2014 Archive
2014 Lists:
Globe & Mail – Includes a map of the city with flag pins, very cool. First ten on the list seem spot on, but I’m not entirely sure the bottom 22 are the best spots for each country.
BlogTO – Lists 60 places to watch the World Cup in Toronto, but borrows heavily from the Globe and Mail. Google map with all the locations listed.
Huffington Post – Long list of bars with likeliest team affiliations. Don’t agree with a lot of the pairings and a lot of the teams are missing, but it’s a nice list of bars that will be showing the games in and around the city.
Inside Toronto – Lists a few of the more popular locations in the city.
Done a little more research myself and am putting together a list of the best places from the various lists, or from my own experience. These are all confirmed hot spots. Happy viewing. Will be adding teams as we go and I confirm more spots.
United States – The Office, 117 John St, Toronto, ON. Stopped by here for the United States last game in the first round. Such a big bar, loads of great places to watch the game, including multiple patios. Even more impressive, as advertised, they do bring out the visually patriotic US crowd which is not always easy to find north of the border.
Belgium – The place to be for Belgium fans is the ABInBev Labatt headquarters at 207 Queens Quay West in the Queen’s Quay Terminal in Toronto. It’s on the second floor in the back of the building, take the escalators up and take a right. Tickets are $25 and there is beer and food, families are welcome. You can buy tickets and find more details on the Belgian Canadian Business Chamber event page.
Nigeria and Ghana – The Suya Spot will be a hot spot for many of the African countries, especially Nigeria and Ghana. The address is 10-12 Bradstock Rd. in Toronto, ON which is basically Weston Rd. north of Sheppard. The Harlem Underground, 745 Queen St W, Toronto, ON is also taking credit of being the African World Cup headquarters in the GTA. I’m planning on stopping by on Monday to see if that lives up to the hype.
Iran – The Iranian Students Association at York University have set up a game watch at Boston Pizza at Yonge & Sheppard, 4841 Yonge St., Toronto, ON. I have recently confirmed that they will be there for all three games. Another option is the Toronto Iranian Plaza. This is less specific, but a good bet for Persian fans. The address is roughly 6075 Yonge St, anything north of Finch, south of Steeles.
Germany – Apparently over 250 German fans will be heading to The Antler Room (Lower level of Loose Moose), 146 Front Street West, Toronto for the Monday June 16 game versus Portugal. Won’t want to miss that game. Other places are Blue Danube, 1686 Ellesmere Road in Scarborough, The German Canadian Club at the Hansa Haus, 6650 Hurontario St in Mississauga and of course The Musket, 40 Advance Road in Etobicoke will be open for all the games.
Bosnia and Herzegovina – New word from the Bosnia and Herzegovina fans is that the place to be for the match on Saturday, June 21 versus Nigeria is Real Sports Bar and Grill in Maple Leaf Square. There is a festival at Celebration Square in Mississauga so that is NOT a place to watch the World Cup this Saturday. Check out more information on the Bosnia facebook event page. As for the first game, it’s past now so you missed it, the game versus Argentina, Bosnia & Herzegovina will be gather at the Square One Boston Pizza in Mississauga for the Sunday matched versus Argentina.
Croatia – Croatia Restaurant in Mississauga, 1989 Dundas St E, Mississauga, ON.
Brazil – Loads of places, but I’m going to head to Brazilian Star Bar & Grill, 1242 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON.
Cameroon – Yauca’s Lounge, 755 Dovercourt Road, Toronto, ON.
Mexico – El Rincon, 653 St Clair Avenue West, Toronto, ON.
Spain – Cafe Hispano, 3465 Dundas St. West, Toronto, ON.
Netherlands – School, 70 Fraser Ave in Liberty Village, Toronto, ON.
Chile – La Rosa Chilena, 760 Wilson Ave in North York, Toronto, ON.
Australia – Tranzac – Toronto Australia & New Zealand Club, 292 Brunswick Ave, Toronto, ON.
Colombia – Colombia Mia, 3038 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON – RESERVATIONS NEEDED.
Greece – Danforth strip between Broadview and Greenwood has a lot of options.
Uruguay – Club Uruguay, 101 Freshway Drive, Concord, ON – Free Entrance.
Costa Rica – Latin Fiesta Restaurant 1002 St Clair Ave West, Toronto, ON. Will be open for all the World Cup games as they usually only open at 4:00pm.
England – Tonnes of great bars for this, I recommend Skallywags, 11 St Clair Ave West, or Duke of York, 39 Prince Arthur Ave, both in Toronto.
Italy – Loads of great places, but make sure you’re on College Street or St. Clair Avenue West. I certainly prefer College Street, start at Cafe Diplomatico, 594 College St, but unless you’re there early, you won’t get in.
Interactive Map:
Below is the map that I’ve made based on my experience watching and photographing fans cheering for 54 different countries in Toronto during the 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 World Cup. The red points are from the 2006 World Cup when I photographed fans from all 32 teams in that year’s tournament. The green points are for 2010 teams I photographed, the yellow points are 2014, and the blue points are the 2018 teams. The best way to see the map is to click on the “World Cup Venues in Toronto” link at the bottom and open it in a large map, then you’ll be able to see a list of all the countries names on the left hand side of the map.
View World Cup Venues in Toronto in a larger map