106 Broadview Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4M 2G1
(416) 362-8439
With Canadian winters being so long, it seems as though the moment the temperature hits 20 degrees (celsius) everyone races to get to the nearest restaurant patio for a few (or several) drinks because, you know, you never know when it will start snowing. In Toronto, there is literally HUNDREDS of patios to choose from, but not all are created equally.
Since opening earlier this year, the Broadview Hotel's Rooftop Bar has become an insanely popular hotspot and it's mainly due to its awesome rooftop patio. I recently went to the east-end patio and it definitely met my expectations. Even though you're not getting a lake-front view like some popular downtown restaurants, the 7th floor patio gives you a pretty sweet perspective of the city.
To tell you the truth, I was a little surprised when I heard that the rooftop patio at the Broadview Hotel is wheelchair accessible. Every time I think of a rooftop patio I envision a very exclusive area that you can only access by climbing a huge flight of stairs, so I was thrilled when my friend and I were able to get a coveted seat outside - on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, no less.
There was something about the atmosphere at the Rooftop Bar made me think, "Screw it. It's too nice here not to splurge a little," so my friend Winnie and I ordered ourselves a bottle of Prosecco (something I never really do) and scouted the menu, which mainly consists of share platters. We ordered guacamole with root chips, caccio e pepe arancini, chilli spiced pork meatballs and steamed pork buns. While all of the dishes were quite good, my favourite dish was the steamed pork buns. The pork was surprisingly juicy and had a perfectly sour/spicy sauce and the buns (which I'm often skeptical of because I've had some poorly made ones over the years) were soft and pillowy like they should be. Despite being located at hotel, which usually means inflated prices, most of the dishes do not exceed $20.
Overall, the service at the Rooftop Bar was good. After sitting outside for about two hours in the heat we asked if we could get a seat inside and they promptly seated us inside without any issues. With a few (hopefully) more months left of summer, this is the perfect patio to enjoy the nice weather and have great food and drinks.
