Yorkville means money, and is notorious for being the downtown neighbourhood where the rich run wild. Buttressed by the University of Toronto campus and the
Royal Ontario Museum (100 Queens Park, 416-586-5549,
www.rom.on.ca), Yorkville is just as much about art and culture as it is about rarefied shopping.
The Four Seasons (21 Avenue, 416-964-0411,
www.fourseasons.com) and
Park Hyatt (4 Avenue, 416-925-1234,
www.parktoronto.hyatt.com) hotels occupy serious real estate in Yorkville, as does the newer, hipper
Hazelton Hotel (118 Yorkville, 416-963-6300,
www.thehazeltonhotel.com), and their various bars, restaurants and shops are visited by Toronto’s chicest see-and-be-seeners, as well as business travelers and mysteriously moneyed International Males. The pass-wielding attendees of the Toronto International Film Festival congregate mostly in Yorkville, so September sees an especially high concentration of out-of-towners and gossip-worthy celebrities in the neighbourhood.
Known as the Mink Mile, the stretch of Bloor Street that lines Yorkville houses the city’s most exclusive retail, including
Chanel (131 Bloor W., 416-925-2577,
www.chanel.com),
Gucci (130 Bloor W., 416-963-5127,
www.gucci.com),
Prada (131 Bloor W., 416-513-0400,
www.prada.com), and
Tiffany & Co (85 Bloor W., 416-921-3900,
www.tiffany.ca). Toronto’s flagship
Holt Renfrew (50 Bloor W., 416-922-2333,
www.holtrenfrew.com) location is on Bloor as well, and the window displays are always worth a walk-by, even if wandering inside the luxe department store would be an exercise in economic futility.
Yorkville is also useful for the middle of the shopping spectrum: denim emporium
Over the Rainbow (101 Yorkville, 416-967-7448,
www.rainbowjeans.com) is across the road from
Betsey Johnson (102 Yorkville, 416-922-8164), and
Second Time Around (99 Yorkville, 416-916-7669) down the road sells gently-used designer stuff. Sneaker boutique
Goodfoot (1200 Bay, 647-430-5887,
www.goodfoot.ca) has a location on Bay Street, near women’s shoe retailer
Specchio (1240 Bay, 416-961-7989), both of which carry a lot of absurd, experimental footwear.
Eating and drinking in Yorkville is the usual entrée for the great unwashed to experience the neighbourhood.
Whole Foods (87 Avenue, 416-944-0500,
www.wholefoodsmarket.com) is in the basement of the
Hazelton Lanes mall;
Pusateri’s (57 Yorkville, 416-785-9100,
www.pusateris.com), the gourmet food shop and café on the corner of Bay Street and Yorkville Avenue, is just as packed inside and on the patio with 9-5ers as it is with professional girlfriends.
Hemingway’s (142 Cumberland, 416-968-2828,
www.hemingways.to) is a great bar with a great patio, and
Sassafraz (100 Cumberland, 416-964-2222,
www.sassafraz.ca) and
Remy’s (115 Yorkville, 416-968-9429) are known both for their food and for their social import.
Yorkville also houses the
Cumberland 4 (159 Cumberland, 416-964-9359), a beloved movie theatre that focuses on the kind of art-house films that are increasingly hard to find in the city, and two libraries: the
Toronto Reference Library (789 Yonge, 416-393-7131) and the
Yorkville Public Library (22 Yorkville, 416-393-7660), housed in what once was the Yorkville Town Hall. Yorkville is also a prime neighbourhood for art: the streets are dotted with small galleries, making Yorkville a worthwhile destination even for those without expense accounts.
KATE CARRAWAY