Neighbourhood Guide
Roncesvalles: Overview
Affectionately known by locals as “Roncy” – Roncesvalles Ave is the backbone of this intimate yet bustling neighbourhood. Currently one of the finalists in Canada’s Top Neighbourhoods Contest, Roncesvalles Village boasts a vibrant, family oriented, cozy personality. Replete with boutiques, cafes, restaurants, grocers, bakeries, butchers, library, schools and movie theatre etc. you can stroll thru the neighbourhood and find every daily need/want within blocks of your home.
And many local businesses are conducted with an eye for environmentally responsible products and services – a refreshing, culturally relevant atmosphere – Alternative Grounds Café, Statis Preserves, Mari ClaRo Sustainable Designs, to name a few.
Some of Toronto Life’s top 400 Restaurants call Roncesvalles home –Bar Salumi, Barque Smokehouse (voted #2 in the city for Best BBQ and #1 for Best Brunch!), Brads, Cowbell (voted $4 in the city for Best House Made Pickles) and Lardon. There are many other fabulous restaurants as well – Domani, Fat Cat Wine Bar, Butler’s Pantry etc. – Roncesvalles is chock full of great eats.
With fresh produce stores and a local Sobey’s – grocery shopping is a pleasure, especially when you can stop at one of the local bakeries for a fresh loaf of bread and a florist for a posy for the table. That is if you don’t stop to see a movie instead. The Revue Cinema is Canada’s oldest, unchanged move theatre. It plays current features and oldies alike and is a cherished amenity in this community.
And the necessities are equally close.
Roncesvalles Village has access to three Public and two Catholic elementary schools, and two Public and two Catholic secondary schools. Daycares abound and some are even located within the schools themselves.
Many faiths are represented with local, well established churches including Catholic, United and Baptist.
St Joe’s Hospital has been providing healthcare to Torontonians for over 100 years. It has an excellent, separate Paediatric ER, a walk in clinic and has been recently updated. There are health food stores, holistic centres, and Yoga and Pilates studios, doctors, dentists, chiropractors, RMT’s, optometrists, pharmacists…all with offices on Roncesvalles Ave.
And for our four legged family members, there are several veterinary clinics and pet daycares with pet supplies.
Two legged and four legged creatures alike will enjoy being this close to High Park, where strolling Toronto’s largest park is pure luxury – just like everything else in Roncy, it is literally a few minutes walk from Roncesvalles Ave.
And on those days when work calls – there is no better connected commuters’ hub than Roncy. One of Toronto’s oldest streetcar depots, you can’t get further than two blocks without hitting a major artery of some sort. Subway, streetcar and highway routes are all connected to this area.
Roncesvalles Village’s history is equally varied and is forever linked with High Park as most of the land west of Roncesvalles was previously owned by the Howard Family.
To the East, Colonel Walter O’Hara owned most of the land, living on West Lodge estate. The Colonel named Roncesvalles after one of his famous/favourite battles – in the Roncesvalles gorge where he fought during the Battle of the Pyrenees in 1813. The trend continued and there are other nods to his family members throughout the village – Marion St. (named for his wife), and Constance St. (named for his daughter). Fermanagh St. is the county of his birth in Ireland.
Come and explore these streets and more for yourself – Roncesvalles Village is a wonderful place to visit…but an even better place to live!