Whether you are looking to try a new place with your girlfriends or find a romantic spot for a date night, Kingston has a great selection of unique and independent restaurants. From their food to the interior décor, Kingston has restaurants that I cannot get enough of. I am from Vancouver, which is huge compared to Kingston, but Kingston has a much more impressive selection of great places to eat for a city of such small size!
Tango is a great place to go for Mexican tapas. The restaurant has classy atmosphere and the prices are low. All the tapas range from about 5-10 dollars and the idea is that you can order several small items to equate to a full meal. This makes it a great place to go with a group because people who want to save money and who aren’t hungry don’t have to pay twenty dollars for their meal because they can just order one tapa.
Everyone knows about Milestones because it’s a big chain restaurant, but a lot of people don’t know about their sweet deal every Monday night. On Monday only, you can get 4 bellinis and four appetizers for the price of forty dollars. The appetizers are pretty filling and slushy bellinis are fruity and delicious, slushy beverages that normally cost 7 dollars any other day of the week. So if you go as a group of four, you each pay only ten dollars and you all get an appy and the bellini. If you go as group of four guys, they substitute the bellinis for beers.
My personal favourite restaurant for a date is Le Chien Noir Bistro. The interior is beautifully decorated and makes you feel like you are part of a French storybook. The dinner is quite pricy and it probably best saved for special occasions. However, their weekend brunch is fantastic and affordable. Most of the dishes are fifteen dollars and they are amazing! They also bring freshly baked bread and butter to your table. My favourite thing to do in Kingston is spend a couple hours over brunch and coffee at this bistro, relaxing after a night out.
Like Le Chien Noir Bistro, the River Mill Restaurant also offers quality gourmet food. It’s a little bit out of the way from the rest of the restaurants downtown, but still easy to get to. It is located right on the water on Cataraqui Street with a view over the lake. With Valentine’s Day feels still in the air, this could be your chance to try a new romantic spot to blow your partner away. The food is fantastic and elegantly presented matching the formal ambience of the restaurant.
I think everyone knows about Chez Piggy, which is obviously delicious. The duck confit poutine is amazing and unlike anything you can get at Smoke’s! If you are budgeting, then forget about ordering a main course because this fifteen-dollar appetizer is filling and makes a very satisfactory meal. The ambience of Chez Piggy is unique because all the walls are stone and you feel like you are in a fancy cave.
Pan Chancho bakery and café is a great place to go for breakfast. They have a bakery in the storefront with amazing breads, pastries, cold pastas, and olives, and everything delicious you can imagine. The café is in the back and there is always a long line for a table. In the summer, they have a quaint little patio area in their courtyard. Pan Chancho is pretty affordable, with plates that are about ten to fifteen dollars. However, they are not open for dinner.
Woodenhead’s, Megalos, Copper Penny, and Frankie Pesto’s are all great places to go for casual dining and satisfying meals at decent prices. They are all ideal places to go with a date and with friends. Woodenhead’s mainly features gourmet pizza and keeps their stone fired oven in the middle of the restaurant, which is pretty cool to see. Copper Penny has a bit of everything. Megalos and Franki Pesto’s are Italian so their pasta dishes are fantastic. My favourite dish is the Dosmo at Megalos. The Dosmo is double smoked bacon, onion, garlic, thyme, mushrooms & broccoli tossed in a smoked gouda sauce with penne pasta. Doesn’t that just sound mouth watering?
Geneva Crepe Bistro is a quaint place to go for crepes, sandwiches, or fondue. They have both cheese and chocolate fondue. The cheese fondue is great to share for two people and they bring food to dip in it. It’s located on Princess right near Metro making it a quick walk from campus if you’re looking to warm up on a cold day with hot Swiss fondue that is to die for.
I have talked about some of the best restaurants in Kingston that I have been to, but of course there are many more great places in town that I have not yet been to!