1. Doku 15 The Asian tapas restaurant in the supermodel-slim Cosmopolitan hotel comes courtesy of Zark Fatah (the suave entrepreneur behind Blowfish and Century Room). Wait staff here could moonlight as contestants on Canada’s Next Top Model, and slick patrons talk about themselves with the bluster of competitors on The Apprentice. Chef G. Q. Pan’s vittles (crispy arugula maki, sake monkfish) provide fashionable nourishment. 8 Colborne St., 416-368-3658.

2. Café du Marche Marie-Claude and Noel Hamon opened this café in 1975—three years before Summerhill’s Patachou—when finding a good croissant in the city was about as likely as meeting a penguin in the Gobi. The place has changed little since. Every thing—gateaux basques, quiches, brie sandwiches— would pass Julia Child’s authenticity test. TIP: Their French-style ome lette—perfectly moist—is easily the finest yolk in town. 45 Colborne St., 416-368-0371.

3. Solferino Café Alitalia pilots on layovers fl ock to this classic gelateria for a taste of home. Co-owner Ana Maria Ortiz has been in the ice cream biz for 20 years (she ran five gelaterias in Bogotá, Colombia, before moving to Toronto). Meanwhile, her business partner, Lawrence Rotenberg, heads yearly to a gelato conference in Rimini, Italy, to keep up with innovations. They make more than 50 flavours from scratch in the back (even the fruit is pasteurized here). TIP: Try the blood orange or Colombian lulo for a truly exotic sorbeto. 38 Wellington St. E., 416-364-8478.

4. Allan Parss Salon Should you wander with an unruly mane into this gleaming salonspa (which could not be whiter if shampooed in peroxide), expect to be greeted with a mixture of pity and horror. But stylist and co-owner Parss has run salons in Madrid and New York—he can cure all ills. Here, when you get your hair coloured, each chair has its own plasma TV, so you don’t have to sit and stare at yourself tipped in tinfoil. 42 Wellington St. E., 416-622-9070.

5. Nicholas Hoare A visit to this civilized book lover’s bookshop— all wooden shelves, creaking floorboards, rolling ladders and contemplative quiet—will make you want to spend the rest of your days in one of their comfy armchairs with a pile of Puffins. 45 Front St. E., 416-777-2665.

6. Foundation Room With low-slung banquettes in hot shades of paprika and turmeric, ruby-coloured lanterns and the kind of carved wooden doors you’d find in a Moroccan villa, Jamil Kamal’s nightspot is a cross between a hookah bar and a martini lounge. While the music is of the excessively hip variety, the bar attracts civilized merrymakers who can afford the prices (you won’t find weekends teeming with ramen-fed coeds). 19 Church St., 416-364-8368.

7. Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar and Restaurant The wine bar is so festive and unpretentious, you almost feel like you’re in another city (Montreal, perhaps?). A colourful wall of fruit-and-veggie preserves (Kennedy cans tomatoes, cherries and beets on his farm each fall) serves as a sensuous backdrop to a busy open kitchen, where rapt barside patrons can behold the twinkly-eyed celebrity chef in his element. His restaurant next door, slightly more sedate but seductively appointed, offers a more conventional dining experience (i.e., not all dishes are appetizer-sized). 9 Church St., 416-362-1957.