The largest night market in North America — Markham Night Market draws 100,000+ visitors per weekend across its summer run. Over 600 vendors serving Taiwanese bubble waffle, Korean corn dogs, Japanese taiyaki, Hong Kong egg tarts, Vietnamese bánh mì, and every pan-Asian street food imaginable. The atmosphere is electric after dark.
Neighbourhood: Markham / Scarborough · Address: Markham Fairgrounds, 10801 McCowan Rd, Markham, ON · Hours: Late June–Aug | Fri 5–11pm | Sat–Sun 4–11pm
Why Visit
Markham Night Market is the easiest way to taste your way across East Asia in one evening, with 600+ food stalls and specialties rarely found outside Asia. There’s non-stop people-watching, outdoor games, and food theatre after dark.
What Makes It Unique
With over 100,000 people visiting each weekend, this is by far the largest night market in North America — several times bigger than smaller GTA night markets. Vendors fly in from across Canada and Asia to offer hard-to-find street eats, and the sheer scale of pan-Asian food options is unmatched in Toronto.
If you’re in Toronto in summer and you like food even a little, Markham Night Market is one of those places you should just commit to for an evening. It’s out at the Markham Fairgrounds, right on the Markham/Scarborough edge, and every weekend it turns into this huge, slightly chaotic, very fun sprawl of smoke, neon signs, speaker music, and people carrying way too many snacks at once. It’s often called the biggest night market in North America, and when you see the scale of it, that doesn’t feel like exaggeration. We’re talking 100,000-plus visitors over a weekend and more than 600 vendors across the summer run.
The main reason to go is obvious: the food. You don’t really show up with one meal in mind so much as a strategy. Split everything. Share with friends. Take small bites and keep moving. One minute you’re standing in line for a hot Taiwanese bubble waffle, crisp at the edges and still soft inside, and the next you’re grabbing a Korean corn dog rolled in sugar, then a tray of spicy Korean fire noodles, then a Japanese taiyaki filled with custard, then a still-warm Hong Kong egg tart, then a Vietnamese bánh mì with the crackly baguette giving way everywhere. And that’s before you even get to braised pork rice, skewers, takoyaki, grilled squid, dumplings, mochi, and drinks that seem designed for humid Toronto nights. Get the fresh-squeezed sugarcane juice if it’s hot out. It actually helps.
What makes this place work isn’t just the vendor count, though that part is kind of absurd in the best way. It’s the atmosphere after dark. By 8 p.m., the whole fairgrounds feels charged. Lights everywhere, long rows of stalls, families with strollers, teenagers filming everything they eat, groups of friends debating which line is worth it, aunties carrying six containers like they’re professionals. There’s usually music floating around, and the smell changes every ten steps—charcoal smoke, fried batter, sweet pastry, broth, fruit, chili. It’s loud, crowded, and not especially polished, which is exactly why people love it.
A couple practical things. Go Friday evening if you can; it’s still busy, but usually more manageable than Saturday. Weekends get packed fast, especially after dinner. Wear shoes you don’t mind standing in for a while, and bring cash plus a card because payment varies by stall. Parking is doable but can be annoying at peak times, so either go early or be patient. If you’re not driving, you can make it work from Finch Station on the 306 bus, but it’s definitely easier with a car or a rideshare.
This is a great pick for foodies, families, groups, and anyone who likes staying out late without needing a formal plan. The best part is that it never feels like a one-and-done stop. With this many vendors, you will miss things. You’ll leave talking about what you should’ve tried, then end up coming back a few weeks later for mango mochi, another bubble waffle, and whatever weirdly perfect dish you didn’t know existed the first time.