Tickets + Travel
Restaurant Guide
Guelph's downtown offers an abundance of choice. Per capita, the inner streets are laden with everything from high-end dining to blues bar pub food. Here's a dining and drinking guide from a frequent traveler to Guelph's eating establishments.
Pictured above: Red Brick Cafe and Bin 23. For detailed Guelph Visitor information, click here.
Diverse Dining
You can travel the world with a growing number of menus from the four corners. The newest edition to food from afar is the bustling all you can east sushi restaurant Fuji, 78 Carden Street, 767-3133 across from the train station. On the same street is the veteran of cultural collision cuisine the Carden St. Café, 40 Carden St., 837-2830, across from the new city hall (Caribbean, asian, african fusion). Located in the heart of our upper Wyndham Street Jazz Tent, Diana Downtown, 141 Wyndham, 836-3460, offers South asian dining par excellance and a few blocks away at 51 Cork St is the equally refined Bollywood Bistro, 821-3999. If South american spice is the accent you seek, stroll to the corner of Norfolk and 10 Paisley to sample Latino's where the front patio is also a feature, 836-3431. If it is a quick burrito you prefer, Salsateria, 33 MacDonnell is open until 3am on weekends.
Healthy Habits
The tiny but truly tasty organic food Meals That Heal is a short walk up to 297 Woolwich St. at the corner of London. across the street at 294 Woolwich is the equally whole food With the Grain café, 827-0008, where baked goods tantalize and more seating is on offer. The landmark Cornerstone combines an all vegetarian original menu with pints or espresso depending on your engine, 1 Wyndham (at Carden) across from the train station.
Hipster Heaven
Euro thin crust pizza in a cool stone environment shapes the long thin Atmosphere Cafe, 24 Carden (across from City Hall), 824-0430. around the corner in the land o' martini and tapas is NV lounge, 16 Wyndham, 827-1064, which is not far from the new menu upstairs at the Green Room, sometimes confused with the eBar, above The Bookshelf, 41 Quebec Street, 821-3311.
Upscale Dining
Who would know that Guelph is home to two of Canada's top fifty five-star restaurants, La Cucina and Bistro Six? You will want to savour the flavour if you visit Other Brother's 37 Yarmouth Street, 822-4465, (old school European menu), Bin 23, 6 Carden St., 780-2246, (elegant nouveau continental) or Artisanale, 37 Quebec St., 821-3359 (beside The Bookshelf, delicate and distinguished). Also of note are Georgian Creeds on Douglas and Babel Fish on MacDonnell.
On the Run
If you find yourself at St. George's Square (see fountain) you can grab something quick at Capistrano. Just up the narrow road to #8 Douglas Street is the charming Red Brick Café, 836-1126 where coffee, desserts, sandwiches and beer / wine combine. Newly expanded, the long-time fair trader Planet Bean is another fine caffeine source at 51 MacDonnell St, 823-9253.
Pub Grub
The "Wooly" or Woolwich Arms 176 Woolwich, 836-2875 sets the standard of pub food and beverage with a solid local menu and micro-beer nirvana. Out by the University (Stone Road & Gordon) is the popular UK style Shakespeare Arms, 35 Harvard St., 767-6003. Guelph's funky little blues bar Wally's Tavern sits at 107 Wyndham, 763-4263. The landmark Albion Hotel, 49 Norfolk, 821-7125, at the bottom of ‘Catholic Hill' features a fascinating historic piece of limestone architecture coupled with live music and a wide ranging menu. Hopefully you'll run into the ghost of Al Capone's mistress on your late night pub crawl.
- Derek Andrews, Executive Director, Guelph Jazz Festival
Also see:
Guelph Vegetarian Restaurants
Foodlink: Making the Food Connection
Colloquium Keynote: Deborah Wong
Ethnomusicologist Deborah Wong is a respected author, Professor of Music, and performer specializing in the musics of Asian America and Thailand. A member of Satori Daiko (Taiko Center of Los Angeles) and author of 2004's Speak It Louder: Asian Americans Making Music, Wong is also a keynote speaker and course facilitator of the inaugural Summer Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation. Her keynote address is entitled, "Improvisation in American Taiko."
Friday Sept. 5, 9:00 - 10:00am
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre (Free)
