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All stories relating to Patios

Councillors say there’s hope for patios at Campagnolo, Woodlot and more

(Image: Jon Sufrin)

Last week, we pointed out that city staff had recommended that patio permit applications for Campagnolo and Woodlot (among others) be denied at the February 14 meeting of the Toronto and East York Community Council, which prompted a helpful commenter to suggest things might not be as grim as they’d initially seemed. We called up a pair of councillors—Trinity-Spadina’s Mike Layton and Davenport’s Ana Bailão—who confirmed that, yes, staff must follow the letter of the bylaw in their reports. In other words, they must recommend that an application be denied for a patio within 25 metres of a residential zone—but that doesn’t stop councillors from approving patios that don’t meet every nitpicky requirement.

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

October 31, 2011 | 1:50 pm

5 Comments

Taking a cue from developers, Parts and Labour goes to the OMB to plead their patio case

(Image: Jon Sufrin)

Two weeks ago, Jesse Girard and Richard Lambert, the pair behind Parkdale’s Parts and Labour, went before the Ontario Municipal Board for the last stage of their protracted fight for a 180-person rooftop patio. We caught up Girard to find out how the hearing went and catch up on Toronto’s ongoing war on fun.

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The Dish

From the Print Edition

August 4, 2011 | 4:30 pm

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Best of the City 2011: Five top spots for a delicious drink

(Image: Christopher Stevenson)

Rooftop drink Cocktail class Ice Blood orange margarita Wine by the glass

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The Dish

Bottoms Up

May 24, 2011 | 2:58 pm

2 Comments

Ontario to (slightly) loosen liquor laws by summer: Attorney General

Ontario’s liquor laws are probably not becoming quite this liberal any time soon (Image: Mike Rychlik from the Torontolife.com flickr pool)

We’ll have that mimosa right about now, please. A couple months ago, we reported that Attorney General Chris Bentley made a point to announce that the province would consider any requests to extend bar hours for Prince William and Kate Middleton’s nuptials. Now, Bentley says that Ontario is on track to further relax its liquor laws over the next couple of months—hopefully by the time real summer weather hits. Due to overwhelming public support, his proposal to loosen Ontario’s liquor laws regarding festivals, weddings, charity events and possibly even boat cruises and patios looks like it’s going ahead.

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The Informer

War on Fun

May 19, 2011 | 3:25 pm

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The war on fun takes aim at a new target: city patios

Future Bakery’s popular Annex patio (Image: Andrzej Wrotek)

City council was busy junking 2010’s harmonization of city zoning bylaws yesterday—but as the Toronto Star points out, that isn’t necessarily the best idea. Although the project was roundly criticized by the development industry and David Miller’s opponents for a multitude of technical errors—its supporters, on the other hand, greeted it as an unglamorous but important achievement—there was good reason behind it. Take, for example, the existing bylaws pertaining to the city’s outside patios and rooftop decks: basically, they’re kind of ridiculous.

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The Dish

Bottoms Up

March 14, 2011 | 12:41 pm

3 Comments

Parts and Labour patio nixed by Parkdale residents and committee of adjustment

Due to a ruling by a committee of adjustment, patrons will confined to Parts and Labour’s indoor spaces

Looks like revellers will be staying indoors this summer at Parkdale hot spot Parts and Labour. Inside Toronto is reporting that the restaurant and bar was denied a patio application at a committee of adjustment meeting on March 9. Apparently, committee members and neighbours who helped stop the application were concerned that owners Richard Lambert and Jesse Girard hadn’t done their due diligence when considering a patio’s impact on the surrounding neighbourhood.

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

September 1, 2010 | 8:44 am

34 Comments

War on fun: New zoning bylaw prohibits restaurants and bars located south of Bloor from having back patios

Patio season ended early this year (Image: Matt MacGillvray)

Think the one-year ban on bars and restaurants on Ossington was strict? This week, a new zoning bylaw quietly went into effect; it forbids any restaurant or bar located south of Bloor from Victoria Park and west to the Humber from opening a backyard patio.

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The Informer

The New Normal

August 27, 2010 | 2:57 pm

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A week in Toronto council: flagpoles, ice rinks and doubling down on crazy

Racing to meet a deadline—that pesky election that we’ve heard so much about—Toronto’s city council is hard at work trying to tie up loose ends from the past four years, and in one case, trying to tie up a loose end that’s been bothering it for 12 years. What did council get up to this week? Catch up on its hijinks after the jump.

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The Informer

The New Normal

July 6, 2010 | 2:16 pm

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Tobacco timeline: with candy cigarettes now banned, we look back at Canada’s anti-smoking history

June 2000: graphic warnings become mandatory on Canadian cigarette packs (Image: tom stovall)

Fruit-flavoured and candy cigarettes and cigars were pulled from shelves across Canada yesterday as part of the government’s efforts to crack down on tobacco use among young people. Besides eliminating all hope for a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup–flavoured cigarillo, the ban has made it illegal for retailers to sell certain tobacco products flavoured with vanilla, banana, cherry or anything else the government deems too juvenile (menthols are apparently just fine, as they are as unappealing to kids as they are to everyone else). We thought the occasion warranted a trip down memory lane to reminisce about the government’s previous steps to keep us cancer-free. Here, some important dates in Canada’s ever-increasing battle against tobacco.

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

June 7, 2010 | 1:00 pm

27 Comments

Get outside: Toronto’s 10 best patios

The patio season started early this year, which simply means there’s more time to hit the city’s best al fresco dining and drinking destinations. Here, 10 of our favourites »

The Informer

Summit Survivor

May 25, 2010 | 12:58 pm

23 Comments

G20′s Toronto takeover: a roundup of snarls, snags, closures and general headaches

It’s becoming increasingly clear that the perimeter fences that will cordon off vast swaths of downtown for the G20 (June 25 to 27) are just the beginning of Toronto’s security woes. As officials try to wrap their heads around the logistics of the whole thing, it seems that every passing day reveals further details about how Torontonians will be inconvenienced, bothered, harassed or otherwise forced to do things differently due to the summit. Below, our list of closures and disruptions, updated as we learn more.

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The Informer

Summit Survivor

May 14, 2010 | 1:40 pm

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G20 organizers: the only childish games during the summit will be at the convention centre

A child searches for daycare services during last year's G20 summit in London (Image: Steve Punter)

As the G20 summit looms, it’s looking more and more like Toronto FC will be the only thing in the city not brought to a complete standstill by sweeping security measures. Downtown patios will be shut down for two weeks before the summit even begins, bankers are being told to work from home, and the Blue Jays are heading to Philadelphia rather than playing at the Rogers Centre, as originally planned. Now, hundreds of families who use downtown daycare centres are being told they should probably keep their children somewhere else.

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The Dish

Deathwatch

October 23, 2009 | 4:31 pm

18 Comments

Study of Ossington hip strip is bad news for new restaurant owners and patio lovers across Toronto

A dim view of Ossington (Photo by Jessica Darmanin)

Some have a rather dim view of Ossington (Photo by Jessica Darmanin)

When Toronto’s most notorious fuddy-duddy, Joe Pantalone, championed last May’s ban on new licences along lower Ossington, the city agreed to examine the strip in order to better plan its future. The results of the study were released last week, and—surprise, surprise—they suggest slowing growth. Among the recommendations made in the report: an ongoing ban on backyard patios, a size limit for restaurants and a regulation that would require every restaurant to provide parking spaces.

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The Dish

Read All About It

August 26, 2009 | 9:29 am

3 Comments

Robot chefs, 10 best American restaurants, Whole Foods boycott

Meal-o-matic: is this the future of food? (Photo by Bonnie Burton)

• Chinese restaurant chain I Robot is being picketed by chefs who say their robot counterparts—which each do the job of five humans—are putting them out of work. The restaurants in Guangxi province need only one lonely food chopper to stock ingredients; the robots prepare whatever the waiter punches into a computer. Manager Huang Xianghao had discouraging words for the disgruntled chefs: “The robot chefs are more efficient and hygienic. And they don’t complain.” [Austrian Times]

• Bon Appetit has named its favourite 10 new American restaurants and recommended dishes to try at each. Manhattan didn’t make the cut, but Brooklyn’s No. 7 represented the five NYC boroughs with its pumpkin seed–crusted tofu. The clam and calamari seafood stew got Mado of Chicago on the list, alongside Hungry Mother in Cambridge, The Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland and Bar Jules in San Francisco. [Canadian Press]

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Urban Decoder

July 9, 2009 | 11:47 am

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The other day, a smoker lit up right beside my eight-month-old on a patio. Isn’t there a law against that?

In the past few years, smoking near wee ones has become as socially unsavoury as bombing around in a Hummer, and neither Obama’s private puffing nor a slick gaggle of Mad Men can bring it back. But while city hall has banned the harmful habit near wading pools and playgrounds, uncovered patios are still fair game, meaning, child or
no child, if you wind up seated near a du Maurier diehard, the options are few. Option 1: Politely ask the offending smokestack to butt out. Many smokers are parents, too, and even those who aren’t will generally be accommodating, provided you ask nicely (snooty insinuations of non-smoker superiority will probably get that “butt out” request thrown right back in your face). Option 2: Find somewhere else to enjoy eating and drinking al fresco. Since 2006, Ontario patios with a roof or an awning are required to be smoke free. Option 3: Ask for a new table—just be willing to pack up if one isn’t available. For the 18 per cent of Canadians who cop to at least the occasional nic fit, patios are one of the few remaining venues at which to seize vice with both hands.

• Question from Veronica Hume, The Beach

Wondering about the waterfront? Curious about construction? Perplexed by politics? Ask the Urban Decoder a question here.

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