Sunnyside Pavilion Cafe

Sunnyside Pavilion Café is one of my favorite summer spots. I’ve been there many times and always enjoy the good vibes, reasonable food, and fair prices. The atmosphere is vibrant. It is lovely to watch people play volleyball in front or seeing kayaks glide by with the beautiful lake scenery in the background. Only downside is that it’s a seasonal spot. It would be great if they could stay open year-round with some minor renovations. Also, they sometimes close for private events, and I’m not sure if they update that info on Google Maps or somewhere else. It would be so disappointing to walk there and find it closed. Still, a great place overall.

Love love absolute love. Being Pisces I always crave for ocean view places and this cafe OH MY GOODNESS no amount of words provides justice to this beauty you’ve got to go and explore 😭😭😭🤌🏻❤️😍 The staff is so polite and amazing. Very patient and lively. Explained dishes and also agreed customizing dishes. Loved ‘em.

Sunnyside Café is the perfect waterfront stop in Toronto! Whether you're biking, walking, or just relaxing by the lake, this place has everything you need. They serve great coffee and fresh pastries and also have delicious wood oven pizzas that are perfect for sharing. You’ll also find ice cream options for those hot days, plus other tasty bites like sandwiches and snacks. The patio has beautiful views of the water, and the atmosphere is super chill. It's definitely a go-to spot when you're by the lake!

We visited this bar after cycling for 2 hours in 34°C heat — five of us looking to cool down and enjoy a relaxing time. The patio was only about 30–35% full (photo attached), and since the only shaded spot was by the fence (where the umbrellas are fixed), we politely connected three small tables. We ordered five beers and two bottles of water — $90 total — before even ordering food, which would’ve easily added another $200–$300. One of the beers was not cold, and my friend very politely asked if it could be replaced. A few minutes later, a man named Koby (as the server told us) came over holding the same half-drunk beer and asked, “Which guy had an issue with this beer?” in an unnecessarily aggressive and condescending tone. Instead of replacing the beer — a $1 cost to the business — he kept pressing the issue and even criticized us for “taking so many tables,” though the patio was largely empty. My friend offered to pay for the beer just to move on, but the interaction had already become uncomfortable and humiliating. On top of the rude attitude, bringing a previously consumed drink back to the table is simply unacceptable from a health and hygiene standpoint. We decided to just pay the $90 and leave. Koby not only created a very unpleasant experience — he also lost the business a significant sale and five future customers. We won’t be coming back.

The view is nice especially at night, service is not bad, we had their pizza, it was ok but could have been better.

Average food at high prices. Nothing special and what killed it for me.. the poutine cheese curd was just grated cheese.. not cool!

The coffeehouse is just amazing. The food? Is delicious, the atmosphere? Fabulous, the service? Outstanding, the beachfront experience? Breathtaking. This is a great cafe to escape from all the hassle in Toronto. It makes you feel in a mini vacation town. Highly recommended

I love this place so much I’ve had lunch here 4 times in the last 2 weeks. I’ve had the strawberry pecan salad with chicken, Greek salad with shrimp, flatbread, pizza and calamari. Every dish was excellent. Dining here feels like I’m on vacation. The wait staff are also very good.

Great spot on a sunny day. The drinks are good. The salads are delicious and refreshing. I wouldn't recommend the fish and chips as the coleslaw is lacking and I believe the fish has been reheated and not fresh. Don't go out of your way to come here but definitely stop in when visiting the beach or park.

An August Tuesday, just before noon: Zero wait time, ice water provided right away, and drinks ordered within 5 mins. Based on the total lack of immediate options for plant-based diets, we split an order of fries. A smallish plate of fat pub-style fries with a ketchup dipping zone arrived in a few minutes. At $8.50, they're okay - nothing special. Enjoyed the world's smallest yet delicious lime daiquiri for $14 and a Brickworks cider for $10.50. Then we just enjoyed the cushy seating, quiet patio and unobstructed beach view. While we lounged... we noticed other food orders were of generous portions, and the $20 salads I had poo-pooed looked amazing! I immediately regretted not ordering a salad and omitting the dressing and cheese. The bathrooms are hidden in the back patio, and could definitely be cleaner. But it's really about that beach patio view, isn't it. I'd go back when I'm not hungry, or am hungry for a big high-priced salad.

This restaurant in the middle of nowhere is a oasis after a long sweaty 45 min walk from the CNE grounds on a summer day. Highly recommend one of their patio tables overlooking the beach so you can people watch and cool off with a cold drink. Extra star for the location alone. We ordered drinks, the chicken feta pizza and a salad. The salad was a great size and was enough to split between two people. I liked the chicken pizza as it wasn't too greasy and the feta and fresh tomatoes kept it light. Best of all the the shade and the beach right beside you to enjoy the summer days.

I had a late lunch today on the patio at Sunnyside Pavilion Café and sat on the patio. I ordered a pepperoni pizza. It was good and I'd get it again. I took a couple slices home. Gina was my server. She was friendly and took good care of me.

I paid $10 for 1 meatball slider and it was mostly sauce with one little meatball inside. It took about 20 minutes for the food to be ready. There was no seating inside so I had to sit outside on these uncomfortable chairs.

While visiting Toronto we came here to have lunch with a great view. I really enjoyed this part of Toronto and it was just a beautiful place for a walk. It was lunch time so we decided to eat here since I don't think there is any other option. Our waiter was very funny and attentive. The drinks were tasty but very little alcohol. We went with the fried calamari and burger. The calamari was a bit fishy and the burger over cooked. The fries were really good. This is a place you come for the beautiful views and to have a relaxing meal but not for the food.

Damn if I could pretend to be a rich woman and come here every Sunday for some afternoon gossip, I would come here EVERY WEEK! First off, the view is amazing. It honestly makes you feel like you got up and left Toronto and went to LA. Makes you forget that you actually have winters (rip). As everyone else says, the view here alone is what makes this spot so popular. The drinks are also good too. A bit on the pricier side, but nothing too outlandish. As for the food, meeeeeeeh. I had the calamari (which is a 10/10 must have), the Cali Club Wrap (nothing special) and the "Exotica" or something? (Also nothing special). So yeah, follow everyone's advice and just come for the view and drinks, and for some afternoon gossip time while you think you're on an episode of Gossip Girl.

Let's be real, friends. You don't come here for the food. You come here for the view and the drinks. After a long swim in the Gus Ryder Pool, or the lake if you're more adventurous, a drink and a snack on this waterfront patio is divine. I had a meh burger, watched my daughter devour a meh pizza, but we had a great time. I'm full. No complaints.

When you have good view, maybe you don't have good food. Came here on a beautiful Sunday after walk on the beach for hours. The view was gorgeous and the Staff were nice but the food sucks... no better word. Nothing was worth to remember or even take a picture of it. Selection was small, food seems composed from pre-cooked package, and many things on the menu is running out since they are closing soon for the end of the season. Can be improved.

VIEW- perfect to really sit beside the lake. FOOD- food was well served at reasonable time Well worth it. SERVERS- Melissa served us at our breakfast and really looked after us.

Went to this shit hole without checking reviews bad idea. Ordered the southwestern burger. Bun came with hairy mold on the bottom. Manager is an asshole. We told the waitress of our little hairy problem she was shocked. She went to get the manager she came back and told us the manager is refusing to talk to us but she was told she had to take my plate from the table right away. I snapped a photo asap to make sure this place doesn't give out more shitty and Moldy service.

Ordered the veggie 'wood-fired oven' pizza and it was pretty good! Lots of goat cheese, and the crust was consistent thickness throughout. Location is also great - right along the beach. Service went from good to horrible though, over the course of our meal.

same as others said, not here for the food but after a hot day of whatever activities you do around the area, nothing beats a glass of cold beer, some fried whatever food, and watch beach volleyball played by beautiful people on the sand. Also, they were super accommodating to our little dog, who was clearly not having a great time in the sun. We moved around to find a shady spot and they were nice about it. fish and chips is not bad, also the garden salad is pretty fresh. for the view tho, heck to the YAS.

Very reasonable price. I would have expected over priced meals in this location, but they're not. The food is also OK. Nothing to amaze your friends with, but if you're on the lake and feeling peckish, is absolutely an acceptable place to stop by.

The patio here has a nice view of the beach and the volleyball court. However the service we received by the waiter is not the greatest. We had ordered the Mexican Bulldog (corona margarita) drink and the Malibu Colada. The Malibu wasn't filled to the top of the glass so the portion size seemed a bit small. When we ordered another Mexican Bulldog, this came in a smaller martini like glass not like the original we received. So when the bottle was flipped upside down, a lot of the margarita drink was overflowing onto the table. When we asked about this, we were told that this was the glass it should come in. Even though the tall glass in my picture didn't have any leakage problem. We asked to have the drink redone using the tall glass so that we would not lose any of the beverage. The staff told us that he cannot replace it. So we refused that 2nd drink and he took it away. We stayed until I had finished my first Mexican bulldog drink but the table was left with the drink puddle during the rest of our stay there.

Amazing location, feels like you are at Miami beach!!! We have ordered pepperoni pizza, mediteranian flat bread, chicken wings and mushroom burger for 4 of us, each around $16, all were pretty delicious!!! All meals very pretty filling, especially pizza. Our waitress was very pleasant and our meals were served very quickly, very nice experience.

This is one of those hidden gems in the heart of Toronto that is worth visiting if you're in the area. Right along the boardwalk on the west end of the city, is a patio that overlooks the beach and Lake. Most times in the summer you can watch some beach volleyball. It's a great ambiance and a very nice date setting. Since renovating they have some nice high top tables and lounge seating. It makes you feel like you're on vacation for a second. Grab a drink and just bask in the sun, or have lunch or dinner. I love their pizzas. It's thin crusted but still has a bit of a crunch that makes the dough crispy. We had the mushroom pizza with kale Parmesan and balsamic. It was great. We also had the lobster tacos as an appetizer. It was really good bursting with fresh lobster meat. Drinks and two dishes was about $27 per person.

Ok, we were 6,we got there after a long walk and super hungry.it was a long line which was fine and we waited for 40 minutes to get our table.then what happened was the waitress gave us two separated table and said due to Covid regulations you can't sit together!!! Ok,come on!were you blind or something from beginning you could have told us that you can't be sitting on one table not after 40 minutes of waiting.they ruined our afternoon. The food was ok though.

I ordered an eggplant sandwich it was absolutely delicious. The waiter was great, great view. I would definitely recommend this spot in the summer.

Awful service, food was old and stale. Won't be back. Don't waste your time. This place needs to close down ASAP.

I've always been a fan of Sunnyside - the bathing pavilion was built in 1932 and is one of my fav buildings in the city. Yesterday I kicked back with some friends on the patio, had some interesting new beers (Keiths white for one), stellar service and some decent apps. On a muggy Toronto day, sitting down having beers at Sunnyside definitely hit the spot. There's also now a swimming area just off the beach/patio, cordoned off and filtered for freshness I'm told.

As mentioned below, you come for the atmosphere and beach view, not so much for the food. Had the grilled veggie sandwich with fries; sandwich was flavourless and dripping juice everywhere, fries were ok, some were a bit soggy. My friends had a dessert waffle which they also described as "okay, I've had better". I also wanted to order a fruit smoothie but was told none of them have real fruit in them! nice place to lounge on the patio, but next time I'll get takeout somewhere good and go sit at the beach/park instead.

This is one of those places that is hard to qualify. On one hand the food is mediocre at best. on the other the location is spectacular. I would give the food two stars and the rest five stars. The food is not bad exactly, just uninspired, competent and boringly mediocre. I have been here multiple times over the years and so far this is a consistent feature across all the dishes I have sampled, which is most of them. But obviously I keep going back... The location is situated right on the beach, and is just far enough out of the way to be mostly dominated by locals. There are few spots that can compare on a warm summer night when the sun is setting. Its home, the historic Sunnyside Beach House, one of the last remnants of the amusement park that was demolished for the Gardiner Expressway, was recently renovated, polishing the gem it already was.

Location, location, location! Excellent service, average food, great cocktails, and comfortable seating beside the fence adjacent to the boardwalk and beach.

Great view of the lake but HORRIBLE customer service. My friend and I visited the restaurant today with our babies (5 and 6 month old). As a thunderstorm came in, we moved inside the restaurant to get shelter from the downpour. Minutes after, our waitress tells us to leave because they are closing. She was rude and didn't care that we were with babies. We ended up staying because it was impossible to leave in that torrential downpour. Terrible experience.

This place is like visiting the "before" in a kitchen nightmares episode. It's sad that there are few places in Toronto to enjoy our waterfront. It's a tragedy that one of the few waterfront places has such awful service and disgusting food. For $22 you'd think you'd get at least a decent pizza instead of something so obviously reheated. This place has the location and architecture to be a real gem and a destination spot, but instead they're happy to be moderately busy with no repeat customers.

I went to sunny side pavilion today for lunch. The atmosphere is unlike any other place I've been in the city: Outdoor seating right on the beach across from bikini clad volleyball players and the glittering blue water with a live spanish guitar player softly crooning near the entrance. I felt like I was on vacation. The service was prompt and friendly. We had: Chicken quesadillas - 5/5 these were excellent and a great sharing size (4 good sized pieces) Chicken club wrap - 4/5 a bit heavy on the lettuce but very tasty. The greek salad it came with was nice. Mango smoothie - 4/5 one of the better smoothies I've had at a place that doesn't exclusively serve smoothies. It wasn't loaded with syrup. I can't give this 5 stars because I only had 2 things on the menu, but both were delicious and I will definitely be back!

With that beautiful view of the lake, how can't you seat and ask for some drinks? OMG IT'S A TRAP. RUN AWAY FAST. Service is awful, they will not look at your face to take orders, drinks are INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE. Only the food is cheap, but everybody has to drink something, specially when it's sunny outside. Do not even think about asking for beer, otherwise you may go bankrupt. If you want to have some real lakeshore fun, go for the ice cream truck. Will save you some dollars and you won't have to scream for the ice cream. Ha.

Hidden Gem: great location for people watching and sunsets. Live in the area and have been coming for years. Probably the worst food in the city. Frozen everything that's barely warmed up. Why are people raving about the pizza it's been frozen prior to be barely warmed up. Try to get them to customize the pizza!!! Wings frozen, calamari frozen. Soggy fish and chips. This place is great for a beer and atmosphere. Eat before coming down. Owners please change the menu and get some fresh food. I can't believe the rave reviews on food!

Such a beautiful location on a sunny day! The food quality is considerably better than it used to be, but why can't they figure out this customer service thing? How hard can it be? First, no kids menu. So my family can't go here regularly with my kids because I'm forced to buy a $15 adult meal which my kids won't even eat half of. Second, the full menu is available all day but the lunch menu has only 4 options available until 5pm. What's the point? The lunch options are relatively the same price and size as dinner options. Why stop serving them at 5? And why not offer 1/2 size options of the larger entrees at lunch? So I am discouraged from going here for lunch. And no side salads. Order a full salad or none (see below). Last, general service issues. Every time I go there is something: This time we had a group of 7 that needed two tables to be put together. But we could only have one umbrella, despite the fact that the place was half full and there were plenty of umbrellas available that could have been moved over for us. We asked a second time and the waitress returned from the back saying the manager instructed her to not help us out, it's "the policy". Who makes such a stupid policy? Is this written down in the back somewhere? Her only solution was to move inside or we could split our party up into two tables and sit separately. So we all had to huddle under one umbrella or choose to cook in full sun. Then my friend and I ordered a pizza and salad but wanted to share them - it was lunch time and the pizzas are huge (and remember, no side salads). Instead of plating them as such in the kitchen, they brought them out whole. I had to ask for extra plates and had to re-plate everything at the table myself. On top of the disregard for service and our convenience, this speaks to the lack of a lunch menu options. Why not offer a 1/2 pizza/salad lunch combo?!?!? Besides all that the food and drinks are all good and priced fairly for this beautiful venue. I live close and would be here all the time if it weren't for the poorly thought out menu and poor customer service policies.

We went on a Sunday for lunch and we were surprised to see that there were plenty of tables available on such a sunny day. The atmosphere is lovely but unfortunately the food is just okay. The menu is pretty basic - burger, pizza, sandwiches etc. nothing too exciting. I had a chicken wrap with fries - the fries were good but I found the sandwich to be a bit soggy. The service was friendly and fast. The desserts looked good - might try coming again and just ordering desserts. I would give a 4/5 for the service and atmosphere but the food brings it down to a 3/5

Great location - right on the water. You can watch the beach volleyball players in the summer while you sip a daquiri or a beer. Used to come here all the time when I lived in High Park, as I would often pass this location on my runs. Food is also pretty good - although prices are a little expensive for what you get. Service is generally alright, however it does get very busy in the summer so don't expect extremely quick service. Perfect if you want a relaxing drink by the water and aren't in a rush.

Food is horrible. Got all excited about a wood oven pizza, it was burnt but soggy, how does that even happen? I've had better frozen wings at home, fries were stale, and calamari was the worst I ever had. Thank got they have a view. Come for drinks, don't eat here!

I would give this place probably a 3.5 if that was possible. Great atmosphere right on the beach and by high park. Sunnyside Cafe is very pretty, especially during sunset if you are sitting at the lovely patio. I highly recommend the brochette with feta, which was delightful as was the service. My friend and I both had the strawberry pecan salad and the boccacini salad respectively. I could barely finish the generous portions, but it was a perfect for a nice summer dinner. The only downside was the surprisingly small and dull selection of beer and wine.

I used to love this place for the yummy drinks and nice view / location but the I have to say that the customer service sucksssss!! We've experienced rude waitresses and felt rushed out on numerous occasions! Unacceptable.

VIBE This is one of my favourite beach side locations in the city (okay, well maybe there's about two to three in the city but I'm a romantic, what can I say?). I was here before the crowds settled in on a Sunday on a sunny day. It was great: without the clutter of people, we could just relax and enjoy the view of the sun glistening on the lake. If the courtyard in the back got a fresh coat of white paint it would look brand new. Unfortunately, it looks deteriorated. That said, the architecture is fantastic and very photograph-worthy. Staff: because we were near the entrance, the staff were on attendance and it felt like we were being watched. I hate the hover! That said, our waitress was fantastic - she was nice and friendly; she managed her tables well. WE ATE As stated in an article in The Standard, you could classify Sunnyside as a crappio-- great patio but crap food. That said, for what it was the food was decent and yes, it was way overpriced. We had the fried shrimp which were great and not over battered; the chicken quesadilla which came with guac (yay!) and a greek salad - which wasn't really a greek salad but a spring mix salad from a bag, red onions, feta (at least it wasn't Canadian feta) and kalamata olives. Though the portion was big, for $11, this was ridiculously overpriced. Most salads in Greektown are about $6 to $7. They make a pretty mean pina colada here. OBLIGATORY CATCHY REMARK Sunny side up! I'd still come here just to get some sun. Sunnyside is one of those places that's a discovery and make you happy to escape your own neighbourhood.

I'd like to start by saying, I love this location. It can't be beat. However, it seems every year they have similar issues with getting staff up to speed. We stopped by last night so we could check out the fireworks. While there seemed to be enough staff, it took a long time to have our order taken. We were planning on making a night of it but slow service had us heading for the beach after just one drink. Our dinner money went to take out pizza afterwards. One of the things that I'd love to see... someone cleaning up the spider webs along the railing and giving the umbrellas a quick once over for spiders, daily if necessary.

I really liked this place. It was on a weekend so it was quite packed but for great sits at the patio. As the name of the place says it is a cafe kinda style and not a fine restaurant. I enjoyed very much the pizza and I will recommend people to try the Mediterranean or BBQ chicken. Great pizzas and that's what is getting four stars :)

This is such a great place to relax and enjoy the lake view. It's so casual, yet romantic. This is where my husband and I met for the first time! The food here is good, prices are ok. It's closed this month unfortunately (April 2017).

Rude and inept from beginning to end. We went there last summer and, although the place was half empty, they made us wait for a table because 'we just sat a bunch of people all at once... we need to stagger... ' or some BS like that. Then when we were finally seated, the service was SLLLOOOWWWW, and they got the order half wrong! On top of that, what we were served was pretty average. The location is nice, but with so many amazing restaurants in the city, I wouldn't bother ever coming back here.

This place looks nice from the outside stay away from the food. go play volleyball or enjoy the pool, just not eat or drink here. The patio is relatively small. The service was not great, the waitress did not act like she wanted to be there or talk to us. Our group of 8 order about 95$ worth of pizza at the dragonboat discount rate. Even then, i don't believe their 12' pizza justified the price tag. We got chicken, grilled veggie and Mediterranean pizza for some variety. The chicken supreme has the most toppings, while the veggie pizzas didn't have much fresh vegetables at all. I can also tell the cheese had an artificial taste to them. honestly, dr.oetker's ristorante frozen pizza tasted better than the thin crust here. oh and the crusts were actually burned Black on half of the pizzas we ordered.

This amazing patio is only open seasonally and the perfect summer destination. It's located right along the beach so wherever you sit you have a clear view of the beach and water. It's also located right along the Sunnyside boardwalk so there are an endless stream of runners, walkers, and bikers passing by. The food is really tasty, I'm a big fan of their salads. They also do events (weddings) in the upstairs space.

Great location for a summer day. Food is extremely meh. Margaritas are meh too. Great place for a beer and scenery.

If you are like me and got immediately attracted by the wonderful view and great potential this place has as a wedding venue - you might want to learn from my mistakes and not get yourself into tiresome attempts to book it. I have never stumbled upon worse customer service than in this place. You would think if people advertise themselves as wedding venue - they might be interested in holding a client and AT LEAST answer his e-mails and phhone calls. I have been very patient, but 2 weeks silence (going on 3 in a few days) after I finally got to see so-called co-ordinator and got her promise to get abck to me with a quote killed it for me. The place is not charming anymore, if I can't trust them on getting back to me with an answer, how can I trust them with one of most important days in my life? I'm sure they'd screw it up...I'm very dissapointed....it was venue of my dreams and now I have to give it up because management doesn't care ... Anastassia

Lovely ambiance. Unfortunately we found a rude waitress. We waited to be seated and she let in a couple who were behind us. We had to ask and she mentioned that they were waiting. We did not see them waiting though. There were a lot of tables available so I did not understand the wait...we asked her for a table with shade and she said that she was not sure. We could see atleast 5 tables.....I guess we were a bit too polite!...... We would have spent atleast 100 dollars. Too bad. Maybe business is too good for the management here. The Asian waitress was definitely the worst we have ever seen.... bad experience. Stay away!

Went there Monday! Had a chance to watch volleyball and dragon boat racing practices. Had the seafood pizza and quesadillas and enjoyed both immensely. Servers were attentive! Will definitely come again given the opportunity!

We bike ride for breakfast worth the ride. Great service friendly and fast. The food was awesome the veiw is spectacular. You feel like your on vacation. My husband and I have been coming for over a year always satisfied.

My wife and I stopped in for drinks on a Sunday afternoon. Her Long Island Iced Tea was fine, but she said it tasted like the pre-made stuff from the LCBO... not worth $9. My Mojito was terrible... a tasteless mix of old limes, old mint, and un-fizzy soda. Our server willingly changed it for a Caesar, which was also fine, but also tasted like a pre-made version. The glass was carelessly rimmed, as if the bartender was rushed, yet the replacement arrived only after a long delay. Probably won't stop in again, unless we can drink water while taking in the terrific view. Also noted that the line up isn't managed... multiple people standing in the middle of the boardwalk, making it hard for others to get by... where's the role line?

the prices are not at the low end but then you're paying for the great view. and location. and the patio is huge - they can accommodate everyone almost any day. there is some slight discount on the pizzas and I think sandwiches for paddlers but not on anything else. they have cool frozen drinks variety. with ice cream and alcohol=) yay=) life can't get better when you're sitting on a patio next to the lake sipping sweet chill drink with a couple of friends.