Travel Swellness: Where to eat in Toronto if you’re running the Nike Women’s 15k

(UPDATED OCTOBER 2019 – added some restos, removed ones that have closed, or that I have been unimpressed with since this post went up a few years ago)

It’s hard to believe that the Nike Women’s Toronto 15k is this Sunday! If you haven’t yet heard, Nike Women Village will be taking over part of the Harbourfront, complete with a floating barge known as the Crystal Coliseum where Nike will be holding more than 30 NTC classes from Thursday, June 11 until Sunday June 14! You can register for these free classes online; I’ve heard most of them are full already but there will be a handful of spots available if you want to try to nab a walk-in spot! Hope to see you there! I’ll be at the Crystal Coliseum Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and Sunday, I’ll be running the race! I’m in Wave 2 (I guess I was pretty darn optimistic when I registered for the race!).

Now if it’s your first time in this city, you may be wondering where to eat in Toronto. I’ve pulled together a short list of my favourite spots (I tend to plan my travels where I want to eat, do you, too?). I haven’t gone into much detail at all here about each spot so if you have any specific questions, feel free to comment here or tweet me, or ask on Instagram! I’m used to people asking for my restaurant recos (I guess my Instagram makes it seem I eat out a lot…). Most of my list here tends to be in the west side as that’s where I now live, but a few of the places I’ve included to have a few locations around the city, such as Fresh and Terroni. Some are obviously for post-race indulging (I’m not suggesting you eat doughnuts and burgers before the race!).

Queen Margherita Pizza

Italian

• Terroni. A Toronto favourite of, like, everyone. Everything is solid here. Do not ask for substitutions. Just don’t.
• Buca. Upscale. Some ingredients may be more challenging for less adventurous eaters (think pork blood pasta, for example), but they’ll be able to find something on the menu for sure. Buca is my fave restaurant in Toronto if I had to choose just one.
• Pizzeria Libretto.
• Queen Margherita Pizza. My favourite spot for pizza in Toronto.
• Enoteca Sociale.

Tacos

• Grand Electric. You may have to wait awhile for a table. It can be loud in here, but it’s fun atmosphere.
• La Carnita.

Khao San Road

Thai
Pai (possibly long wait for a table, always busy)

Kiin. Thai but not your usual noodles. It’s more fine dining, the food is stunning and delicious (but atmostphere is relaxed).

Bolt Fresh Bar

Vegetarian

• Fresh. Always rammed. Be prepared for a long wait, possibly both for a table and for your food…but when you have a few bites and it’s so flavourful, you’ll decide it’s worth the wait!
• Bolt Fresh Bar. Great salads but it’s their acai bowls I’m seriously addicted to!

Greenhouse Juice

Cold-pressed juice

• Greenhouse Juice. Everyone goes crazy for the Pink Milk.
• The Good Press
• Bolt Fresh Bar (mentioned above for thei acai bowls!)
• Fresh (just launched their bottled cold-pressed juices recently, wide range of delicious juices)

Dim sum

• Rol San. I can’t find a website for Rol San. It’s in Chinatown at 323 Spadina Ave. (just about a block or two north of Dundas). You order off of a menu checklist (not carts). Point to dishes on other tables if you’re not sure based on the descriptions (my favourite item is #5, these tofu rolls with pork inside, delicious!).

Burgers

• Burger’s Priest
• Holy Chuck (a bit greasier than the above two, but so delicious!)

Santouka

Ramen

Hokkaido Santouka Ramen. Always busy! Just east of the Eaton Centre.

Jelly Modern Doughnuts

Sweets (Doughnuts, cupcakes, ice cream, etc.)

• Jelly Modern Doughnuts. I’ve recently been eating doughnuts pretty regularly. These are by far my favourite in Toronto. Classic Jelly, you can’t go wrong!
• Prairie Girl Bakery. Before I fell in love with doughnuts, I had a cupcake habit.
• Bang Bang for giant, incredible ice cream sandwiches
• Sweet Olenka’s. Sometimes they have quirky flavours like butter!
• Milk Bar. Compost cookies, yum! I’ve yet to try the soft serve. And, of course, that famous crack pie!
• Le Gourmand. The best chocolate chip cookies ever.

Sud Forno

Coffee

• Dineen Coffee (gorgeous cafe and pretty tiles for a #ihaveathingwithfloors if you are a bit Instagram-obsessed…). It’s also just south of the Eaton Centre if you’re staying in that area.
• Lost & Found (it’s a men’s clothing store but they’ve got great coffee too!)
• Sud Forno (get a nutella bomboloni while you’re there! Pretty tile floor, too! From the Terroni peeps)
• Nadege (French patisserie with the prettiest desserts, macarons and yummy sandwiches)

Union

Brunch*

• Saving Grace (the wait can be unbearably long; also, they are closed Sundays, I think…best to check first)
• Union (the short rib eggs Benny is amazing)
• La Cubana (Cuban brunch!)
• County General
• The Federal
• The neighbourhood Leslieville (it’s in the east end of the city) also has a lot of good brunch places but I haven’t been in awhile so I don’t feel I can name any confidently.

(*N.B. A friend has said that all my favourite brunch places are “hipster brunch spots.” Just FYI. You’ve been warned. haha)

I have so many other favourites that I realized I forgot to note here (I got so focused on how I usually eat Italian before a marathon…) but Bar Isabel, Bar Raval, Porchetta, Patois, Rhum Corner, Patria. Bar Isabel is actually tied with Buca for my all-time fave restaurant in the 6.

Miraj Hammam Spa at Caudalie

Post-race spa time
And if you’re looking for a spa to treat yourself at after the race, my favourite spa in the city is the Miraj Hammam Spa at Caudalie in the Shangri-La Hotel. My blog post on the Miraj Hammam Spa is here!). The Shangri La Toronto also has a great running program they’ve just launched; I got to try out the package; click for my review of Running is Shangri-La.
If you’re more interested in soothing your post-race body at a spa water circuit, head to Body Blitz.

There’s nothing worse than wasting a meal or spa opportunity by going somewhere mediocre or just plain awful, right? So I hope this list is helpful. If you do try out any of them, please let me know (even if you weren’t all that impressed with it, but I’m confident you’ll love them, except for the potentially long waits at some of the places — what can I say, the good places have lineups!). I’m on Twitter @healthswellness and on Instagram @healthandswellness. And good luck in the race, and I hope you enjoy your visit to the 6. (Oh, and if you’re looking to get some nail art, head to Tips Nail Bar. they’re the artists behind our nail art in the photo below!)

Toronto skyline

Leave a Comment June 9, 2015

Travel Swellness: “Running is Shangri-La”

When my favourite luxury hotel launches a new wellness package, you don’t have to ask me twice if I’m interested. The Shangri-La Toronto launched the “Running is Shangri-La” package this month and I was fortunate enough to enjoy a staycation at the hotel to try it out.

Along for the fun were my friends (and fellow #werunSF half-marathon racers last fall) Sasha Exeter of SoSasha and Justine Iaboni of Jetset Justine.

The four new run routes launched with this package have been designed to allow travelers to see different areas of Toronto and were amended and approved by Ben Kaplan, editor of iRun magazine and author of Feet, Don’t Fail Me Now. They include:

• a 3k route, which takes you by the historic St. Lawrence Market and through the financial district (and you get great views of the CN Tower)
• a 4k route, which takes you north up University Avenue so you get to sightsee Queen’s Park and University of Toronto
• a 5k route, which takes you west to the cool Queen St. W. shops and to Trinity Bellwoods Park
• a 20k run (or less — you simply can turn around earlier for a shorter run) that takes you along the waterfront path by Lake Ontario

Ben told me the routes were designed to include interesting sights for visitors to the city, but to also minimize stops at traffic lights. He also said that he had to encourage the hotel to include one longer route than 5k, something which I personally appreciate being a marathon runner.

I, along with Sasha, Justine and a few Shangri-La team members, and Mike from Black Toe Running (a running shop in Toronto)  joined Ben for the 3k run on the sunny morning.

The run brought us by Roy Thompson Hall and St. James Cathedral in addition to the other sights mentioned. My only concern about this route? Will people using this route make the stop into St. Lawrence Market? Too many delicious goods inside to just simply run by it! That’d be a shame.

Besides running, the Shangri-La in partnership with Lululemon now also offers some fantastic in-room yoga instruction  featuring Lululemon yoga ambassador Amber Joliat.

The suites each include a yoga mat and you access the 25-minute yoga video on your suite’s television, so you can stretch out and improve your breath work in the privacy of your room. I took advantage of it after our quick morning run and it was a nice way to ease into the rest of my day (and I’m normally not into stretching, I’m usually just keen on getting on with my day in a hurry, but Amber’s calming instruction really resonates with me).

And, of course, there is also the top-notch Health Club you can take advantage of, including state of the art equipment and classes such as kettlebell, Spin and yoga (given my short staycation, I didn’t have time to check this out myself this time!).

Anyone who follows a healthy lifestyle, though, knows that fitness is only part of the equation. What you eat is such an important component, and this hasn’t been overlooked here. There are wellness options on the menu at Bosk restaurant and for in-room dining (they’re highlighted in the Healthy Lifestyle section). The focus is on locally sourced produce, free-range chicken and beef and sustainable seafood. (Full disclosure: I couldn’t resist the sea bass so I didn’t order off of the Healthy Lifestyle section)

And last but certainly not least, the  package includes a visit to the Miraj Hammam Spa by Caudalie. I’ve told you before that this is my favourite spa in the city; I swear that I could be having the most stressful day or week but a visit here allows me to just let go of the tension and decompress (even if only for a couple of hours). The package includes the superb Hammam and Gommage treatment, which will have you detoxifying in the steamy hammam followed by a full-body exfoliation (this is the gommage) using a eucalyptus-infused black Moroccan soap. As I was pressed for time during my staycation, I returned a few days later to the spa and opted for a the Grand Caudalie Facial instead (my complexion was in desperate need of some TLC). The facial is customized to your needs, and I left with glowing, smoother skin, not to mention more relaxed than I’ve felt in months.

(Psst, when you go to the spa, you have access to wellness floor before or after your treatment — I made sure to arrive early so I could take advantage of the great jacuzzi and pool).

Wellness staycation complete, I felt a renewed love for the 6 and very reluctantly checked out of the Shangri-La and said so long to its luxurious bathroom and bed (but I didn’t leave without popping into Momofuku Milk Bar to pick up some cookies — not part of the wellness package, but who can resist that Compost cookie, not me!). Thank you to the Lululemon and Black Toe Running (they provided the gear and shoes for our run) and, of course, to the Shangri-La for the stay. The “Running is Shangri-La” package begins at $535 per night and you can get more information on it here.

Leave a Comment May 11, 2015

Beauty Swellness: It’s Beautylicious time again in Bloor-Yorkville

It’s that time of year again — Bloor-Yorkville’s Beautylicious is taking place October 23 until November 2, 2014. Not familiar with it? More than 60 spas, salons, skin, health and wellness businesses in  the Bloor-Yorkville hood take part and during the event, you can book treatments at prix fix prices (at $30, $50, $75 or $125).

I got to test out (again) one of my faves in advance of Beautylicious — the facial at Pure + Simple. I swear it is one of the most relaxing facials I’ve ever had — try to see Shari Hodgins if you go, she can work some magic with your skin (I left with a glowing complexion and even though my stress is at an all-time high, I was able to relax and let go of some of the anxiety I have about the Chicago Marathon I ran on Sunday). Above are the products she used on my skin (my masque was a combination of three masques to help prepare my skin to take on the colder weather here for the fall season), but the skin experts at Pure + Simple will customize according to your skin’s needs, obvi.

I’d get booking if I were you — I’m sure appointments for treatments such as the facial at Pure + Simple and mud facials, enzyme facial treatments, and haircuts and more in the hood’s top beauty spots are filling up fast.

Beautylicious runs Oct. 23 to Nov. 2. You can find more details on the business and services available during the event here.

Leave a Comment October 15, 2014