222 Chatham Ave

Coffee
Your closest everyday coffee is Red Rocket Coffee at 1364 Danforth, just east of Greenwood station and about six minutes from Chatham. It’s been on this corner since around 2012, bakes its own treats, and has the board-games-on-the-shelf feel of a place locals treat as a second living room.

For something more serious, head south to the Pilot Coffee Roasters tasting bar at 50 Wagstaff Drive, off Gerrard near Greenwood. Pilot started in 2009 as Te Aro Roasted and has roasted here since 2013, so you’re drinking a few metres from where they roasted the beans. It keeps daytime hours. Think Saturday morning rather than after work.

East toward Coxwell, Pomarosa at 1504 Danforth is a Venezuelan café pouring rose lattes next to arepas and guava-and-cheese empanadas, and Mofer Coffee at 1577 Danforth serves Ethiopian-style blends. Down on Gerrard at Coxwell, Lazy Daisy’s Café has been the area’s brunch line since 2011. Its buttermilk biscuits are good enough that more than 50 Ontario stores now carry them.

Restaurants
The block of Danforth on either side of Greenwood station does most of the work here, and it’s better than west-enders tend to assume.

The Wren at 1382 Danforth has been the default neighbourhood bar since Dennis and Rhonda Kimeda opened it in 2013. Expect Tex-Mex-leaning food, a dozen rotating Ontario craft beers and a patio that fills up early in summer. Next door, their Wood Owl is the grown-up sibling: a small wood-panelled room with a vegetable-forward menu and a wine list built from regions you don’t see often. Michelin’s inspectors have taken notice, and they specifically call out the fried polenta cakes with romesco and boquerones.

Just west of Greenwood, Morgans on the Danforth at 1282 Danforth handles weekend brunch and burger nights, and Sala Modern Thai Kitchen at 1262 is a dependable halal Thai spot with plenty for vegetarians. If you want a beer with someone who knows the list, The Dylan at 1276 carries around 50 bottles and cans, mostly from Toronto and Ontario breweries.

Right at the corner of Danforth and Greenwood, North of Brooklyn makes Brooklyn-style pizza for takeout, and its Better Half Bar handles dine-in. For brunch, walk south to Maha’s at 226 Greenwood, where the Egyptian breakfast menu has made it a city-wide favourite. It’s closed Wednesdays.

This stretch is also one of the city’s best for Ethiopian and Eritrean food. Lalibela Cuisine at 1214 Danforth is family-run and still does a traditional coffee ceremony after dinner. Rendez-Vous at 1408 Danforth has been around long enough to have regulars who don’t look at the menu.

Walk west to Jones, and you’ll find Square Boy at 875 Danforth, grilling square burgers since the 1960s with a Pac-Man machine in the corner. South over the tracks, Gerrard India Bazaar is about a 12-minute walk. Lahore Tikka House at 1365 Gerrard has served karahi and tandoori since 1996, and Leela Indian Food Bar at 1386 Gerrard pairs its curries with a real cocktail list.

One honest note: Danforth businesses have been feeling the Ontario Line construction, so it’s worth checking hours before you make a special trip.

Bakeries
The most talked-about opening on this part of the Danforth in the past year was a bakery. Croquembouche opened at 1494 Danforth in late 2025. Owner Thierry Robert is the nephew of the chef behind Patachou, the Rosedale pâtisserie that closed in 2014, and he bakes from those recipes. Go early for croissants, and note that it’s closed Mondays.

Closer to home, Patisserie La Cigogne at 1419 Danforth is Alsatian, led by master pastry chef Thierry Schmitt. This is where neighbours order birthday cakes and pick up a tourtière or quiche for a night they don’t feel like cooking.

At Gerrard and Coxwell, Jupiter Bakehouse moved into the old Glory Hole Doughnuts space in fall 2025. Founder Jackson Forster came up through Blackbird Baking and built a following at the Withrow Park farmers’ market before opening his own shop. Everything is long-fermented sourdough made with Ontario flour, and the sesame loaf is the one people line up for.

Groceries
Pape Market Foodland, on the south side of the Danforth just west of Pape, is about a 5-minute drive and reopened after a full renovation in late 2025. Rocca’s No Frills at 269 Coxwell, just south of Gerrard, is about a 20-minute walk or a few minutes by car. Plenty of Pocket households do one drive a week and pick up everything else on foot.

The on-foot part is good. Right at Danforth and Greenwood, Hooked at 1246 Danforth sells sustainably sourced fish and shellfish, and Greenwood Market at 1258 is the quick produce stop. Forbes Wild Foods at 1385 Danforth stocks Canadian foraged ingredients you’d otherwise have to order online. Toward Jones, Masellis Supermarket at 906 Danforth has been the Italian grocer on this strip since 1959. It makes its own prosciutto and keeps the good Parmigiano-Reggiano behind the counter.

For spices, lentils and anything a curry calls for, Kohinoor Foods at 1438 Gerrard is a long-standing grocer in Gerrard India Bazaar. On Sundays from May to late October, the Leslieville Farmers’ Market sets up in Greenwood Park, about 12 minutes from Chatham, then moves indoors to the East End Food Hub for the winter.

Getting Around
Greenwood station is about a six or seven-minute walk from 222 Chatham, and since February 2026 it has had elevators, so it’s fully accessible. Donlands station is a minute or two farther the other way. From either one, Line 2 gets you to Bloor-Yonge in roughly 13 minutes, putting most downtown offices within a 25-minute door-to-door commute.

At street level, the 31 Greenwood and 83 Jones buses both stop about 300 metres away and run until about 1 a.m., and the 300 Blue Night bus covers the Danforth overnight. The 506 Carlton streetcar runs along Gerrard, a 15- to 20-minute walk south across the tracks.

If you bike, you’re well set up. The Danforth cycle tracks have been permanent since 2021 and run from Broadview to Victoria Park; there’s a Bike Share dock beside Greenwood station, and the western blocks of Chatham have their own contraflow bike lane.

Looking further out, the Ontario Line will connect with Line 2 at Pape and add a new Gerrard station at Carlaw. Metrolinx now describes the opening as “early 2030s” without a firm date. Until then, expect construction around Pape and Danforth to keep shaping traffic on that end of the street.

Parks & Recreation
The Pocket’s own green space is small and very well loved. Phin Park, on Condor Avenue a few minutes from Chatham, has a playground, wading pool and basketball court. In 2023, it also got one of Toronto’s first tiny forests, planted with the TRCA. Fun detail: it used to be called Phin Avenue Parkette until residents petitioned for a new name, mostly because it doesn’t touch Phin Avenue. Along the edge of the subway yard, Oakvale Green has a long-standing off-leash area that dog owners guard closely.

For bigger outings, Monarch Park on Felstead Avenue is about seven minutes east. In summer, there’s an outdoor pool with a waterslide and diving board; in winter, an outdoor rink; and a fenced off-leash area year-round. Greenwood Park at Gerrard has a 35-metre outdoor pool, a splash pad, a covered artificial rink and its own dog run, and it’s where the Sunday farmers’ market sets up. Kempton Howard Park on Blake Street, on the west side, recently refurbished its playground, wading pool and splash pad.

Indoors, S.H. Armstrong Community Recreation Centre on Woodfield Road has a 25-yard pool, a gym, an indoor track and a weight room. Eastview Neighbourhood Community Centre on Blake Street runs EarlyON and family programming. Your closest library branches are Gerrard/Ashdale and Danforth/Coxwell, each about 15 minutes on foot.

Fitness &  Gyms
Most training options cluster on Danforth east of Greenwood. BOMB Fitness at 1478 Danforth runs more than 50 group classes a week, along with personal training and kids’ programs. A few doors down, Tidal CrossFit at 1510 Danforth has been an affiliate for 12 years and welcomes drop-ins.

If you’d rather learn to throw a punch, One To One Mixed Martial Arts (also listed as Rideout MMA) at 1188 Danforth teaches boxing, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu and wrestling, and Danforth Karate Academy at 1096 Danforth has classes for kids and adults. Reformer Pilates people tend to end up at MOTIV Pilates at 842 Danforth near Donlands, while Cornerstone Pilates and Dance, upstairs at 1519 Gerrard, runs Pilates and dance classes.

For a traditional big-box gym, GoodLife at 635 Danforth near Pape and Planet Fitness at Gerrard Square are each a 15-minute walk, or a quick bike ride. Before you sign a contract anywhere, check the city’s drop-in schedule at S.H. Armstrong, which this fall includes yoga, Pilates, and basketball.

Schools
Families looking at 222 Chatham have more school choice within a short walk than most of the east end. According to the HoodQ report for the address, the assigned English public schools are Wilkinson Junior Public School for JK to Grade 6, Earl Grey Senior Public School for Grades 7 and 8, and Riverdale Collegiate Institute for high school.

Wilkinson is about a five-minute walk away on Donlands Avenue. It opened in 1915, has roughly 400 students who speak more than 25 languages, and offers French Immersion and core French. Earl Grey is about a 10-minute walk away on Strathcona Avenue. Riverdale Collegiate has been on Gerrard since 1907, is about a 16-minute walk away, and also offers French Immersion. Riverdale has had enrollment limits in recent years, so confirm the current boundaries and any application deadlines with the TDSB before you count on a spot.

French-language families do well here too. École secondaire Michelle-O’Bonsawin, for Grades 7 to 12, is about three minutes away on Mountjoy Avenue, just across Greenwood. École élémentaire La Mosaïque, for JK to Grade 6, is about ten minutes north on Queensdale Avenue. Both are part of the Conseil scolaire Viamonde.

On the Catholic side, the assigned English elementary school is Holy Name Catholic School on Carlaw Avenue (JK to Grade 8), about a 16-minute walk. St. Patrick Catholic Secondary School is a six-minute walk away on Felstead Avenue and offers Advanced Placement courses. French Catholic families start at ÉÉC du Bon-Berger on Jones Avenue for JK and SK, then move to ÉÉC Georges-Étienne-Cartier on Gainsborough Road from Grade 1. Right inside the Pocket, on Phin Avenue, Kapapamahchakwew (Wandering Spirit School) is a TDSB school for JK to Grade 12, built around First Nations culture and teaching.