The Oldest Restaurants in Toronto You Can Still Visit | TasteToronto

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The Oldest Restaurants in Toronto You Can Still Visit

The Oldest Restaurants in Toronto You Can Still Visit

The Oldest Restaurants in Toronto You Can Still Visit

While Toronto's food scene currently boasts more than 7,500 restaurants across 158 neighbourhoods, at the mast of our city's diverse food haven lies some of its oldest and most beloved restaurants.

Toronto's oldest restaurants that you can still visit date back two hundred years, so if you are looking to dine in an establishment further steeped in tradition than jumping on the glass floor at the CN Tower, look no further than this guide to some of the oldest restaurants that still stand in our great city.

The Senator

The Senator

The Senator Restaurant property was originally a home built in the 1850s. The Senator opened as a restaurant called The Busy Bee Diner in 1929, and became The Senator in 1948. The main level dates back to the 1940s, and upstairs, visitors can still find traces from the nineteenth century.

298 Queen St W

The Black Bull Tavern

The Black Bull Tavern

The Black Bull Tavern also crowns itself as Toronto's oldest bar, dating back to 1833. However, it has only been called The Black Bull since the 1970s, prior to which, it was called Clifton House. Regardless, this historic tavern is a reliable spot for beers and pub grub, imbued with Toronto history.

667 King St W

Wheatsheaf Tavern

Wheatsheaf Tavern

The iconic Wheatsheaf Tavern has resided at King Street and Bathurst Street since 1849, when it was a popular haunt for soldiers at Fort York. The Wheatsheaf crowns itself as Toronto's oldest bar, featuring tavern fare, live music and whisky in its lively present.

506 Lawrence Ave W

United Bakers Dairy Restaurant

United Bakers Dairy Restaurant

A young couple from Kielce originally opened United Bakers Dairy Restaurant as a bakery and five-cent coffeehouse in 1912 at 156 Agnes Street in Toronto. United Bakers moved to Spadina Avenue in 1920, and finally to Lawrence Avenue in the late 1980s, where it still stands and retains its Polish roots and Jewish history and fare.

1132 Dundas St W

The Lakeview

The Lakeview

The Lakeview Restaurant is a historic diner, and it has reigned from its spot on Dundas since 1932. Rich in heritage, The Lakeview has been a respite to soldiers, poets and filmmakers according to its website, and has appeared in such film and TV as Hairspray and The Umbrella Academy.

The Oldest Restaurants in Toronto You Can Still Visit

Guides / Spots

1 year ago

The Oldest Restaurants in Toronto You Can Still Visit

Chrissy Sharma

Chrissy Sharma

Instagram

While Toronto's food scene currently boasts more than 7,500 restaurants across 158 neighbourhoods, at the mast of our city's diverse food haven lies some of its oldest and most beloved restaurants.

Toronto's oldest restaurants that you can still visit date back two hundred years, so if you are looking to dine in an establishment further steeped in tradition than jumping on the glass floor at the CN Tower, look no further than this guide to some of the oldest restaurants that still stand in our great city.

The Senator

The Senator

The Senator Restaurant property was originally a home built in the 1850s. The Senator opened as a restaurant called The Busy Bee Diner in 1929, and became The Senator in 1948. The main level dates back to the 1940s, and upstairs, visitors can still find traces from the nineteenth century.