Five Etobicoke patios worth knowing: Eden Trattoria and Firkin on the Bay on Marine Parade Drive in Humber Bay Shores, The Crooked Cue and Merlot on Bloor Street West in The Kingsway, and the terrace at Old Mill Toronto by the Humber River.
Etobicoke has something most of Toronto does not: patios with an actual view. Humber Bay Shores looks across open water at the downtown skyline, and the Humber River valley at Old Mill is one of the few genuinely green settings for a meal anywhere in the city.
The catch is that the good ones are concentrated in two places, they fill fast, and two of the best explicitly refuse patio reservations. Here are five worth knowing, and how each one actually works.
Eden Trattoria
58 Marine Parade Drive, Humber Bay Shores. An Italian restaurant that has been serving the Humber Bay Shores community since 2007, on the strip of Marine Parade Drive that faces the lake. Open 11:00 am to 10:30 pm seven days a week for indoor dining, takeout and delivery.
The key operational detail, stated plainly on their own site: they do not accept reservations for the patio. Indoor reservations are limited and separate. On a warm evening this is a turn-up-and-wait situation.
Parking is genuinely well documented here — street Green P on Marine Parade Drive, above-ground lots at Lake Shore Boulevard and Park Lawn Road and at Humber Bay Park West, plus underground parking at 16 Brookers Lane and 30 Shore Breeze Drive.
Firkin on the Bay
68 Marine Parade Drive, Humber Bay Shores. The pub option a few doors along the same strip, and the default for a group that wants a table outside without a plan. Same lake-facing orientation, same waterfront foot traffic from Humber Bay Park.
Like its neighbour, it does not take patio reservations — the pub says so directly. Indoor reservations are by phone.
The Crooked Cue
3056 Bloor Street West, The Kingsway. Family-owned and serving The Kingsway since 1992, this is a pool hall and restaurant with a retractable rooftop — a roof that opens in good weather and closes in bad, which effectively extends the patio season well past the usual window.
Happy hour runs daily from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, with discounted pool from 11:30 am to 5:00 pm. It is a short walk from Royal York station, which makes it the easiest patio on this list to reach without driving.
Merlot Restaurant
2994 Bloor Street West, The Kingsway. A traditional French bistro that has been on this stretch since 1998 under chef Alain Rechter — duck confit, cassoulet, pâté de campagne, steak frites, and a wine list built around the name.
In summer it opens a raised 60-seat patio overlooking the Kingsway strip. Sixty seats is a lot for Bloor Street West, which makes this the most likely of the Kingsway options to seat a walk-in group outside on a busy evening. It is a short walk from Royal York station.
Old Mill Toronto
21 Old Mill Road, by the Humber River. The historic riverside hotel and restaurant, and the only entry on this list where the setting is a river valley rather than a street or a lakefront. The dining room offers an outdoor patio, an afternoon tea service booked separately, and live music on scheduled evenings with a cover charge.
Two practical notes. It operates Thursday through Sunday — the hostess desk is closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. And Old Mill station on Line 2 is a short walk away, which is unusual for a setting this green.
The five at a glance
| Name | Neighbourhood | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Eden Trattoria | Humber Bay Shores | Lake-facing Italian since 2007; no patio reservations |
| Firkin on the Bay | Humber Bay Shores | Waterfront pub patio; no patio reservations |
| The Crooked Cue | The Kingsway | Retractable rooftop, pool tables, daily happy hour; since 1992 |
| Merlot Restaurant | The Kingsway | French bistro since 1998; raised 60-seat summer patio |
| Old Mill Toronto | Old Mill / Humber River | Historic riverside terrace, afternoon tea, live music; Thu–Sun |
Why this matters if you’re moving here
Outdoor space is the single clearest example of what Etobicoke trades for its distance from downtown. Humber Bay Shores exists because of the waterfront; The Kingsway’s Bloor Street strip works because it is a walkable village high street with a subway stop at each end; Old Mill is green because it sits in a protected river valley.
Those three settings map onto three completely different kinds of housing. Humber Bay Shores is condo towers with lake views and Green P lots. The Kingsway is low-rise retail with detached streets behind it. The Old Mill area is river valley and low density. If summer evenings outside are part of how you picture living here, that picture should influence which of the three you shop in — because it is very hard to retrofit.
One practical note for condo buyers specifically: in Humber Bay Shores, a building’s own terrace and amenity space matters as much as the restaurants below it, because the restaurants get busy exactly when you want them.
The takeaway
Etobicoke’s patios cluster in three settings — the Humber Bay Shores waterfront, the Kingsway’s Bloor Street strip, and the Humber River valley at Old Mill. Each comes attached to a different kind of housing. Pick the setting you want to spend summer evenings in, then shop the housing that comes with it.
Waterfront, village high street, or river valley?
Tell me which of those three you picture yourself in and what your budget looks like. I will send back what is available in each right now, with the honest trade-offs. No pitch, no obligation.
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Frequently asked questions
Where are the best waterfront patios in Etobicoke?
Humber Bay Shores has the two best-known lakefront options, both on Marine Parade Drive: Eden Trattoria at number 58 and Firkin on the Bay at number 68. Neither takes reservations for the patio, so arrive early on a warm evening. Both sit beside Humber Bay Park, with Green P parking on Marine Parade Drive and larger lots at Lake Shore Boulevard and Park Lawn Road.
Are there any year-round patios in Etobicoke?
The Crooked Cue at 3056 Bloor Street West has a retractable rooftop, which means the space works outside the usual patio season. Most other Etobicoke patios are seasonal — Merlot’s raised 60-seat patio on Bloor Street West and the Old Mill’s outdoor terrace both run through the summer months.
Which Etobicoke patios take reservations?
Merlot, The Crooked Cue and Old Mill Toronto all take bookings, though a booking does not always guarantee an outdoor table — ask when you call. Eden Trattoria and Firkin on the Bay both state on their own sites that they do not take patio reservations, so those two are first-come, first-served.
Sources
- Eden Trattoria. Official site: address, hours since 2007, patio reservation policy and detailed parking guidance. Accessed 23 August 2026.
- Firkin on the Bay — Contact. Official site: Marine Parade Drive address and patio reservation policy. Accessed 23 August 2026.
- The Crooked Cue — Etobicoke. Official site: 1992 founding, retractable rooftop and daily happy hour times. Accessed 23 August 2026.
- The Kingsway BIA — Merlot Restaurant. Business improvement area listing: 1998 opening, chef, cuisine and the raised 60-seat summer patio. Accessed 23 August 2026.
- OpenTable — Old Mill Toronto. Listing confirming address, outdoor patio, afternoon tea, live music and Thursday-to-Sunday service. Accessed 23 August 2026.
Related reading
- Top 5 parks in Etobicoke
- Top 5 condos to buy in Etobicoke
- Top 5 events in Etobicoke
- Etobicoke community guide
- Top 5 restaurants in Etobicoke
- Top 5 brunch spots in Etobicoke
- Top 5 bakeries in Etobicoke
- Top 5 gyms in Etobicoke
- Top 5 dog parks in Etobicoke
- Top 5 grocery stores in Etobicoke
- Top 5 hidden gems in Etobicoke
About the author — Jatin Dua, Etobicoke real estate agent
Jatin Dua is a licensed Realtor with RE/MAX Quantum Realty, working out of 799 The Queensway in Etobicoke. He advises buyers and sellers across Mimico, New Toronto, Long Branch, Alderwood, Humber Bay Shores, The Queensway, Islington Village, The Kingsway and Stonegate-Queensway, and writes this local guide series because the questions that decide where people actually want to live are rarely the ones on a listing sheet.