit of jealousy. A great spot for post-work drinks, the new makeshift patio is more reminiscent of Paris than it is Dublin — though the requisite Celtic tunes certainly do the pub’s name justice.
BEST PLACE TO CATCH YOUR SPINNING INSTRUCTOR EATING PIZZA When momentarily detached from their crackberries, the uptown crowd can’t get enough of Spacco Billiard Bar & Eatery (2415 Yonge, 416-489-4163) — and, really, who can blame them? Once you find it, the tucked-away, patio-first entrance fosters a quaint neighbourly feel, giving patrons a cheese and wine–induced respite from the regularly scheduled chaos of Yonge and Eglinton.