In a list recently released by Time Out magazine, Ossington Avenue was named as one of the “coolest streets” in the world.
This may come as no surprise for any Torontonian who’s ever sought out Vietnamese pho for brunch, Greek food for dinner, or one of the city’s best ice cream spots for dessert—but it’s the first time that the lively neighbourhood has gotten the global recognition it deserved.
Everyone remembers the time Vogue named Queen West as one of the “15 coolest neighbourhoods in the world” back in 2014. Meanwhile, not too far from Queen West, Ossington was experiencing a contemporary transformation of its own.
Though historic spots like Golden Turtle and Pho Tien Thanh have been there since the mid-80s, the Ossington we know and love today is far from how Torontonians remembered it back in the 1980s.
It wasn’t until the early 2000s that the strip started seeing new beginnings, with fresh arrivals like the “OG dive bar,” Sweaty Betty’s, and Tom Thai’s Asian fusion spot, Foxley Bistro. In 2010, the city lifted its 2009 moratorium on new bar and restaurant openings in the area—that was the definitive moment that led into the “Ossington strip’s second act.”
Today, Ossington is packed with some of the city’s favourite spots, including Bellwoods Brewery, Bang Bang Ice Cream, Mamakas Taverna, Blondie’s, Superpoint, Paris Paris, Haifa Room… the list only goes on, but it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that the strip has something for everyone.
On its list of the 33 coolest streets in the world, Time Out called out Ossington for “some of the city’s best restaurants, live music nearly every night of the week, and the kind of nights out that call for leather jackets, not heels.” Bellwoods Brewery, Bang Bang, Sweaty Betty’s, and jeweller Melanie Auld were especially highlighted as must-visits in the area.
Ossington wasn’t the only Canadian street to land a spot on the list, however. Sitting at #1 is Montréal’s Rue Wellington for their “killer cocktail bars, stellar brunch spots, some of the best sandwiches in town and even a sandy urban beach.”
Here’s a full list of the world’s 33 coolest streets, according to Time Out:
1. Rue Wellington, Montreal
2. Gertrude Street, Melbourne
3. Great Western Road, Glasgow
4. Yongkang Street, Taipei
5. Værnedamsvej, Copenhagen
6. Karangahape Road, Auckland
7. Tai Ping Shan Street, Hong Kong
8. Yaowarat Road, Bangkok
9. Oranienstrasse, Berlin
10. Hayes Street, San Francisco
11. Avenida Ámsterdam, Mexico City
12. Kolokotroni, Athens
13. Virgil Avenue, Los Angeles
14. Ossington Avenue, Toronto
15. Via Provenza, Medellín
16. Calle Ocho, Miami
17. Deptford High Street, London
18. Praça das Flores, Lisbon
19. Oxford Street, Accra
20. Wentworth Avenue, Chicago
21. Cutting Room Square, Manchester
22. Capel Street, Dublin
23. Jumeirah Beach Road, Dubai
24. Enmore Road, Sydney
25. Kagurazaka, Tokyo
26. Kloof Street, Cape Town
27. Süleyman Seba Caddesi, Istanbul
28. Calle Echegaray, Madrid
29. MacDougal Street, New York
30. Carrer del Comte Borrell, Barcelona
31. Newbury Street, Boston
32. Colaba Causeway, Mumbai
33. Everton Road, Singapore
Dive into the official list by Time Out for all their global recommendations, and be sure to learn and rediscover Ossington’s flavourful history before your next visit to the neighbourhood.
