The 10 Best Patios in Ossington Village

– With files from Yuki Hayashi

Toronto’s favourite west-end haunt features everything from fine dining to dive bars. Here’s where to enjoy the scene outdoors.

Here’s a local tip: Ossington Avenue runs all the way north to Davenport Road, but if your Toronto friends say, “Let’s meet on Ossington for a drink,” they mean the southern stretch, from Dundas Street West southwards to its terminus at Queen Street West. Another insider’s tip: it’s pronounced “OZ-ington” for some reason. 

This is Ossington Village (aka just plain Ossington) which fills up on weekend nights—and anytime the weather’s decent—with the hungry and thirsty of Toronto’s west end. Its sheer diversity of bars and eateries has earned it a top spot among the city’s hippest hangout streets since the early 2000s. 

Ossington is reachable by streetcar (505 Dundas or 501 Queen), but it might be most fun to head here in a southbound bus (63 Ossington, from Ossington subway station) so you can take in the full vista along the way, hop off at Queen Street West, and then start working your way back up north. 

Now for some outsider tips—that is, some recommendations on which Ossington patios allow you to continue enjoying the outdoors. 

Sweaty Betty’s 

This friendly neighbourhood dive caters to everyone from locals who appreciate a laid-back, queer-positive spot for a beer to Hollywood celebs (Drew Barrymore once ditched an official after-party of her own movie to head there). Nothing fancy, in the best way—the main entertainment at Sweaty Betty’s whoever you’re having a conversation with (or eavesdropping on).
 

Union 

Union’s heated and covered patio is bare bones but the French cuisine is deluxe. Wash down your steak frites and oysters with pickings from a wine list that’s so well curated you can just trust-fall into it.

Bellwoods Brewery

Every brewery would probably say its beers are flavourful, but Bellwoods isn’t just boasting about its “aromatic hoppy stuff, crisp lagers, barrel aged wild blends and fruit-forward zingers.” It’s true! The flavours are huge! The bites aren’t bad either, so grab a seat on the large sidewalk-facing patio and sample some of Toronto’s best beer.

Also see: Toronto Brew Pass
 

Pho Rùa Vàng Golden Turtle 

Vietnamese Torontonians have successfully sold the city on the virtues of pho. The brothy, filling noodle dish is consumed at breakfast in Ho Chi Minh City, but has largely morphed into dinner and post-bar cuisine here in Toronto. Rùa Vàng is a favourite pho joint of locals.

Reposado Bar  

Known to Torontonians for boasting the best Mexican spirits selection in town, lots of jazz performances, and top-notch personnel (order a cocktail, trust us), Reposado also sports an intimate little back patio—it’s a bit of a secret, really. Grab a mezcal and savour by candlelight.

Manita

This “Mediterranean-ish” bistro is a local fave. With its relaxed and welcoming café/bar vibe, Manita’s a go-to for everything from breakfast shakshuka and prosciutto-burrata sandwiches, to  a dinner of steak frites or shrimp a la plancha—all served up on the streetside patio.

Paris Paris

Housed in a converted auto garage, Paris Paris boasts bifolding doors that flood the dining room with natural light and fresh breezes. 

Their alfresco patio is right next to the Ossington pedestrian parade (one of the most fashionable in the city). Toast summer with seasonal cocktails and natural wines, best savoured with small plates from land and sea.

Bar Koukla

Aegean brunch, anyone? Meze, natural wines and cocktails hit the sweet spot at Koukla, a casual dining outpost of the Mamakas Food Group, a Toronto mini chain with four contemporary Greek hotspots across town. 

Skip the wee bistro tables and snag an umbrella-bedecked booth where you can linger day or night.

Also see: 15 of the Best Brunch Spots with Global Flavours

Mamakas Taverna

Next door to its sister, Bar Koukla, you’ll find a refined, rustic-contemporary take on Greek dining at Mamakas. 

Indulge in artfully stacked horiàtiki, savour charred octopus or share a tangle of Ontario grass-fed lamb chops served atop a mound of bulgur and tzatziki. Sundowners (including the zero-alcohol Rodákino Sour) hit just right on the whitewashed patio.

Foxley 

Reconnect over pan-Asian sharing plates at Foxley bistro and bar, where Arctic char ceviche with green apple and ginger, braised beef cheek in red curry, and spicy crispy shrimp on the menu at an intimate “secret” back patio that feels worlds away from Ossington’s bustling main strip.

Also see: 5 Hidden Café Patios for Your Next Caffeine Fix