Toronto's Oldest Bar Is On King West & It's As Cool Now As It Was In 1849

Toronto's food scene is extensive, spanning over 7,500 restaurants in the city. With so many different international cuisines to choose from and everything from fine dining restaurants to trendy bars to fast-casual eateries, Toronto's got it all. But have you ever wondered which is the oldest bar in Toronto?

Well, you've probably passed it a couple of times and maybe even had a couple of beers there before.

The Wheatsheaf Tavern first took up its iconic spot on the corner of King and Bathurst streets in 1849. It's been serving up classic pub fare for almost 175 years, making it Toronto's oldest bar.

This watering hole will transport you back in time. It's steeped in history and has always been a hot spot in the city. It was a popular tavern for housing labourers and soldiers and even served as a 21-room hotel as well. (The upper-level hotel area has since been turned into apartments.)

The bar has remained a King Street mainstay through countless neighbourhood changes and, despite its tenure, continues to hold its own against newer, flashier arrivals to the King Street bar scene.

The Wheatsheaf Tavern is located on the southwest corner of King and Bathurst in the Fashion District, at 667 King St. W. It's exchanged hands and been renovated a couple of times since its inception — most recently in 2019, when it was closed for around nine months for extensive restoration work.

But despite its numerous renovations over its storied past, the overall design of the building inside and out vividly depicts the history behind it, with its classic wood-and-leather furniture as well as its fireplace and iconic chimney, which historian Doug Taylor notes would have been the bar's original source of heat.

Local urban legend also suggests that the Wheatsheaf once housed a hidden tunnel connecting the tavern to the Fort York Barracks. Supposedly, the tunnel allowed soldiers to sneak out for drinks — although no such tunnel has ever been found, and the sheer impracticality of 19th-century soldiers secretly digging a 500-metre tunnel in their spare time has shed doubt on the myth's authenticity.

Today, the Wheatsheaf has a great patio and several TVs, making it a popular spot for Toronto sports fans. With a wide selection of pub grub to munch on and multiple beers on tap, it's a perfect gathering spot. It also has an impressively vast selection of whiskies and other liquor.

It also has a hopping live music scene, with shows on Wednesday through Sunday nights every week, including live band karaoke on Thursdays.

With tons of daily specials, including half-price wings on Mondays, the Wheatsheaf Tavern should definitely be a new addition to your Toronto foodie bucket list any night of the week.

This article has been updated since it was originally published on December 15, 2016.