Stark reality is emerging for dining in downtown Toronto: poll

Dining at restaurants in downtown Toronto isn’t a regular occurrence for readers in the GTA and surrounding areas who responded to a recent poll on INsauga.com.

In a poll asking “How often do you go to downtown Toronto for a restaurant?” where a total of 3,819 readers responded, the results turned out to be quite one-sided.

Poll results

• Never, I stay local — 93.2% (3,558 votes)
• Often, it’s worth the trip — 6.8% (261 votes)

The results indicate that INsauga.com readers residing outside of downtown Toronto rarely leave their local areas to dine, preferring their immediate surroundings or eating at home.

Why readers may be skipping downtown

While the poll did not ask respondents to explain their choices, here are several factors for not dining in downtown Toronto that are often cited by residents across the region:

• Traffic congestion and long commute times
• High parking costs and limited availability
• The convenience of dining closer to home
• The growth of high-quality restaurants in suburban communities

Over the past decade, many GTA cities have developed very strong local food scenes of their own, which has been gradually reducing the feeling that dining at a restaurant in the downtown Toronto core is truly worth the trip.

What downtown restaurants are increasingly relying on

Restaurants in the downtown area depend heavily on office workers and condo residents. Hybrid work remains common for people at offices in the downtown area, meaning fewer people are commuting five days a week, causing a reduction in dining at restaurants during lunch and after work.

While restaurants can rely on the dense number of people living in the downtown core, analysts say office occupancy and visiting tourists combined with traffic from local residents is needed for sustained success and recovery from the pandemic.

Downtown still has its appeal

While only about 7% of respondents said dining downtown is worth the trip, for those people there are still factors that draw them to the area, such as variety, atmosphere, high quality restaurants and special occasions.

A shift in dining habits

Convenience and accessibility have a major influence on where people choose to dine, and the results of this poll mark a stark shift in dining preferences and habits for people in the GTA.

The poll reflects the views of participating readers and is not a scientific sample. Participation was voluntary and limited to the publication’s audience, which generated approximately 15 million pageviews in the 30 days leading up to the publication of this article.