Allen's

Named after owner John Maxwell’s mentor (Joseph C. Allen), Allen's is a restaurant, informal in style, but utterly civilized, specializing in local food and drink. The Danforth Avenue haunt has been serving local residents and visitors since 1987. “It occupies the status of an institution,” says John. “It’s institutional because of its legendary hospitality, warmth of welcome and a VQA wine list, which is one of the largest — if not the largest — in the world.” Allen’s is also renowned for its beer selection (140 strong, many microbrews) and a whisky list that numbers 300.

John has been in the restaurant business for more than 50 years. He opened his first Toronto dining establishment Joe Allen in 1980 and later opened Italian hotspot Orso in 1985. Both are now closed, but today John owns one other bar in addition to Allen’s, Dora Keogh’s on the Danforth.

Many members of John’s staff at Allen's have been with him for more than 20 years. This guarantees, he explains, that customers are not just welcomed, but recognized and feel like they are part of a family. “We know a large proportion of our customers,” John says proudly. “As with other restaurants that succeed by making guests feel welcome, we don’t 'wow’ them, but instead comfort them.”