The Midtown directory.

A beloved, always-packed family Italian on Yonge near Eglinton — generous pasta, thin-crust pizza and a famous no-reservations line.

Local pick: The pasta and the no-reservations wait

An intimate midtown bistro on Mount Pleasant — seasonal, ingredient-driven cooking and cocktails in a warm, tucked-away room.

Local pick: The seasonal plates in a tucked-away room

A welcoming Thai kitchen on Mount Pleasant — fragrant curries, noodles and herb-forward dishes a short walk from Yonge & Eglinton.

Local pick: Fragrant curries and pad Thai

A 24-hour-feeling Annex institution — Eastern European comfort food, towering cheesecakes and decades of student and intellectual debate over coffee.

Local pick: Cabbage rolls, cheesecake and a coffee that never ends

One of the busiest sushi spots on the Annex's restaurant-packed Bloor strip — generous, well-priced combos and a near-permanent line.

Local pick: The combo boxes and the line-up

A romantic, celebrity-favourite Italian in a candlelit Yorkville cellar — house pasta, truffles and a deep Italian cellar.

Local pick: Truffle pasta in the candlelit cellar

Daniel Boulud's polished French dining room inside the Four Seasons — seasonal French cooking, a glamorous bar and a coveted Yorkville patio.

Local pick: The seasonal French menu and the patio

The see-and-be-seen Yorkville corner restaurant — French-Canadian fare and a famous patio that anchors the neighbourhood's social scene.

Local pick: People-watching from the corner patio

A storied Adriatic seafood restaurant founded in the 1960s — whole grilled fish, squid-ink risotto and walls of art in a Yorkville townhouse.

Local pick: Whole grilled fish and the squid-ink risotto

The 'Dip' — a Little Italy institution for over 50 years, with the strip's most iconic patio for espresso, pizza and World Cup crowds.

Local pick: An espresso and the patio on a game day

A jaw-dropping, Gaudí-inspired all-wood bar serving Spanish pintxos, conservas and cocktails from morning coffee to late-night vermouth.

Local pick: Pintxos and a vermouth at the carved bar

A Koreatown go-to for soondubu — bubbling-hot soft-tofu stews served with rice and banchan in a no-frills, always-busy room.

Local pick: A bubbling soondubu and banchan

The midtown shopping centre at Yonge & Eglinton — fashion, a grocery, a cinema and a food court connected straight to the subway.

Local pick: Shops and a cinema right at the subway

The genteel village core of Forest Hill at Spadina and Lonsdale — upscale grocers, cafés, bakeries and boutiques serving the surrounding estates.

Local pick: The boutique grocers and cafés

A multi-level Annex bookstore packed with used, new and remaindered titles, graphic novels and magazines — a browser's rabbit hole.

Local pick: Three floors of used and remaindered books

A legendary Annex live-music club behind a riotous mural — indie and rock shows downstairs, the Dance Cave above.

Local pick: A show downstairs, Dance Cave upstairs

Canada's most exclusive shopping street — the 'Mink Mile' of Bloor between Yonge and Avenue Rd, lined with global luxury flagships.

Local pick: The flagship luxury boutiques

College Street between Bathurst and Ossington — cafés, bars, gelato, boutiques and a patio-lined nightlife strip that defines Little Italy.

Local pick: A summer night out on College

A restored streetcar-repair barn turned community arts hub near Wychwood — galleries, studios, events and a popular Saturday farmers' market.

Local pick: The Saturday farmers' market

A well-regarded TDSB public high school (grades 9–12) steps from Yonge & Eglinton, rebuilt as a modern condo-integrated campus.

Local pick: Midtown's flagship public high school

One of Canada's oldest and most prestigious independent schools (SK–12, boys), on a vast green campus in the heart of Forest Hill.

Local pick: Canada's storied boys' prep school

A leading independent girls' school (JK–12, day and boarding) on Lonsdale Road — Canada's oldest such school, founded in 1867.

Local pick: Canada's oldest girls' day-and-boarding school

A historic TDSB JK–8 school between the Annex and Yorkville, serving downtown-midtown families since the 19th century.

Local pick: A historic Annex/Yorkville school

A large midtown park behind Eglinton Avenue — sports fields, tennis, a wading pool, winter rink and the North Toronto Memorial Community Centre.

Local pick: Ball diamonds, the rink and the rec centre

Davisville's neighbourhood park (the old 'Davisville Park') — a playground, off-leash dog area, ball diamond and splash pad.

Local pick: The playground and off-leash area

A hilltop park atop the St Clair reservoir between Forest Hill and Casa Loma — a big off-leash hill, ravine trails and popular clay tennis courts.

Local pick: The clay tennis courts and the dog hill

Toronto's storybook 1914 Gothic Revival castle above the Annex — turrets, secret passages, period rooms and five acres of estate gardens.

Local pick: The towers and the garden terrace

Canada's largest museum, at Bloor and Avenue Rd — world cultures and natural history behind the bold glass Michael Lee-Chin Crystal.

Local pick: The dinosaurs and the Crystal at night

An award-winning urban park on Cumberland — a series of garden 'rooms' anchored by a massive piece of Canadian Shield granite.

Local pick: The giant Canadian Shield rock

A beloved bowl-shaped park at Bloor and Christie — baseball diamonds, an outdoor pool, rink, playground and the summer Pits movie nights.

Local pick: Baseball in the bowl and the outdoor pool