Chris & Mike's Perfect Afternoon in Toronto’s Church-Wellesley Village

Maybe we’re biased due to proximity, but we believe Toronto is the best city for Canada’s LGBTQ+ visitors.

We are Chris & Mike, a millennial gay couple of 8 years living in Toronto, Canada. We’ve been living in Toronto together for 6 years, and both of us work from home as full-time digital content creators. We love visiting Toronto’s Church-Wellesley village for a guaranteed good time and want to share our favourite itinerary to experience the best that the village has to offer!

1:00pm

Brunch at The Drake Hotel

We suggest starting your day at The Drake, a Queen West hot spot. Weekend brunch at the Drake has all your brunch classics. We recommend getting started with their Queen Street spirits and blueberry scones. Especially on warmer days in the spring or summer, you can sit at The Drake’s spacious outdoor patio. 

3:30pm

Dessert at Craig’s Cookies

When it’s time for a midday snack, look no further than down-the-street for Craig’s Cookies. In addition to it being an LGBTQ-owned business, Craig’s Cookies has the tastiest treats in the village.

We both agreed on our top 5 cookie flavours: Pride, Twix, Bounty, Snicker, and Wonder Bar. Their treats are perfect for social media sharing with cute pink cookie boxes and a rainbow sticker to seal.

We highly recommend you swing by for the perfect midday treat, and maybe an extra dozen for the road!

5:00pm

Aperitif at Hair of the Dog

After an eventful afternoon in the Church-Wellesley village, you’ll be ready for a chill time at Hair of the Dog for the most refreshing aperitif. Chris typically orders a Long Island Iced Tea, while Mike picks an Aperol Spritz.

We love that this corner pub features lots of trees on their patio, offering the perfect shade for sunny days. We often spend a couple hours on the patio to cool down before checking out the entertainment scene later that night.

Enjoy your day in Toronto!

We hope you take advantage of this itinerary next time you’re in the Toronto area! There are so many ways to support local businesses, so be sure to tag these LGBTQ+ businesses in any of your social media posts! Thank you to the CGLCC and the Rainbow Registered for parting with us to create this blog! The Rainbow Registered program is a guide for LGBTQ+ friendly spaces across the country. This program can help people within our community feel safe and navigate local businesses that share the value of inclusivity! We hope this guide can be a resource for you when visiting Toronto! Remember to tag us when you visit any of these local hot spots!!

- Mike and Chris