destination dining

exchange district The twenty blocks designated as a national historic site— marked by red brick, wrought iron and wall murals and dubbed the design district— is home for creative types like cutting edge chefs styling delicious dishes. Stylish simplicity rules at Ocean Bites, where fillets of the ocean’ s catch are precision sliced for colourful sushi rolls. Strawberry and mango add sweetness to a special tropic tuna and ebi roll. Soho Kitchen + Wine draws from Italy’ s iconic culinary regions nodding to the chef owner’ s origins. Elegantly plated breakfast fare such as a stack of savoury spinach and salmon pancakes layered with herb infused cream and crowned with a lacy cheese tuille, is a palate pushing eye-opener. Across the street, high-class French fare with rural influences shape Peasant Cookery’ s evergreen recipe that stands the test of time. This cozy spot pays homage to the region’ s French-Canadian roots. Tourtière, spiced with clove and nutmeg, exemplifies rustic comfort food, reminiscent of a Thanksgiving feast. Bronuts’ cheeky name and hip subway-tile-and-bare-bulb decor shows off this popular doughnut shop’ s modern, fun side. Sweet and savoury flavours, lemonade twist and hummus have pastry lovers racing for a taste. Saddlery on Market draws diverse crowds to its beautiful heritage space for comforting plates. Saloon-inspired décor nods to the building’ s former life as the home of the leather manufacturing company, the Great West Saddlery Warehouse. Crispy fried onions topping a grilled New York strip provide sweet, salty notes to a charred and tender steak sandwich.