The Distillery District

We came for dinner and it was freezing… the kind of cold that the great white north is famous for.
Even with the freezing temps, we loved exploring this area and all of the shops. I can only imagine that in nicer weather this place really brings out the people.
The brick sidewalks and beautiful architecture with historical significance is a treat, especially since so much of So Cal is cookie cutter new.

one of the most historically important places in the city, from the moment you get here its like stepping into a time portal of sorts. some of the buildings are showing there age very well, and some of them have been preserved good as well. lots of little niche shops inside each of the buildings, some AWESOME restaurants, and lots of crafty items here.
if you’re a photographer, this is a shooting paradise, however if you’re shooting for commercial purposes, you will need a permit, otherwise you might get booted.
make sure to bring extra batteries.
if youre coming in the month of december, they have a winter festival happening, they don’t charge admission through the day or night, only on weekends, so best to go during the week.

This is one of my favourite areas of the city. Yes during the Christmas Market it’s insanely busy, but it’s just one of those areas that’s great to grab a coffee or ice cream and walk around. Mostly because cars are not allowed so you can freely walk from shop to shop freely without worrying about looking both ways before you cross!
Aside from the history behind the place (which you can piece together based on it’s name — yea they made alcohol here (and still do)), what makes the distillery really amazing are all the independent local specialty shops and restaurants. Some of Toronto’s finest opened first or second location and many who continue to open here grow rapidly! Mill St Brewery/​Brew Pub (formally independent… formally cool, just kidding) is a great place still with amazing beer and even better food. You’ve got delicious ethnic eats like El Catrin (Mexican), Tappo (Italian) and even a spot the brews Japanese Sake! Yes for real!
The beautiful old world Victorian architecture of the market is also a big favourite of newly engaged/​newly wed couples for their pictures. And speaking of weddings you can also find a gorgeous banquet hall called the Fermenting Cellar — you gotta see it, it’s incredible!
And just when it cannot get any better here, mid November comes around and the Distillery gets a crazy Christmas makeover and the Christmas Market takes over. The Market essentially takes the normal romantic air of the Distillery and pumps it up by about 1000%. It’s so amazing you feel like you’re in a old world Bavarian romantic comedy movie staring you and your SO.
I honestly can’t say enough good things about this about this place, it’s definitely one of my top 5 areas of the city to visit!
See for yourself!

In a holiday season without snow, I had to get a Dickensian fix to put me in the xmas mood. Fortunately, a walk through the Distillery District did the trick.

I have been going here to the Christmas distillary district for years now with my family. It is a real treat with many things to do. The Christmas carollers near the Christmas tree is the heart of the little village.
Food wise, the poutine has fresh cut fries with vegetable gravy this year instead of the meat gravy; still mighty delicious. Also a must try is the large oven cooked pretzel. Many firepits are located to stay warm, along with tasty chocalate treats.

Holy hell… the Christmas Market is packed. Lots of neat things… but the crowds are ridiculous. Save some room for a Tornado Potato… spiralled bliss on a stick.

Really nice cobblestone area. Lots of restaurants, pubs and shops. Lots of signage so it’s easy to get around. Cute places for pictures. Gingerbread house right now for kids and fake snowmen. Lots of fun. Parking might be difficult to find, so we just took an über.

Amazing place! First time visiting and I came for the Toronto Christmas Market. Despite visiting on a Wednesday — it was crazy busy. Amazing scenery… extra large Christmas tree, lights, smiling faces… just amazing. I would love to visit this area in the summer…

This is one of the best places for a nice day out with a significant other. Great coffee places and small shops you could easily spend a day here just exploring the area and shops. During Christmas season when all the lights are hung up it is quite a sight to see.

Cool area, too many tourists. Not sure what the draw is… Coffee places need improvement big time. Mill street is great :)

Cool little area in Toronto with shops, desserts, and alcohol.
Brick buildings and floors make it a very unique redone industrial area.
Came across some love locks which was pretty neat.
Great place to take a stroll and get a drink.

The best bit of advice that I received from a local while in Toronto was to visit The Distillery District. It’s only a $ 12 über ride or 15 minute drive from the CN Tower.
The shops aren’t open late so I would suggest giving yourself some time to walk around and see this amazing place before having dinner/​drinks at Mill St. Brew Pub. Which I might add was great. They have a decent menu with a great drink selection. The wife and I had burgers and pasta, which were delicious.
Whether it be art, food, antiques or beer, The Distillery District has a lot to offer. Do yourself a favor and drop in for an afternoon. You won’t regret it.

The distillery district is another local site to see when in Toronto! It’s a nice outdoor and open air market. Quite different from St. Lawrence Market and Kensington Market. We enjoyed walking around and seeing all the shops. We stopped in at one of the places and did some sake tasting! I forgot the name of the place. There are a few restaurants to choose from and some small food carts if you’re hungry while visiting this place. We opted not to eat here though. This place is nice to visit and stroll around!

I love coming to the distillery district at least a couple of days out of the summer. Definitely worth a visit on a beautiful day!
A great place to stroll around, pop in and out of the shops, grab a gelato and/​or taste some chocolate at Soma, enjoy a coffee at Balzac’s, and having a beverage on one of the patios is a must!
I like to park at the green P parking underground which is $ 16 for the day (or $ 2 per half hour).
A great vibe and great people. A perfect way to spend a summer day in our amazing city. How lucky are we to live here!!!

What a charming little village! No cars inside the District allowing pedestrians to leisurely explore this industrial Victorian-​style area.
The Distillery District used to be one of the largest whisky production sites in the world and although most of the nearby buildings have been demolished, the remaining ones have been preserved for tourists and locals alike. The bronze sculptures give us a glimpse of its past industrial era.
There are plenty of restaurants, cafes, shops, and art galleries inside the brick buildings. Public restrooms are located behind The Sweet Escape Patisserie, which is housed together with a few small shops. It was a great way to spend our late afternoon here before heading to El Catrin for some tapas!

I don’t come down to the distillery district that much. It has changed a lot since I have been down last. There are condos nearby. Parking has changed a lot. There are some of the same old places like Lileo and Mill Street brewery but it did seem a little different this time around.
The area is still packed with cars. We parked in the underground meter parking which is basically 2 bucks for every 30 min. The feel of this place hasn’t changed except now there are super tall condo towers near the eastern part that seem so out of place. The entire place is cobblestone and old brick with the feeling of old all around and then you get these really new buildings right in front of you that are so tall you can’t just ignore them. I guess that’s the hybrid architecture you will get nearby. Where aren’t they building condos these days?
We walked through a few buildings, it still seems like it was before… a little bit artsy a little but hipster… I don’t know what to call it. This place has its own charm even though it’s in a very isolated pocket of the city that has been turned into a commercialized/​historical/​trendy sort of je né sais quoi.
Still… a good place to take out of towners which is what I did.

I went to the Distillery District for my first time on Friday. Although i didn’t spend much time here, i still managed to enjoy myself. I went in December, so the whole place was set up with Christmas decorations, and some Christmas music playing.
There were many small indie-​style shops were open on the sides selling things like corned beef, to coffee, to booze, and even Christmas style souvenirs. Although i didn’t buy anything, it was still nice to walk around and have my surrounding smell, look and feel like Christmas.
I liked how the whole district was old fashion and have models of equipment used back in the day. It gave us young people a sense of how it was like in the olden days.
I wouldn’t mind to come back sometime and tryout some of the food places and try some of their unique brews.
If you’re in the area, check this place out.

A little bit of Rome, a touch of Pari, a dash of Prague and a pinch of Vienna all rolled into one, is the best I can describe the Distillery. It offers charm, great artisan food, art, authentic local designers, abundance of culture, and the best cafés.
The Hottest spot in town to meet the world’s most Exotic People :-))) I absolutely love this District!

I love the distillery. The shops and restaurants are the bomb!
I always bring my guests here and they have the same feeling. anyone who comes down to Toronto must come and visit the distillery. Its truly one of a kind.
Sometimes I forget how beautiful toronto can be that we take it for granted.

Two Words «Rusted Gold». I really enjoy this place, they have packed up some great goodies in the small area. The Architecture is amazing and it takes you into Victorian-​era with beautiful Brick work all around.
The have designed the place quite well. There are quite a few attractive points in the District for some nice photos such as few rusted trucks, barrels, giant metallic spider to name a few.
The collection of shops is pretty decent as well. You have restaurants, Cafes, bakeries and chocolate shops to name a few.
Parking is available at a price.

J’ai été deux fois pendant le Christmas Market!!! C’est beau, c’est magnifique! Allez-​y tôt et attendez-​vous à faire beaucoup de line-up…mais ça vaut le coup! Endroit magique!

Un petit endroit sympa pour se promener qui me rappelle un peu des endroits comme Bercy village, ou l’on trouve des boutiques de fringues, des concept stores, des cafés et des restaurants. Ce qui est bien, c’est que le tout est une vraie ancienne distillerie, du coup les bâtiments sont plutôt impressionnants, et ça vaut le coup d’entrer dans les boutiques juste pour admirer l’espace. Bref on est en plein dans ce que j’appelle l’industriel-chic (ahah), presque un peu trop cliché déjà, mais quand même agréable. À noter, on s’éloigne quand même pas mal du centre ville pour y accéder (je trouve qu’on né s’en rend pas forcément compte sur une carte !)

Dies ist ein sehr schöner Platz in Toronto, den man unbedingt gesehen haben muss. Es gibt schöné Geschäfte, Galerien, Gaststätten und eine Brauerei. Die alten Gebäude und Lagerhäuser bestehen aus Backstein und sind gut restauriert worden. Man fühlt sich gleich in der Zeit zurückversetzt.
Wir haben hier sehr gut gegessen und ein paar schöné Stunden verbracht.
Erreicht haben wir den Destrict mit den tollen roten Doppeldeckerbussen, mit denen man die Stadt sehr gut erkunden kann.

Sehr schöner Platz in Toronto. Es gibt Geschäfte, Galerien, Gaststätten, eine Brauerei und tolle Events in dieser historischen Stätte. Hier wurden auch einige Filme gedreht denn die alten Gebäude und Lagerhäuser aus Backstein sind super restauriert und versetzen einen wirklich in eine andere Welt. Toller Platz.
5 Sterne

Super Sehenswürdigkeit und Erlebnisstätte. Dieser um 1800 entstandene Industrie-​District ist heute eine Ecke mit Shops, Ateliers, Gallerien, Theatern und Bars.
Die tollen Straßen und Häuser haben auch als Kulisse für den Film CHICAGO gedient und lassen einem in eine andere Zeit zurückversetzen.
Ab und an finden hier auch diverse festivals statt– einfach mal bei der Internetseite nachsehen. Das Theater kann ich nicht so sehr empfehlen, da wir Europäer doch eher eine andere Theaterkultur pflegen. Ich fand es nicht langweilig, aber das Stück war dennoch nur eine Belustigungsangelegenheit.