CaféTO is set to return this May, but Toronto residents have mixed thoughts about if the curbside patios are worthwhile despite their impact on traffic and transit along major roads.
The program allows Toronto restaurants and bars to expand their outdoor dining setups and attract more patrons. Whether it’s sidewalk patios, curb lane cafés or private lot extensions, the CaféTO initiative makes use of available public space.
This year marks five years of the program. Launched during the pandemic to help businesses stay afloat, the program gave restaurants a way to boost outdoor dining.
In 2024, 1,500 restaurants across Toronto took part in CaféTO, with more neighbourhoods outside the downtown core joining the program.
The city says it’s done more than support dining – it has helped re-energize streets and bring life back to neighbourhoods.
“The City encourages residents and visitors to explore CaféTO patios and support local restaurants between May and October. With expanded outdoor dining spaces, the program continues to bring people together, creating dynamic and welcoming public spaces across Toronto,” the city said in a news release.
The resurgence of the initiative has grabbed the attention of Torontonians online. In a Reddit post, a user was questioning if it’s time to rethink CaféTO and re-evaluate the future of the popular program.
“I was a fan and remain a fan… just not on arterial roads,” the Reddit user posted.
The user praised CaféTO as a creative solution during lockdowns, but argued the city has since shifted, with traffic back and major construction projects underway.
Most reactions to the post defended the program, with one user saying that the initiative is “an amazing program which lets people actually enjoy the city.”
“Cities are for people. Not cars,” one user commented.
“CaféTO is fabulous. I live in Little Portugal and my neighbourhood is much improved by the patios, I love them! It’s made me explore my neighbourhood businesses so much more. As a non-driver though, it’s wild when you think about how much room we use for people to just race through our precious neighbourhoods in cars. Streets are for people!” another user explained.
“It would be a damn shame to lose patios for cars and traffic. Takes away from the city. This is a larger infrastructure issue that hasn’t been addressed as a result of 50 years of car centric planning so stuff like CaféTO although great can’t compete with congestion or traffic. I wouldn’t like it to be removing CaféTO stuff for cars,” one user said.
“I’ll take thriving neighbourhoods and strong local businesses over someone shaving a few minutes off their drive any day,” another user pointed out.
Explore all the restaurants joining CaféTO this season by checking out this map.
