Weekend Getaway to Toronto

Are you looking for a quick, fun getaway close to Detroit? Do not sleep on Ontario. Toronto is a quick one hour flight on Delta and under four hours driving from Detroit. You can also hop over to our Canadian neighbor, Windsor, where there are other options to get you there.

Toronto is perfect for a romantic weekend, girls or boys trip, or even a solo exploration. The food + wine scene and the cultural opportunities for exploration are unmatched so close to home. With a population of 2.9 million, this puts the City of Toronto under New York and Los Angeles in size, but just over Chicago (my home for 10 years).

j’adore Detroit was asked to join See Toronto Now (Toronto’s tourism board) and Destination Ontario for a food and wine trip and I jumped at the opportunity! I had only been to Toronto once for an overnight trip to explore the famous holiday markets in the Distillery District, so my time was very limited. Upon arrival, the first thing I noticed was how diversity is so vital to the DNA of the thriving city. I learned that over 50% of the population was born outside of Canada and experienced this in a beautiful way later in my trip, which I will share.

I flew into Pearson Airport and very easily took the UP Express into Union Station (30 minutes), which was right across from the Fairmont Royal York. I highly recommend taking the train from the airport as it is extremely easy, comfortable, and cost-effective.

I checked into the Fairmont Royal York, which reminds me of some of my favorite, iconic and history-rich hotels in New York and Chicago.

We were upgraded to Fairmont Gold, which provides a private concierge service, elevated amenities, upgraded interiors, and access to the 18th floor gold lounge. I went up to explore the amenities in the gold lounge and was blown away. I enjoyed various amazing desserts and pastries with my wine. I had my own little wine tasting before picking my poison, but the bar is fully loaded along with the espresso bar and non-alcoholic drink options. They make their own green juice with a local company that I enjoyed daily and was a very nice touch. The views were spectacular and the meticulous and beautiful design choices were absolutely stunning. I have stayed at some of the most outstanding properties across the globe and the Fairmont Royal York ticked all the boxes for me. They recently underwent a major renovation where they preserved all the history of the property so beautifully. For a property with such history, that is so vital and they pulled out all the stops with the renovation.

After enjoying the lounge, I checked into my room, where I had a local gin, (Dillons 14th in line) inspired by the rooftop garden botanicals, and tonic spread with a few of the hotel’s famous macaroons from 1929.

It was such a lovely touch and those little touches were everywhere - from the le labo toiletries and the aromatherapy pods for the steam shower. I just wanted to wrap myself up in the luxurious linens and robe and make my gin and tonic, but I had to get ready for dinner at the chefs table so off I go!

Night One:

Night one consisted of a cocktail demo and tasting followed by a multi-course dinner with a sampling from each of the restaurants at the Fairmont Royal York in executive Chef JW Foster’s office.

We started off with meeting Rus Yessenov, the Director of Mixology, who did a cocktail demo for the group, highlighting one of his special festive cocktails for the season at REIGN - one of the cocktail lounges at the property known for their martinis and spirit forward cocktails. We learned all about what makes the cocktail program so special from Rus and enjoyed walking through some of the history of Reign. REIGN serves up artful cuisine and inspiring moments, at the heart of a city landmark. Dramatic interiors, with hints of a country estate, and curiosities collected from around the empire. REIGN is abuzz for breakfast at daybreak, hosts power lunches at high noon, and delivers splendid suppers in high style in the evening hours.

We passed by Clockwork Champagne & Cocktails to head over to meet Chef JW for dinner. It is the center bar right underneath the famous clock that brings new life to the timeless lobby at the Fairmont Royal York. And it all surrounds a dramatic new clock – to ring in a new era at this hotel.

We walked behind the curtains of the public areas into the winding kitchen that fuels all of the properties restaurants and had no idea how special of an evening we were about to have. This was the first time a group had been invited into Chefs office to enjoy a meal right outside where all the magic happens. Chef’s table dinners are truly special, but this was magic.

Chef JW Foster’s passion and energy for what he does and the people around him is electric. He brought out dish after dish and course after course.

The first course was from Clockwork Champagne & Cocktails which consisted of towers of fresh seafood, oysters, charcuterie and cheese boards, and special honey from the rooftop apiary.

The second course was from Reign, which is french-inspired. The samplings included escargot, beef tartare, foie gras pate & duck rillettes, and niçoise.

The third course was from Benihana - the only in Canada. This course included sushi & sashimi, tempura popcorn shrimp, yellowtail with jalapeño sauce, calamari, miso black cod, and tempura udon.

The fourth course was from the famous Library Bar and featured ale battered cod, shaved beef sliders, and seafood chowder.

The fifth course was the desserts— honeybee truffles and macaroons.

Day Two

I enjoyed a cappucino delivery from the concierge in the morning and a steam shower with my eucalyptus aroma pod (I need this in my home now), followed by an amazing buffet at REIGN downstairs. I wanted to try breakfast at REIGN one day and breakfast on the gold floor the next day to get a feel for the differences. The spread and the service was wonderful. Following breakfast, we headed over to Eataly (first in Canada), which is one of my favorite spots to visit in New York and Chicago. Opening week at Eataly had been insane with lines down the street, so we were excited to get the scoop.

Eataly Toronto

TOUR WITH ZAI KARIM OF BUTTER PR & ALEXIS BROWN & MEGAN VIRKAR OF EATALY TORONTO 

So something to know about Eataly is each property is completely different based on the region, the culture, the local producers, etc. Once inside, you’ll find everything from prosciutto to pizza to house gelato (made with local milk that was better than any gelato i’ve had in Italy) and even in-house brewery Birroteca, created in partnership with Indie Alehouse. More than just boutique grocery stores, they provide all kinds of ethically sourced products and contain their own restaurants as well. I absolutely loved learning about the passion and fire that lives within this amazing company. The diversity of the city lives through Eataly from the art on the walls to the food within its walls.

From here, we took a taxi over to Depanneur for a cooking class and lunch.

Lunch & Workshop at the Depanneur with Newcomer Kitchen

The Depanneur is a unique venue that celebrates the incredible diversity of culinary talent we have in Toronto by hosting hundreds of pop-up food events like Cooking Classes, Drop-In Dinners, Table Talks, Supper Clubs, Private Events, and Savor, a fabulous new Weekend Brunch. It’s also the birthplace of Newcomer Kitchen, a non-profit social enterprise that helps create social and economic opportunities for Syrian refugee women through food-based projects.

Newcomer Kitchen is a non-profit organization that invites Syrian refugee women to cook a weekly meal in our kitchen. The meals are sold online for pickup or delivery, and the proceeds shared among the cooks. The goal is to create a model that can be replicated with any newcomer group, in any restaurant kitchen, in any city in the world.

We arrived, made some coffee, put on our aprons, and got to work with the ladies and listened to their stories on coming to a new country and starting anew under a set of impossible circumstances. By having a central place to get together and cook, it allowed Toronto to feel a little more like home and create both hope and opportunity.

We made our whole meal and it was phenomenal. I was very inspired by these strong women forging their own way in a new country.

NIGHT TWO

Tour of Toronto’s Underground Passageway (PATH) with Drink Toronto

The PATH is a mostly underground pedestrian walkway network in downtown Toronto that spans more than 30 km of restaurants, shopping, services and entertainment. There is a very similar network in Chicago. This was nice especially in the winter time to get around. The walkway facilitates pedestrian linkages to public transit, accommodating more than 200,000 business-day commuters as well as tourists and residents. On this tour you will enjoy, one glass of wine, cocktail, beer or cider at each stop, delicious food pairings to go with your drink, VIP greeting and exclusive access — no lineups, your seat is waiting, and so is your food and drink and a surprise or two: such as a cocktail making demonstration, kitchen tour, wine pairing lesson, chef presentation, etc….just a little extra fun!

This was so much fun. Drink Toronto crew is super fun and we hit three spots in the path and learned some history at the same time. My kind of tour as I love to see sights with a drink in hand.

STOP ONE: Ki Modern & Japanese Bar

This was my favorite stop on the tour overall as I had never quite had an experience with sake this comprehensive. They made it very easy to understand and appreciate sake in a way that you would wine. The bites were also phenomenal - especially the crispy rice (wow!). I would have loved to have a dinner here one of the nights as just a taste wasn’t enough. I also found a sake that I really liked and understood WHY I liked it, which i have never been able to walk away from an experience with. It was pretty darn cool!

STOP TWO: Walrus Pub & Beer Hall

This was my favorite bar that we went to during the trip and could have hung around longer for sure, but we had to get to dinner. We had seen it from the street earlier in the day and didn’t realize it was the same place we’d be going to. There are a few floors to the bar and a barbershop (that attracts some serious hotties!). I loved the vibe and the decor and could see this being a spot that I frequent if I lived in town. The extremely good looking gent that was providing the drink pairing and bites did a demo on one of their famous martinis. It was a super fun demo and really enjoyed the background.

STOP THREE: CRU - this was a super cute wine bar! Great service and location. Being right in the financial district, this is a place I could see myself posting up for happy hour and snacks after a long work day.

Dinner at Maison Selby

Housed within the walls of the historic C.H. Gooderham House, and rooted in the vibrant history of St. James Town, Maison Selby celebrates timeless French cooking with a modern accent. Boasting an impressive list of hand-crafted cocktails, our bar program is second-to-none. Largely inspired by the bistro and café genre, our menus showcase many dishes that creatively integrate traditional European techniques. Tucked away downstairs, guests will discover Sous Sol, an underground speakeasy and cocktail bar featuring a carefully crafted list of original cocktails. If you love Lady of the House in Detroit, you will love Maison Selby in Toronto. The vibes and french-inspired cuisine were phenomenal as was the service.

I couldn’t imagine that we could have eaten more throughout this day, but everything was SO good we just couldn’t stop. If we hadn’t had dinner in chef JW Fosters office the night before, this would have been my favorite dinner experience. I will definitely be back to this sexy and vibey spot.

DAY THREE:

After breakfast on the gold floor at the Fairmont Royal York, we took a bus out to the Niagara Falls wine region and area with Destination Ontario for the day. It is about an hour outside of Toronto so super easy day trip!

Niagara Falls Boat Tour with HORNBLOWER Niagara Cruises

We started with a tour and history of the falls with Hornblower Niagara Cruises and had a blast - although cold. This is a must do while in Niagara of course. The power and the beauty of the falls is like no other.

Helicopter Tours of Niagara Falls with Niagara Helicopters

We then took Niagara by air with a helicopter tour of the falls from above with Niagara Helicopters. This was pure magic. Just having seen the falls from below and felt the rush of the water beneath the boat, being above and seeing just how massive and powerful it is, I can’t describe it. The tour was about 15 minutes from take off to landing and was effortless. The views were dreamy, and I highly recommend if you have an opportunity to do so.

Lunch and Tour at Trius 

After a morning at the falls, we met up with Wine Country Ontario for a lunch at Trius winery. I had no idea that Ontario had so many amazing wine regions and wineries until I went on this adventure. I had just come off a trip to Napa + Sonoma earlier in the year and the week prior in Chianti (which oddly enough is on the same Latitude). I have to say that I was extremely impressed with the wines and the wineries themselves. AND I tried ice wine for the first time!

Trius is the perfect spot for a girls weekend visit with all the instagrammable and fun spots and touches around the winery.

Iconic. Inspired. Innovative. Trius burst onto the international wine scene when the 1991 Trius Red became the first Canadian wine vintage to be recognized as the Best Red Wine in the World and has continued to raise the bar for Canadian winemaking excellence and winery experiences ever since.

Wine Country Ontario is home to 175 VQA wineries and welcomes over 3 million visitors each year. The VQA wines of Ontario, crafted from 100% Ontario-grown grapes, are internationally acclaimed cool climate wines. Our lakes, latitude and limestone are why our VQA wines are on the cutting edge of cool. From Sparkling to Rosé to Icewine, there is a style for everyone in Ontario’s wine country.

Tour & Tasting at Stratus

Located in the historic town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Stratus Vineyards is a gravity flow winery, distinguished by its LEED-certified facility, its commitment to sustainability and wines of outstanding quality. The winery, like their signature assemblage wines, is a composition – a whole greater than the sum of its parts. On their own, the individual elements are distinctly unique – a diversely planted vineyard with unusually rich soil; a sustainable facility that unites tradition and science to serve the winemaker’s art; and a retail gallery with adjoining tasting rooms that are both chic and welcoming. Working together, they create wines and experiences that are truly memorable.

I absolutely loved Stratus, which was completely different than Trius. We were there at sunset so I had a little impromptu photo shoot among the vines and snow - such a peaceful place. The design was unmatched in the area and felt like I was at some of my favorite stomping grounds in Sonoma/Napa. Everything had a place and was there for a specific reason. Sustainability is at the core of this wonder and it is apparent when wandering the property. Simplicity has never looked more beautiful. Our tasting was on paar wiih some of the best wineries I have been to globally as well from the food/wine component to the explanation to the presentation. I never would have considered having such a pure and luxurious wine experience in Ontario. I am really looking forward to experiencing a longer weekend in this wine region and going back to both Stratus and Trius.

DAY FOUR:

I enjoyed my last breakfast on the gold floor at The Fairmont Royal York. I of course enjoyed my green juice and cappuccino to start. From there, the samplings change daily as to what they have out, but typically there is an egg of some sort (the benedicts were my favorite of the options), a meat option or two, a few veggie options (avocado toast), either pancakes or waffles, a pastry and dessert bar with all different types of toasts and carbs that were delish. The set up was always pristine, clean, and warm as it is constantly refreshed. I much preferred this exclusive dining option over the main floor restaurants, but that is what the elevated amenities will do for you. Once you go gold, you can never go back.

The check out process was seamless as well being gold status right there at the front desk of the 18th floor. A huge shout out to the whole team at the Royal York for making our experience one I won’t forget and will recommend to anyone and everyone moving forward.

Queen West Pastry Crawl

If there’s one thing I love, it is a pastry and Toronto has it on lock! I highly recommend this pastry crawl if you are in town and Queen West is great for exploring as well!

Overall, I had such an amazing time exploring Toronto, and I want to thank our hosts for the incredible itinerary! If you’re thinking about making the trip, here are a few fun summer festivals:

• Wine & Spirits Festival @ Sugar Beach

• Luminato Arts Festival

• NXNE Music Festival

•  Rose Picnic

• Beaches International Jazz Festival

• Toronto Fringe Festival

• Heather McMahan on Tour

Happy travels!

xoxo,

Candice // j’adore Detroit

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