I moved to Toronto with my long-term partner earlier this year, and between furniture shopping and job applications, we haven’t had much spare cash to spend on wining and dining.
Sure, candlelit dinners, cocktails or a night at the cinema might all sound like romantic date ideas — until the bill arrives.
But I’m a firm believer that quality time shouldn’t depend on your credit limit. So, in the name of love (and journalism), I decided to put some of Toronto’s best cheap and free activities to the test.
From cheap eats to surprisingly affordable things to do, here are the five that actually delivered for date night (and the one that didn’t — so you can be warned).
Get your skates on
Ellie tested out cheap date nights in Toronto.
Ellie Hutchings | Narcity
First up is a classic Toronto pastime: ice skating.
There are plenty of free rinks and trails in the city; you just have to pay to rent the skates. If you have your own pair, it’s completely free (I bought mine for $25 in a thrift store) — or check out the Skate Lending Library to find out when and where there will be free rentals at locations around Toronto.
We checked out The Bentway, a trail tucked beneath the Gardiner Expressway, where adult rentals cost $12.99 for two hours.
Skating with the city’s twinkling skyline as a backdrop felt undeniably romantic — even if I resembled Bambi on ice.
The only downside was the weather. We inadvertently visited on a -20 C evening, and despite working up a sweat, my hands, nose, and toes were bitterly cold (even with two pairs of gloves on).
Consider this your reminder to check the forecast before lacing up.
Verdict: Fun, affordable and very Toronto — just dress appropriately.
Grab a (cheap) slice
Cheap pizza restaurant in Toronto.
Ellie Hutchings | Narcity
If you’re a nervous skater like me, then tottering around on the ice might not scream romance.
In that case, let me suggest something more traditional: pizza. Because there are few things more romantic than an Italian dinner date, right?
I checked out The Fourth Man in the Fire, a charming pizzeria on Dundas West. The decor is old-school yet stylish, with a black-and-white checkerboard floor and olive-green walls, covered in ‘autographed’ celeb photos. It’s classic, cozy and ideal for conversation.
The huge pizza slices are a meal in themselves and cost just $7, or the 18-inch pizzas are more than enough for two, for around $26.
The margherita is generously cheesy and perfectly charred, balanced with a tangy sauce. Genuinely, it’s the best pizza I’ve had since moving to Toronto.
Verdict: Low cost, high romance. A guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
Visit a museum — for free!
If you’re dating a culture vulture, then perhaps an evening at the museum is more up your street.
General admission to the Royal Ontario Museum usually costs $26, but there are ways to see the museum’s world-class collection of artworks, cultural objects and natural history specimens for free.
If you have a Toronto Public Library card, you can reserve free passes once per year through the tpl:map website. Alternatively, the museum offers free admission on the third Tuesday evening of every month from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (just make sure you book in advance).
We spent almost three hours wandering around the dinosaur fossils, interactive galleries and ancient artifacts — it’s the kind of date that sparks actual conversation.
I can highly recommend the featured exhibitions, Sharks and Wildlife Photographer of the Year, which run until March 22 and March 29, respectively.
Verdict: Thoughtful, interesting and completely free with a little planning.
Spontaneous sports tickets
Cheap things to do in Toronto.
Ellie Hutchings | Narcity
Toronto is famous for its sports teams. Whether it’s ice hockey, baseball or basketball that gets you going, a night in the stands with a crisp pint and a hot dog is undeniably an elite date idea.
The catch? Tickets can be eye-wateringly expensive. Seats for the Toronto Maple Leafs, for example, cost upwards of $150 if purchased in advance.
But if you’re flexible, waiting until the last minute to purchase resale tickets can pay off. We snagged seats to see the Toronto Raptors take on the New York Knicks for just $40 each — half the price of advance tickets for upcoming basketball games.
It requires a bit of spontaneity, but the excitement is worth it.
Verdict: A thrilling date that doesn’t have to break the bank — if you time it right.
Game night!
I don’t know about you, but I love a board game, and a couple of hours of trouncing my significant other at Ticket to Ride or Guess Who sounds like a pretty great date night to me.
Snakes & Lattes, which has locations on College Street and in the Annex, offers just that.
There’s a $20 cover charge per person, which includes unlimited soft drinks, but if you choose to spend on alcoholic beverages, the cover charge drops by 50% to just $10.
The hundreds of games on offer are all categorized — from light to heavy strategy and dexterity or word games. You can choose for yourself or ask the staff for recommendations.
There’s a large and reasonably priced food menu to choose from, too, and the dill pickle popcorn is a standout snack.
Budget movie night didn’t make the cut
And now to my final date-night test, one that I would urge you to plan carefully should you try it for yourself.
Every so often, Cineplex offers $5 cinema tickets on Tuesdays for a few weeks — sounds like a steal, right?
However, you have to buy tickets in person (unless you’re a CineClub member), which, for us at least, meant missing the first few minutes of the film because of the long queues.
By the time we were at the front, there were just a handful of seats left, leaving us sitting in the front row, craning our necks up at the screen.
To top it off, the couple next to us talked loudly throughout and made frequent trips to the washroom. Between the awkward seating and constant distractions, I could barely focus on the movie, which wasn’t particularly good anyway.
Verdict: Cheap, yes. Romantic? Not quite. Proceed with caution.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
