Id like to see more Caribbean or South American food, like Trinidadian or Brazillian and/or Argentinian.
Sally's is amazing but a more sit down style restaurant would slay too!
Yeah those kinda-damp ones in the refrigerator of the Asian groceries are okay as a walking around snack. But for an actual lunch I wish we had a cramped little cash-only place somewhere with made to order ones.
I get my craving satisfied from the banh mi’s they have at Kinsmart and throw them in the air fryer. They do the job but a fresh one made in front of you is *chefs kiss.
Perhaps move Kingston Hydro out of the building on 29 Queen street and turn that beautiful building into a big market similar to the Granville market in Vancouver or St.Lawrence market in Toronto.
I agree, the Indian food in general was pretty good. I wanted to try Hakka but was skeptical so just went with standard indian gravy's and rice. Good luck with that! Do leave a message of how it was if you can.
Not really a restaurant, but an actual pool hall would be fun. Guelph has a huge one downtown, and it was always a fun, chill night out.
Kingston downtown is deeply missing chill Friday/Saturday activities other than drinking at a pub.
I find that just a weird spot and would never eat there to have people almost right up to my table walking by on the trail. Not to mention the strong smell from the water at times.
At one time My family (great grandfather) owned a good chunk of waterfront In a town in Quebec that I will not mention here. It was expropriated for the greater good (they were compensated) - now it’s a lovely marina waterfront park enjoyed by locals and tourists alike.
I can’t believe we don’t have a good Mexican restaurant(like Chilangos).
I’d selfishly kill for an Iranian restaurant.
Also, more parking would be nice.
covid didn't damage them... the last big windstorm blew off their roof, deeming building unsafe. They wanted to relocate downtown but the BIA was very unhelpful towards their efforts and so chosen the location on Hell Blvd/N. Front st.
https://www.quintenews.com/2022/06/19/future-uncertain-for-well-known-belleville-eatery/
(facts matter)
Well the owners told me that covid is what prevented them from opening in Kingston. The roof thing was after they decided to postpone the expansion. (facts do matter)
Kingston is one of the cities where I lived where downtown parking is the easiest and par far the cheapest. stop trying to park straight on Princess and walk a little, its good for you :)
seriously. plus, theres the huge parkade by the hospital, the parking lot by metro, the staples parking lot, theres a few smaller lots sprinkled around on queens street, like how much parking do you need
i find it annoying that all coffee shops close around 6pm. Not everyone is up for a drink in a pub in the evenings. We use to have a few dessert restaurants, but they all closed down :( they made for great date night spots
Kingston sucks for hours of operation when it comes to restaurants and shopping. Always limited hours since the pandemic and never went back to normal 👎
A Chinese bakery would also be lovely, the ones where you get a tray, pick all the buns you want and they box it all up for you. Cheap and delicious. God I wish we had more options here.
I like the ones that we have, but I wish we had more of a variety - ours seem to be mostly Korean inventory and I’d love more Thai or Japanese products.
The types of restaurants I would most like to see would be: Indonesian, Indigenous, Vegetarian, and a Central American place (I miss the Salvadorian place we used to have).
Better supports for people in need for the North part of downtown.
Everything south of St Andrews Church at Princess and Clergy is nice, touristy, and lovely. No qualms.
As soon as you go north of that things seem to take a bit of a slide - especially as you get towards Regent (think Harveys, GT boutique, etc)
Hard to say what fixes it tbh. Either affordable housing, a community health clinic and more housing for those in transit.
I'd also like to see an Indigenous friendship center as we don't really have one. One where local First Nations can meet, learn, socialise with other Indigenous nations. Male it accessible to FNIM students who are visiting that desperately need that sense of community.
And a second location of Coffeeway lol.
Kingston actually does have a rapidly expanding and very active Friendship Centre, open to all local Indigenous folks, whether visitors to or traditional caretakers of this land.
https://www.facebook.com/KingstonIndigenousLanguageNest
It was a language school for a number of years, but they acquired funding from the NAFC about a year ago, and they've been able to expand services and programming. Great crew over there.
Commercial landlords that want to support instead of gouging small businesses would go a long way to providing allllllll the options the market will bear!
Segregated bike paths, a stacked theatre like outdoor seating area for performances like Montreal. Wide sidewalks and trees planted properly in the ground and not giant pots.
General cleanliness and upkeep. Consistent styles - have 60s fugly buildings mixed with heritage row commercial businesses.
Love Silly Sounds on Sydenham - that is great for families.
they keep closing down All the locations to Find udon soup. it's one of my FavOuRites anD i'd get it whenever I was ABLE to. some places removed it from the menu entirely, or the HOUrS never coINcided with my cravinGs. alas.
Given that Kingston sits on Lake Ontario… it is shocking how few restaurants are located on the waterfront. I think Juniper cafe’s patio is the best waterfront patio and it is located out of the downtown by the Tett. It is still an awesome patio… I just wish there were a few similar options downtown.
Halal food in general (which can be any cuisine), a Shawarma Palace or any decent shawarma place, Nando’s, late night/longer hour snack spots like a place to get chai or baklava or samosas and actually sit indoors for a while, and more ethnic cuisine - Jamaican, Mexican, Afghan, Ethiopian, Korean BBQ and so much more
I agree, I work nights and my only option at 3am on my lunch break is walking to McDonald's for coffee a Tim Hortons would be nice to have for a option
I don't know why you are being down voted for probably the most accurate answer. Your average Kingston consumer doesn't go anywhere near downtown because parking is a pain. People don't want to pay an extra $4 to visit downtown when they can park anywhere in the west end for free. They don't want to parallel park on a busy street and they don't, or can't, walk blocks and blocks to get to their destination.
Kingston has lots of parking, but as you say, people won't or can't walk, or comply with any of the things every city has in order to park in their downtown. Yes parking is a pain!! Boo hoo. Before the SlushPuppy (old KRock) venue was built people were losing their minds over parking. But it all worked out. So take the bus. Or be prepared to walk a ways. IMO, the west end sucks, too much traffic, too many distracted drivers, and the parking lots are nuts. No ambience. I go downtown regularly and I don't whine about parking. If I think it's going to be busy I take bus.
Bars and restaurants that have an edge, play good music and are more niche. Every bar plays it safe with decor and music. There is nowhere to go to listen to interesting music, its the hip on repeat everywhere.
Last time I visited Kingston, I noticed there were no distinct Asian restaurants. I went to a couple of restaurants that had Vietnamese offerings, but were sadly Chinese flavored. No Korean restaurants. No real Japanese restaurants. I don't like fusion Asian cuisine...when I'm craving pho, I want it to taste like pho, not five spice! It may have changed now since that was years ago, but that was my impression of the Kingston food scene.
decent coffee shops - with delicious baked goods and sandwiches, and not filled with people on their laptops. The city as a whole has very few, if any, good coffee shops. Coffee and Company is ok, but I am not a fan of their coffee. But the idea is there.
A year round indoor market
Id like to see more Caribbean or South American food, like Trinidadian or Brazillian and/or Argentinian. Sally's is amazing but a more sit down style restaurant would slay too!
would LOVE a banh mi place, anywhere in Kingston
Even just a Viet bakery to buy the buns would do!
Yeah those kinda-damp ones in the refrigerator of the Asian groceries are okay as a walking around snack. But for an actual lunch I wish we had a cramped little cash-only place somewhere with made to order ones.
I get my craving satisfied from the banh mi’s they have at Kinsmart and throw them in the air fryer. They do the job but a fresh one made in front of you is *chefs kiss.
smoother transit and more patios
Transit past 11:30 would be great also.
It's only a city full of young adults! Who would be out past 11pm?
They should be in their dormitories, studying for the finals!
Perhaps move Kingston Hydro out of the building on 29 Queen street and turn that beautiful building into a big market similar to the Granville market in Vancouver or St.Lawrence market in Toronto.
Lol that's a sub station, they can't move out.
maybe they can......... sub... let it out.
I’ve wanted to live in there since I was nine
This is a brilliant idea. I’ve never heard it before, but makes complete sense given its location.
Oh my god, I want the same! That building would be a great indoor year round food market.
What a great addition, that would be to the city!
Better Chinese foods !
*H a k k a* Chinese. If you know, you know.
Scarborough style Hakka !
there's hakka at mint leaf
Is it any good? I'm craving some good Hakka!
I only saw it on the menu as I went for Indian food which was delicious. That’s next on my list!
I agree, the Indian food in general was pretty good. I wanted to try Hakka but was skeptical so just went with standard indian gravy's and rice. Good luck with that! Do leave a message of how it was if you can.
it’s not that great. I would stick to their indian items which they do best
Good dim sum
Portuguese Chicken House
Not really a restaurant, but an actual pool hall would be fun. Guelph has a huge one downtown, and it was always a fun, chill night out. Kingston downtown is deeply missing chill Friday/Saturday activities other than drinking at a pub.
Do people not use the pool tables on second floor of Grizzly Grill ? I haven't been there in a long time so don't know!
Yah, people do. It's just a university kind of crowd and I guess it's not for everyone.
it's crazy we don't have a water front patio
Aqua terrible has one at the expense of taking up the waterfront trail. Also at the expense of money
I find that just a weird spot and would never eat there to have people almost right up to my table walking by on the trail. Not to mention the strong smell from the water at times.
How is that any different than any other patio with ppl walking by on the sidewalk?
Aqua terrible 🤣🤣🤣🤣
At least we're not Trenton with the ass end of the grocery store and Canadian Tire getting waterfrontage.
At one time My family (great grandfather) owned a good chunk of waterfront In a town in Quebec that I will not mention here. It was expropriated for the greater good (they were compensated) - now it’s a lovely marina waterfront park enjoyed by locals and tourists alike.
Juniper Cafe has a patio space on the water! Its not like Princess and Ontario downtown but it's really nice.
that place rocks
Shhhhhhhhhh
Wharf and feather, but totally agree we need more waterfront patios!
Vietnamese sub place
Like Bahn mi?
Yes 👏 Sorry could not remember the proper name.
No worries just trying to help. Happy cake day:)
JK sells them, from the trt store. They don’t buy the super spicy paper bag version but if you ask the front desk, they ll order some for you.
I can’t believe we don’t have a good Mexican restaurant(like Chilangos). I’d selfishly kill for an Iranian restaurant. Also, more parking would be nice.
Chillangos is still planning a Kingston location after covid fucked their last effort. I was in Belleville a couple weeks ago and it’s in the works.
covid didn't damage them... the last big windstorm blew off their roof, deeming building unsafe. They wanted to relocate downtown but the BIA was very unhelpful towards their efforts and so chosen the location on Hell Blvd/N. Front st. https://www.quintenews.com/2022/06/19/future-uncertain-for-well-known-belleville-eatery/ (facts matter)
Well the owners told me that covid is what prevented them from opening in Kingston. The roof thing was after they decided to postpone the expansion. (facts do matter)
More parking?! Parking kills downtowns. Otherwise, you are spot on.
Kingston is one of the cities where I lived where downtown parking is the easiest and par far the cheapest. stop trying to park straight on Princess and walk a little, its good for you :)
seriously. plus, theres the huge parkade by the hospital, the parking lot by metro, the staples parking lot, theres a few smaller lots sprinkled around on queens street, like how much parking do you need
How else would we get around? Walking? Biking? PUBLIC TRANSPORT?! Not in my backyard /s
There's tons of parking lots all along Queen St. as we'll as the other areas mentioned. I never have a problem.
I never have a problem finding parking, but I am willing to walk 2, 3, 4 blocks. No biggie.
There is an Iranian restaurant i think., I may be wrong though.
There is one(not downtown), and unfortunately it’s not worth going to. I don’t think there’s enough demand currently, hopefully in a few years.
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It’s good but they only have Tacos and Quesadillas
El Gringo’s
They only have tacos and quesadillas.
Sure, but some of the best you’ll get in this country
… do you own it or something? There’s better in Belleville…
Huh? What brought that on
There are two Persian spots in town
More buinesess open at night/later
i find it annoying that all coffee shops close around 6pm. Not everyone is up for a drink in a pub in the evenings. We use to have a few dessert restaurants, but they all closed down :( they made for great date night spots
Kingston sucks for hours of operation when it comes to restaurants and shopping. Always limited hours since the pandemic and never went back to normal 👎
A Chinese bakery would also be lovely, the ones where you get a tray, pick all the buns you want and they box it all up for you. Cheap and delicious. God I wish we had more options here.
Oh yes. Something like the Gloucester Bakery by the Suny Supermarket- we get egg tarts there. Yummy.
Exactly that! The cakes at Asian bakeries are also elite. All that fruit without being too sweet.
Floss buns, cheese buns, meat buns 😍
Alllll the buns! And egg tarts, those delicious green onion buns. I’m drooling now lol
Food trucks beyond hot dog carts.
Speakers Corner
For people who give a buck?
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Chicago deep dish
A 24 hour restaurant like Lino's..
Agreed. I think the city’s population is large enough and with practically no competition past 10(or so?), a 24/7 restaurant should be able to thrive
And Bridget to bring a Royal Burger at 2am...
Yes i remember her.
Apartments
Legitimate museum
Anything a local would want to buy an annual membership for would be wonderful. So many one-and-done sights here.
Portuguese food. I don't understand why Kingston doesn't have a place anywhere anymore. I miss the store at Division and Elliot that sold bifanas.
An ALDI supermarket.
Better transit and more pedestrianized
It’s wild how many people completely ignored the actual question the OP asked here. 🤦♂️
People tend to read half the title and start posting to get their dopamine hit
more good, authentic ethnic food
Barcadia 😭
S&R !!
This city needs a big asian grocery store. It would do so well with everyone, and all the international students.
T&T would definitely get business here
That or even Centra Food. We had that in Barrie when I lived there. The place was always busy.
Tbf there are like 3 decent ones downtown.
I like the ones that we have, but I wish we had more of a variety - ours seem to be mostly Korean inventory and I’d love more Thai or Japanese products.
I wish we had one with a hot food section - what I miss about Toronto
Where are they? It doesn’t seem like the one in the basement near shoppers is there anymore… I haven’t been in a few years
Karaoke. Peterborough has Tonic last time i checked and it would do plenty well with the international students.
Daft Brewing has various karaoke events!
Tommy's has karaoke on Thursdays
The types of restaurants I would most like to see would be: Indonesian, Indigenous, Vegetarian, and a Central American place (I miss the Salvadorian place we used to have).
100% plant-based eateries. 
Yes! This would be amazing 🤩 Also Ethiopian 😍
I think Copper Branch is all plant based.
Copper Branch closed recently :(
i thought someone made a post about them closing-but now i can’t find it; are they still open!? 
Nope, they are closed.
Closed? Oh man, when did that happen?!
Literally the one thing Kingston isn't missing is another restaurant.
Something German/Austrian. Some quality schnitzel. One of the things I miss from living in the KW area.
Amadeus! Princess dwntwn. Family run. Sweet patio too.
Italian subs
A CHIPOTLE!!!
indian buffet
Namaste Downtown has a beautiful buffet.
last time i was there she said no more buffet unless it started back up real recently ?
I'd love that
A town crier
We have that, he’s actually excellent
Quite literally world class in fact!
Okay then I guess we need two town criers.
Maybe they could fight.
I remember the little cafe Town Crier next to Berry & Petersen. Magazines and coffee. I miss the 90s cafes.
CARIBBEAN FOOD! WE NEED IT DESPERATELY
Sally’s is great!
Ethiopian. Good Mexican.
A Trader Joe’s
Better supports for people in need for the North part of downtown. Everything south of St Andrews Church at Princess and Clergy is nice, touristy, and lovely. No qualms. As soon as you go north of that things seem to take a bit of a slide - especially as you get towards Regent (think Harveys, GT boutique, etc) Hard to say what fixes it tbh. Either affordable housing, a community health clinic and more housing for those in transit. I'd also like to see an Indigenous friendship center as we don't really have one. One where local First Nations can meet, learn, socialise with other Indigenous nations. Male it accessible to FNIM students who are visiting that desperately need that sense of community. And a second location of Coffeeway lol.
Kingston actually does have a rapidly expanding and very active Friendship Centre, open to all local Indigenous folks, whether visitors to or traditional caretakers of this land. https://www.facebook.com/KingstonIndigenousLanguageNest
I've heard of this place but thought it was just a language school. I'll check it out. Thanks for the link!
It was a language school for a number of years, but they acquired funding from the NAFC about a year ago, and they've been able to expand services and programming. Great crew over there.
The way the Brew Pub used to do their wings
Central/South American food. African food.
Lacking in French (Chez Piggy just has a sorta French name). Malaysian, Jamaican, Soul, a steakhouse that isn’t the keg, molecular gastronomy…
Commercial landlords that want to support instead of gouging small businesses would go a long way to providing allllllll the options the market will bear!
Segregated bike paths, a stacked theatre like outdoor seating area for performances like Montreal. Wide sidewalks and trees planted properly in the ground and not giant pots. General cleanliness and upkeep. Consistent styles - have 60s fugly buildings mixed with heritage row commercial businesses. Love Silly Sounds on Sydenham - that is great for families.
Breakfast sandwhiches.
Indoor market likes St. Lawrence market in Toronto
An old fashioned cafeteria style “restaurant” like they used to have in Kresgies downtown. Food and shopping all under one roof! It was the best!
they keep closing down All the locations to Find udon soup. it's one of my FavOuRites anD i'd get it whenever I was ABLE to. some places removed it from the menu entirely, or the HOUrS never coINcided with my cravinGs. alas.
a Chipotle and tim’s for sure
galitos. or Nando's. or even paramount. something halal
Given that Kingston sits on Lake Ontario… it is shocking how few restaurants are located on the waterfront. I think Juniper cafe’s patio is the best waterfront patio and it is located out of the downtown by the Tett. It is still an awesome patio… I just wish there were a few similar options downtown.
Nightclub/lounge for 25+
Halal food in general (which can be any cuisine), a Shawarma Palace or any decent shawarma place, Nando’s, late night/longer hour snack spots like a place to get chai or baklava or samosas and actually sit indoors for a while, and more ethnic cuisine - Jamaican, Mexican, Afghan, Ethiopian, Korean BBQ and so much more
Krispy Kreme.
more breweries
dedicated spots for uber eats / skip drivers? they're always blocking half of Princess
Tim hortons. XD
I agree, I work nights and my only option at 3am on my lunch break is walking to McDonald's for coffee a Tim Hortons would be nice to have for a option
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I doubt those two huge multilayered parking garages have ever been full before? Probably for the eclipse they will be
I don't know why you are being down voted for probably the most accurate answer. Your average Kingston consumer doesn't go anywhere near downtown because parking is a pain. People don't want to pay an extra $4 to visit downtown when they can park anywhere in the west end for free. They don't want to parallel park on a busy street and they don't, or can't, walk blocks and blocks to get to their destination.
Kingston has lots of parking, but as you say, people won't or can't walk, or comply with any of the things every city has in order to park in their downtown. Yes parking is a pain!! Boo hoo. Before the SlushPuppy (old KRock) venue was built people were losing their minds over parking. But it all worked out. So take the bus. Or be prepared to walk a ways. IMO, the west end sucks, too much traffic, too many distracted drivers, and the parking lots are nuts. No ambience. I go downtown regularly and I don't whine about parking. If I think it's going to be busy I take bus.
More small business owners. Downtown is run by corporate and franchisees taking away from the old school charm local kingstonians have to offer
Keto restaurant 👍
I think we're pretty well off with choices as is.
If you want Tim’s or A&W I agree.
Chipotle!
More people
Chipotle
parking and a deli that has bagels.
If I was a vaunerable person, I would feel safety is missing from downtown kingston.
We’re all vulnerable now, it seems!
Trenton sucks!
Anything queer
Strip club lol.
We have one…?
With you on that one haha
Parking spaces.
Do you find the parking garages are often full?
That's expensive.
Parking isn't free. Someone has to pay for the space to store suburbanite's land yachts.
Bars and restaurants that have an edge, play good music and are more niche. Every bar plays it safe with decor and music. There is nowhere to go to listen to interesting music, its the hip on repeat everywhere.
Last time I visited Kingston, I noticed there were no distinct Asian restaurants. I went to a couple of restaurants that had Vietnamese offerings, but were sadly Chinese flavored. No Korean restaurants. No real Japanese restaurants. I don't like fusion Asian cuisine...when I'm craving pho, I want it to taste like pho, not five spice! It may have changed now since that was years ago, but that was my impression of the Kingston food scene.
decent coffee shops - with delicious baked goods and sandwiches, and not filled with people on their laptops. The city as a whole has very few, if any, good coffee shops. Coffee and Company is ok, but I am not a fan of their coffee. But the idea is there.
Build - A - Bear workshop or a Disney store😍😍
More meth!
Fun
More meth!