The rooftop bar of the Broadview Hotel offers one of the most underrated views in Toronto — a sweeping panorama of the downtown skyline, the Don Valley, and the lake. Accessed by the hotel elevator. Cocktails are excellent.
Neighbourhood: Riverside · Address: 106 Broadview Ave, Toronto, ON · Hours: Tue–Sun 5pm–late · Price Range: $$$ · Editorial status: Not yet verified
It’s one of the only rooftop bars east of the Don, and the view truly delivers: you’ll see the whole downtown core, the river, and Lake Ontario from one wraparound patio. Cocktails here are actually made well, not just Instagram fodder.
Unlike west-end rooftops, the Broadview’s location means you get the best front-row seat to the city’s full skyline and the Don Valley’s greenery in one sweep. There’s a retractable glass roof for year-round views, so weather rarely ruins the vibe. The crowd skews more local than touristy, especially on weekdays.
Most people in Toronto know Sneaky Dee’s for one thing: the nachos. Piled high, messy in the best way, and big enough to make you immediately regret ordering anything else. What a lot of people miss, though, is the rooftop patio above all that noise and grease and late-night energy downstairs. You get to it through the back of the bar, and if you didn’t already know it was there, you could walk past a dozen times and never think twice. That’s part of the appeal. The rooftop has a totally different feel from the main room. Downstairs is louder, darker, a bit more chaotic. Upstairs, especially on a summer evening, it opens up. You’re above College Street with that slightly scrappy west-end view Toronto does so well — streetcars sliding by, people drifting between Kensington and Little Italy, the city still buzzing after dinner but before last call. It’s not polished, and thankfully it doesn’t try to be. You’re here for cold drafts, plastic patio furniture, local bands tuning up in the corner, and the kind of crowd that feels like it’s been coming here forever because, in a lot of cases, they have. If you catch it on a weekend in summer, this place really lands. The light hangs around late, the beer stays cold, and there’s usually a mix of regulars, students, musicians, and people who got tipped off by a friend who knows where to go after a day wandering Kensington Market. Live music is a big reason to come. You’re not getting some overproduced concert-night vibe; it’s more local, more relaxed, more fun. Bands play, people lean in to talk between songs, someone orders another round, and before long the whole rooftop feels like one big table. Food-wise, yes, get the nachos. It would be weird not to. They’re still the move up here, especially if you’re sharing with a group and planning to stay a while. Sneaky Dee’s isn’t precious about anything, which is exactly why it works. The beer list isn’t trying to impress anyone, but an icy draft on that roof after a hot day in the city really hits. Price-wise, it’s solidly in that sweet spot where you can make a full evening of it without feeling punished. A few practical things: go early on weekends if you actually want a seat. The rooftop fills up fast, and once people settle in, they tend to stay. If you show up around peak time expecting to stroll right in, you might be standing around downstairs longer than you want. The best window is weekend evenings in summer, though honestly even a warm weeknight can be great if you want less of a crowd. Hours are generous too — 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Monday to Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. on weekends — but this is really a nighttime spot. At 431 College, right where Kensington-College starts to blur into the rest of downtown, Sneaky Dee’s Rooftop feels like the kind of Toronto place that hasn’t been sanded down for tourists. It’s a little worn-in, a little loud, and exactly right.
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