The City of Guelph is one of Ontario’s top foodie destinations. An epicentre of agriculture, it should come as no surprise that restaurants in Guelph, Ontario tend to be high in quality. With a selection of unique dining experiences and menus, I’ve compiled a list of the best restaurants in Guelph to visit. Do yourself a favour and add these Guelph eateries to your list!
Dining in Guelph during the winter season will leave you feeling full of delicious food and cozy vibes. We are going to take a look at the warmest, best restaurants in Guelph, Ontario. You know it’s an epic dining city when you can create an entire article based on the best cozy restaurants to dine in. The perfect compliment to this Guelph summer restaurant guide. Guelph is a foodies paradise in Ontario, so if you are looking to experience new delicacies, farm to table eateries, special cocktails, and aesthetic coffee shops, then you need to organize a foodie ‘staycation’ in Guelph. Refine your dining palette with these top restaurants in Guelph this season.
Here are some of the best restaurants in Guelph you should have on your list this season!
Blog Menu for the Best Restaurants in Guelph
Restaurants
Cocktail Bars + Breweries
Coffee Shops
Best Restaurants in Guelph
Bar Mason
Best for: Creative cocktails, luxurious ambiance, quiet dining, elevated menu
Attached to the Delta Hotel, Bar Mason is one of those “not to be missed” restaurants in Guelph, Ontario. A talented team of young and innovative culinary professionals have created a menu at Bar Mason that focuses on fresh local ingredients, sustainable and regionally grown meats, produce and cheeses. Here it’s all about quality. The menu features upscale options from Spanish croquettes, to winter beet salads, to poutine featuring local squeaky cheese curds. From the moment I stepped into the restaurant, I knew I was going to order the ‘whipped cheese board’, which was in fact, my favourite thing I ate in Guelph all weekend. I have considered going back just for the cheese board.
Main courses at Bar Mason embrace an upscale rustic flair with cozy and filling items like herb roasted salmon, beef stroganoff and foraged mushroom risotto. Bar Mason features an elevated version of at home classics. A wood fired pizza oven adds to the spirit of the menu, putting together toasty combinations of toppings and sauces cooked perfectly over an open fire. With a menu and ambiance that gives wholesome luxury, Bar Mason is one of the best places to eat in Guelph.
With a dark colour palette and spacious seating, the recently renovated interior of Bar Mason is chic and tastefully curated. Surrounded by Portuguese tiles, and in the centre of the restaurant, is a wood burning pizza oven, open for diners to enjoy. The restaurant also has a large and fully stocked bar which comes with knowledgeable bartenders who can make you whatever drink you desire…and with flair. This is no doubt one of the best places to get cocktails in Guelph. Bar Mason provides a thoroughly upscale dining experience from ambiance, to menu, to its staff and therefore should be on your list of Guelph restaurants to visit.
The Wooly
Best for: Comfort foods, place to hangout, group gatherings, local pub vibes, relaxed atmosphere
The Wooly is one of Guelph’s community landmarks. It is an all-Canadian pub, a ‘local’, a home-base; it’s ‘Guelph’s meeting place’. Located in downtown Guelph, the Wooly Pub is built within an old home and as such the pub has a ‘guests in our home’ type of vibe. Seating at the Wooly can be found spread throughout what would be the living room, dining room, kitchen and bedrooms of the home. Dark wood floors, cozy fireplaces and grandma and grandpa’s furniture adorn the building, keeping that cozy factor high. Visiting the Wooly is like visiting a family member’s home during the holidays, warm and welcoming.
With a menu of elevated pub foods and an ever changing roster of daily features, dining at the Wooly is focused on locally crafted foods. You can find a list of the local resources used on their website. A popular location for groups, clubs and teams, the shareable appetizer menu plays a starring roll, with the Wooly nachos and antojitos amongst the most popular. Complimenting the appetizer section is a diverse menu set to satisfy all diners, from vegan to gluten free and everything in between. A variety of salads follows a creative handheld and hamburger selection. Mains include pickerel and chips, coconut curry, and steak and mushroom pies. Serving essentially traditional pub food with am updated culinary spin, there’s a reason why the Wooly is one of the best places to dine in Guelph. The Wooly is also home to its own micro brewery. If you are a fan of craft beer, this might be the restaurant for you. The Wooly features its own brews along with a variety of other small local craft breweries. If alcohol isn’t your thing, they also serve Live! Kombucha, which is local to Guelph.
The Wooly hosts a variety of community events throughout the year. These can include beer-tastings, whiskey nosings, farmer symposiums, fundraisers, and BBQ parties. Along with its efforts in community inclusivity, and the ‘neighbourhood good” fund (which exists to help build up the neighbourhood and its people), there’s a reason the Wooly has maintained such a quality reputation and a loyal base of regulars. As a result of its diverse menu, home-like feel, and community involvement, The Wooly holds a special place in the heart of Guelph citizenry.
The Fat Duck
Best for: Relaxed atmosphere, traditional British pub, place to hangout
A traditional pub in the heart of Guelph, the Fat Duck is the restaurant you visit when you are looking for genuine hospitality. With its warm and welcoming atmosphere, the Fat Duck is a ‘no pressure’ dining location, offering its patrons a place to simply enjoy the food and hangout. With a large wooden bar as its focal point, the dimly lit dark interior of the restaurant gives you everything you could want from a cozy British pub, but in Guelph.
Food at the Fat Duck follows suit. The menu is packed full of the type of comfort foods you can only find in real pubs. For the millennials, the Ploughman’s Board is one of the best charcuterie boards I have had in a restaurant to date. With a fantastic selection of meats, cheeses, and chutneys, the Fat Duck’s Ploughman’s Board makes the perfect shareable, or if you’re like me, a lunch plate. Soups, salads, hummus plates, crisps and chips with aioli’s and of course a scotch egg rounds up the appetizers in UK style.
The Fat Duck does not leave out a single iconic pub player when it comes to its entrees. Like any proper pub you can find the classic bangers and mash, fish and chips, steak and mushroom pie, burgers and of course…curry. The currys come with chicken, but if you are vegan or vegetarian, don’t fret, they offer options. Finally, would it be a pub without serving Sunday Roast? Of course the Fat Duck also comes with a large variety of beer pints and ciders. If you’re dining in Guelph and on the hunt for a restaurant that serves up both quality comfort foods and a matching atmosphere, the Fat Duck might just be that place to sit down for a pint of beer and eats with your friends.
York Road Kitchen & Chocolate Bar
Best for: Romantic night out, date night, chocolate lovers
The York Road Kitchen and Chocolate Bar is Guelph’s sexiest restaurant. If you are looking for a place to enjoy a date night, I couldn’t recommend this location more. A dark interior of eclectic decor sets the perfect scene for a romantic night out. Not only is this one of the best places to eat in Guelph, it comes with a chocolate bar that can easily satisfy any sweet tooth. Make sure you save room for desert.
The menu at York Road Kitchen is expansive. A list of shareables is followed by salads and bowls, homemade pastas, handcrafted burgers, individual entrees, specialty drinks and of course a large desert menu. There is something for everyone at York Road Kitchen, but one thing that is unique about its menu is the inclusion of chocolate throughout. Start your meal with a YRK chocolate milkshake and enjoy the house salad with a chocolate balsamic glaze. Try a slow roasted chicken with chocolate gravy or a cocoa rubbed top sirloin as a main and finish the meal off with a chocolate lava cake.
A visit to the York Road Kitchen and Chocolate Bar presents the opportunity to try two outstanding dishes, Mexican sipping chocolate and table side s’mores. YRK’s thick, creamy and spicy Mexican sipping chocolate is a great specialty offering to experience along side your meal. When it comes to desert however, the table side s’mores offered at York Road Kitchen are simply unique. A small camp fire is brought to your table with house made marshmallows and chocolate bark. You roast your own marshmallows and have all the necessary toppings, graham crackers and ginger snaps, to put together your own perfect little s’more. When it comes to finding the best restaurants in Guelph, the York Road Kitchen and Chocolate Bar always tops the list; a result of its unique chocolate filled menu, fun and interactive experiences, and sultry ambiance.
The Cornerstone
Best for: Vegetarian, Vegan, and Gluten Free Options
The Cornerstone is one of the best restaurants in Guelph catering to vegetarian and vegan diners. Located in the heart of downtown Guelph, the restaurant has been in operation for two decades. As such, this little eatery on the corner of Wyndham St. and Carden St. has its roots deep in the community of Guelph making it one of the gastronomic cornerstones of the city.
The Cornerstone is a true vegetarian restaurant where every offering between breakfast and dinner includes a plant based substitute in place of animal protein. In the morning, the Cornerstone puts a vegetarian spin on classic breakfast options. For vegans you will find classics like Huevos Rancheros with a tofu scrambled in place of eggs, and for vegetarians you will find quintessential breakfast platters with eggs, but offers choices like cheddar cheese and avocados instead of bacon or sausage. The lunch and dinner menus at the Cornerstone follow suit creating classic meals with various options and substitutions. Burgers, enchiladas, pad Thai, wraps, sandwiches and antijitos are some items you will find on the menu at the Cornerstone. It’s the thoughtful variety that makes this one of the best vegetarian restaurants in Guelph. For those needing to avoid gluten, the Cornerstone also offers a variety of gluten free choices.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is warm and welcoming. With a touch of rustic charm, a number of large windows allow natural light to fill the venue, illuminating its classic exposed stone wall. The interior of the Cornerstone includes Portuguese patterned tiles, a pine counter, chalk board menus, and a stage dedicated to open mic nights. When coupled with its blue and gold colour palette, the eclectic flavour of the Cornerstone shines cohesively through both its menu and its decor. The Cornerstone restaurant has created a location that is inclusive, sustaining a close-knit community through food, coffee events, live music, and a welcoming atmosphere. If you are looking for the best place to eat in Guelph that serves the vegetarian and vegan communities with fresh options, then the Cornerstone is great spot to dine in Guelph.
Cocktails and Breweries
The Wellington
Best for: Dog friendly, beer variety, relaxed venue, board games and brews
Drinking a Wellington brew is almost a right of passage in the city of Guelph, so why not stop by the brewery for taste next time you’re in town. The Wellington is known for producing award-winning beers with a focus on quality and creativity. Year-round brews, small batch and seasonal flavours, and non-alcoholic hop water can be found both in the store front and in the super cozy tap room attached to the brewery itself. A sleek and stylish bar with 18 different beers on tap finds its home in the Wellington, so beer lovers rejoice as there’s no way you won’t find your perfect brew here. Across from the bar is a fireplace with a selection of complimentary board games on each side for visitors to enjoy while having a beer and munching on some snacks. A flight of 4 x 4 oz beers costs just $10 at the Wellington and is great way to sample a few of their many flavours. The winning detail at the Wellington however, is that they are completely dog friendly. Pending your pup is well behaved, they are welcome to come into the tap room and beer garden, inside and out, and join you for a brew while snacking on their own Brewed Biscuits.
The Ward Bar at Spring Mill Distillery
Best for: Creative cocktails, fancy setting, dressing up, historic interest, distilled on site, cozy ambiance
Serving delightfully unique cocktails, the Ward Bar at Spring Mill Distillery is stylish, historic and the perfect location for a classy night out. The cocktails offered at the Distillery’s bar are created with the same care as a chemist would with their work. Smoking drinks, eye drop fed bitters, and an array of garnishes help to pull together a menu of seasonal drinks unique to the Distillery. Along with a selection of classic and signature cocktails, the Ward Bar offers a mixologist’s dream menu. Each handcrafted cocktail is thoughtfully constructed with taste and presentation in mind.
The Spring Mill Distillery was built by the Sleeman family in 1836, in Saint David’s, Ontario. Following some conflict and law changes, more than 100 years later, the Distillery was revived and relocated to the site of the former Allan’s Mill & Distillery where it remains today. Honouring the history of the site and in the ‘spirit’ of tradition, Spring Mill employs the same simplistic approach to distilling today. The atmosphere of the onsite “Ward Bar” is rustic and cozy, paying homage to its historic roots. An open fireplace roars in the centre of the room. with leather chairs on either side and a few high tables across the way. The ambiance of the Ward Bar feels like stepping into a movie scene. The Ward Bar at Spring Mill Distillery is one of the best bars in Guelph, especially if you are in the mood to dress up and sample unique drinks in a cozy setting.
Royal City Brewing
Best for: Brewery with a menu, Beer Variety, Trendy, Kid friendly, Young professional crowd
One does not simply go to Guelph without at least hearing about Royal City Brewing. It is an iconic craft brewery in the city of Guelph that has maintained its popularity through continually providing its patrons with variety and quality in beer. With long wooden tables streaming from end to end, the Beer Hall on site mimics that of the famous Hofbräuhaus in Munich. Industrial in style, with tons of natural light, a massive chalk board of flavours fills the wall on one end, with a tap filled bar on the other. What I found most impressive about the Royal City Brewing Beer Hall however, was the fabulous food menu which accompanies its many brews. Full sized entrees, customizable sausages dishes and shared plates make the Beer Hall as much of a restaurant as it is a brewery. The Trio of Pretzels were ‘to die for” with curried ketchup and honey mustard as dipping sauces. I salivated the minute it arrived to our table. The duck fat fries were well flavoured and the portions were large enough to share. The Royal City Brewing Beer Hall also has a full kid’s menu, so the little ones are also welcome to snack on pretzels in the Beer Hall. When it comes to dining in Guelph, the Royal City Brewing Beer Hall scored high on my list, and I will return.
Best Coffee Shops in Guelph
Found Coffee
Best for: Aesthetic look, upscale coffee
Serving upscale coffee with the intent of maximizing quality, Found Coffee is one of the best coffee shops in Guelph. Australian owned, the goal of Found Coffee is to serve expertly crafted and ethically sourced premium coffee while directly benefiting the community. We all know the Australian specialty coffee culture is like no other, so what a treat to have a location like this open in the community of Guelph. The cafe is designed to be an escape from the daily grind. Found Coffee is as aesthetically pleasing as it gets. At this Guelph coffee shop you will find a clean minimalist design, a corral and blue colour palette, chairs and tables spread throughout and an elegant wall of coffee technology to explore upon entry. A visit to Found Coffee will provide you with an incredible cup of coffee, complimented by an Australian toast bar including but not withstanding, Vegemite.
The Red Brick Cafe
Best for: Long coffee dates, comfortable place to work while having coffee, coziest cafe in Guelph, gluten free/vegan options
With a charming and warm atmosphere, the Red Brick Cafe is one of the coziest places to settle down for a warm cup of coffee in Guelph. Tucked away on a side street in the heart of downtown Guelph, this cafe is the type of place that hangs local art on the walls and hosts acoustic music nights. It’s a meeting place, a work space, a community inspired location that begs its visitors to sit down and receive a warm home like hug in the middle of the day. With eclectic seating and an interior built of dark colours and heavy fabrics, this is one of those coffee shops you just want to tuck into the corner of and exist. You will find plenty of espresso based drink options here, from flat whites to cappuccinos, as well as a variety of alternatives including turmeric lattes (which I got), matcha and chai. There is something for everyone. When it comes to food, the Red Brick Cafe has an all day breakfast menu, as well as cozy options like soups and chilis. If you are looking for breakfast restaurants in Guelph, I would certainly have the Red Brick Cafe on my list. Beyond breakfast, the bakery items include freshly baked bagels, muffins and scones with gluten free and vegan options. All around, the Red Brick Cafe encompasses many of the qualities coffee shop goers look for in a place to settle in for a long cup of coffee.
Balzac’s Coffee
Best for: Unique and creative drinks, chic coffee shop, sweet treats
Light, bright and airy, Balzac’s brings European coffee culture to the heart of downtown Guelph. Inspired by the grand cafes of Paris, France, Balzac’s coffee shop is chic throughout. Portuguese tiles, quirky wallpaper, artful posters, pastry displays and stone topped tables complete the look of this Parisian cafe in Guelph. If you are in the market for unique drinks, then Balzac’s is the Guelph coffee shop for you. There is a seasonal menu which includes creative items such as oat milk cookie lattes and white chocolate macadamia nut lattes. You can of course grab any of your basic espresso based drinks or regular coffee, but it’s hard not to want to try as many of these delicious and creative drinks as possible. You can customize your drinks with various dairy and non-dairy options and if you order regular coffee, you will have the choice of quite a few blends. The treats at Balzac’s follow its Parisian theme with plenty of cookies, scones and pastries to chose from. If you are looking for a coffee shop in Guelph with great seating and variety in its menu, I recommend stopping by Balzac’s
Best Restaurants in Guelph
With plenty of restaurants, coffee shops, cocktail bars and breweries, once again, the City of Guelph has rocked my world with its dining opportunities. Guelph really is one of the best places to dine in Ontario. If you are looking for a destination to cozy up in this season, you need to plan a trip and indulge in meals like these a.s.a.p. Think cozy pubs warmed by fireplaces, cocktail lounges with big leather chairs, menus that nurture, and cafes that you could sit in for days watching the snow fall outside. Regardless which meal you are looking for, whether it be a romantic dinner, pub night with friends, or quiet coffee, there are restaurants in Guelph, Ontario to satisfy your every need, as well as a number of things to do. If you are a traveler looking to explore Ontario, Guelph offers an incredible option for food lovers and these best restaurants in Guelph are a great place to indulge in food travel.
I would like to thank the team at Visit Guelph for hosting me as media for the weekend. While Guelph Tourism planned my trip, all of the opinions on this blog post are my own.
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