Cafeography
Toronto · The Annex & Koreatown

Cafés in The Annex & Koreatown

Bloor Street West from St. George to Christie, Koreatown dessert cafés and the University of Toronto.

Photo: Sehjad Khoja, Pexels License

The Annex is the Victorian neighborhood bounded roughly by Dupont Street, Bloor Street, Bathurst Street and Avenue Road. Developer Simeon Janes laid it out in 1886, and Toronto annexed it in 1887.1 More than 500 of its buildings are protected, many of them brick Annex-style houses with Romanesque arches, and the University of Toronto's St. George campus next door has long made it a student quarter.1

West of Bathurst, Koreatown runs along Bloor Street to Christie Street. Korean immigrants settled around Bloor and Bathurst after Canada eased its immigration policy in 1967, and restaurants, bakeries and grocers gathered around Bloor and Manning Avenue.2 Before that, this part of Bloor had a large Central and South American community.2

Local tip: Mallo at 785 Bathurst Street opens at 06:00 every day, earlier than any café in the Annex or Koreatown except the Tim Hortons counters on Bloor Street West; for a late cup, Ahmetzade at 499 Bloor Street West serves until 23:00.

At a glance

57Cafés listed
20With opening hours
06:00Earliest opening
23:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Mallo, from 06:00 (Daily 06:00–19:00).
  • Closes latest: Ahmetzade, until 23:00 (Daily 08:00–23:00).
  • Most listed streets: Bloor Street West (19), Dupont Street (5), Bathurst Street (4).
  • Most common features: wheelchair access (14%), wi-fi (11%), open late (7%).

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Coffee chains in The Annex & Koreatown

Bloor Street through the Annex

Four subway stations serve the Annex: Bathurst, Dupont, St. George and Spadina.1 On Bloor, Ahmetzade at number 499 serves from 08:00 to 23:00 daily, M Chá Bar at 491 stays open until 22:30, and Cong at 424 until 22:00. Wildhearts Cafe at 509 Bloor has outdoor seating and Wi-Fi, and Kensington Natural Bakery & Cafe at 460 Bloor opens daily 11:00–19:45.

Snakes & Lattes, the board-game café at 600–602 Bloor Street West, opened in the Annex on 30 August 2010 with about 1,200 games. Its founders, Ben Castanie and Aurelia Peynet, had moved from France and named it after Snakes and Ladders.3

Koreatown's cafés

Ave Maria Latin Cafe is at 631 Bloor Street West, closed on Sundays; Dessert Fox at 635 opens until 21:00 every day, Ninetails Coffee Bar at 651 from 08:00 on weekdays, and Crestfallen at 663 from noon. Tobbi, Sarah & Tom and Coffee Pocket share the 678–688 block, and Snowday is at 681.

Many Koreans work in Koreatown but few live there, and a second Korean district has grown in Willowdale, on Yonge Street between Finch and Sheppard avenues.2 Toronto had the largest Korean population in Canada at the 2016 census, 53,940 people.2

The University of Toronto and Harbord Street

The St. George campus centers on Front Campus, the lawn inside King's College Circle, which the Landmark Project turned from a ring road into a pedestrian space in 2024; University College and the domed Convocation Hall of 1907 stand on it.4 Diabolos Coffee Bar is at 15 King's College Circle, and Café Reznikoff at 75 St. George Street opens daily 10:00–22:00. Caffiends, at 91 Charles Street West, opens on weekdays only.

Harbord Street has Almond Butterfly at 100 Harbord, open daily 09:00–19:00, Elchi Chai Shop at 130, Boulevard Café at 161 and Bampot House at 201.

Dupont Street and Bathurst Street

On the Annex's northern edge, First and Last Coffee Shop at 346 Dupont Street opens daily 07:30–17:00 with outdoor seating, and Typist Studios and Coffee at 390 Dupont opens at 08:00 on weekdays; Ezra's Pound is at 238 Dupont. On Bathurst Street, Mallo at 785 Bathurst opens at 06:00 every day and Chaveta Coffee at 994 Bathurst at 07:30 on weekdays.

Sources

  1. The Annex, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Koreatown, Toronto, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Snakes & Lattes, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. King's College Circle, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
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In The Annex & Koreatown, also browse: Patios Wi-Fi Bakery cafés Open late

FAQ

The Annex & Koreatown cafés: questions

Where is Koreatown in Toronto?

Toronto's Koreatown runs along Bloor Street West between Bathurst Street and Christie Street, west of the Annex. Korean immigrants settled around Bloor and Bathurst after Canada eased its immigration policy in 1967, and businesses gathered around Bloor and Manning Avenue. Few Koreans live there now; a second Korean district has grown in Willowdale, on Yonge Street.

When did Snakes & Lattes open in Toronto's Annex?

Snakes & Lattes opened in Toronto's Annex on 30 August 2010 with about 1,200 board games. Its founders, Ben Castanie and Aurelia Peynet, had moved to Toronto from France and named the café after the game Snakes and Ladders. The Annex café is at 600–602 Bloor Street West.

Which cafés near the University of Toronto in the Annex stay open late?

Near the University of Toronto in the Annex, Café Reznikoff at 75 St. George Street opens daily until 22:00. On Bloor Street West, Ahmetzade at 499 serves until 23:00 every day, M Chá Bar at 491 until 22:30 and Cong at 424 until 22:00. Spadina and Bathurst stations on Bloor serve the strip.

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