Taste of the Danforth returns to Greektown for first time since 2019

The Taste of the Danforth has returned for the first time since 2019, and hundreds of thousands are expected to attend the food street festival in Greektown.

The festival, which runs Aug. 11-13, was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID restrictions. It wasn’t held last year due to the GreekTown on the Danforth Business Improvement Area (BIA) having issues finding space on Danforth Avenue caused by bike lanes and CaféTO installations. The festival will now share a “re-imagined” space for 2023.

The owner of Soulas Modern Greek Cuisine (500 Danforth Ave.), Chris Christodoulou, says that his restaurant will only have a takeout stand, and will not be able to cook outside like in previous editions due to the space restrictions.

But the festival’s director ensures that while the look may be a bit different, the quality of the product remains up to standard.

“Many people will experience the same things that they’ve always loved about the festival, and then there will be some new things that are new to the festival this year,” said Mary Fragedakis, executive director of the GreekTown on the Danforth BIA.

“But the re-imagined piece really speaks to how we can co-exist with some of the infrastructure that currently exists in the road that didn’t exist in 2019 when we last did this festival.”

Attendance is estimated to be up 20 per cent more than previous years, with almost two million people expected to attend, as more than 100 businesses will be participating, including vendors who have been part of Taste of the Danforth since the festival’s first event in 1994.

Restaurants include Astoria (390 Danforth Ave,) Athens Pastries (509 Danforth Ave.), Mezes (440 and 456 Danforth Ave.) Ella’s Meat Market (674 Pape Ave.) and Messini Authentic Gyros (445 Danforth Ave.), along with new restaurants that opened during the pandemic and first-time vendors.

Danforth Avenue will be closed between Broadview and Jones Avenues from 10 a.m. on Friday until 3 a.m. on Monday to accommodate the festival.

Not all vendors will be serving Greek cuisine, as spots like Chiang Mai, a Thai restaurant, and Sinola Factory, a Mexican sushi restaurant, will participate in the festival.

“We have so many other cuisines and cultures that have moved into the area in the last three years so that you can really travel the world this weekend here in Greektown,” said Fragedakis.

With live music also a feature of the festival, some of the names of the artists performing include Maria Zervou, Sol de Cuba, Eros, Stefanos Hagistefanou, Olga Elma, and Levendia X.

With files from CityNews reporter Dilshad Burman