From discovering new flavours at upcoming festivals to enjoying local dishes on a guided tour, Kingston’s food scene offers delicious experiences.

Festivals and markets

Great Canadian Cheese Fest

Fort Henry

May 24 & 25

This spring, Kingston welcomes the best of Canada’s cheese producers to Fort Henry Hill. Featuring over 100 dairy and cheese producers, local growers, makers and more, this two-day festival gives guests the chance to sample their way across Canada, discover new favourites, and meet the people behind the food. Visit the Great Canadian Cheese Fest website for details and tickets.

YGK Craft Beer Fest

Fort Henry

June 14

Kick off the summer in Kingston at YGK Craft Beer Fest, the city’s annual celebration of live music, local food, and delicious brews. Take in the scenic waterfront and downtown skyline from Fort Henry Hill while sipping on locally made drinks, including beers, ciders, and non-alcoholic beverages, and enjoy a stellar musical lineup. Keep an eye on the Fort Henry website for updates, tickets, and vendors.

Ribfest & Craft Beer Show

Memorial Centre

September 5–7

The air around the Memorial Centre will be rich with the smell of barbeque in early September when the Ribfest & Craft Beer Show arrives in town. Returning for its twelfth year, this festival is the best spot to enjoy mouth-watering barbequed ribs and chicken, paired with Ontario craft beers, ciders, and more. Grab some grub and a nice spot in the sun, and make sure to stick around for live entertainment and activities for kids. Learn more on their website.

Poutine Feast

Memorial Centre

September 18–21

An annual tradition returns in September as vendors from all over set up at the grounds of the Memorial Centre to serve an iconic Canadian dish – poutine! Poutine Feast brings together a variety of vendors offering their takes on poutine, featuring the magical combination of French fries, gravy, and cheese curds. This culinary celebration also offers games, competitions, and activities for both kids and adults.

Memorial Centre Farmers’ Market

Memorial Centre

Sundays

Find delicious, local food and a friendly, community atmosphere at the Memorial Centre Farmers’ Market. This Sunday market brings together local makers, producers, and artisans offering a wide range of fresh produce, hot meals, and tasty treats. In the warmer months, the market is hosted in the park in front of the Memorial Centre, where vendors set up tables under shady trees, musicians perform for shoppers and picnickers, and you might even catch some morning yoga! The market runs from 9 am to 1 pm November to April and 9 am to 2 pm from May to October. Take a look at the Memorial Centre Farmers’ Market website to see who will be there next Sunday.

There will be a special Easter evening market on Thursday, April 17 from 4 to 8 pm. There will be no regular market on Sunday, April 20 (Easter Sunday).

Tastings

Bobbi Pecorino’s Sunday afternoon wine tastings

326 King St. E.

Sundays

Whether you fancy yourself a casual wine drinker or an amateur sommelier, a visit to Bobbi Pecorino’s Italian Wine Bar on a Sunday afternoon offers an experience for the senses. Each tasting consists of four wines plus pairings from their food menu as well as an educational exploration of the lands and cultures behind each wine. Find more details on their website, and check out our feature on Bobbi Pecorino’s for a look behind the glass.

CHA CHA TEA tastings

506 Days Rd.

Various dates

Join a workshop at Cha Cha Tea and learn about tea flavours with owner Kaoru, a certified tea sommelier. Upcoming workshops include “Cheese and tea pairing” on April 6 and the Mystery Book Club tea tasting workshop on April 27 and May 25. Book tickets and stay tuned for more upcoming workshops on their website.

Guided tours

City Sips: A walking wine tour in Kingston

Tuesdays–Sundays

Sip your way through historic locales in downtown Kingston on a leisurely wine tour with sommelier Ian Nicholls. Whether you’re new to the region or have lived here your whole life, this walking tour gives you a thorough introduction to wines from all across the world, hosted at charming restaurants, bars, and shops in downtown Kingston. Each day of the week features a different tour of four spots, so you can experience something new each time. Check out the list of stops and book your spot on the County Sips website.

Picnic and Sail with Ahoy Rentals

21 Ontario St.

Weekends, May 17– October 12

For a different take on seafaring dining, a sail and picnic charter from Ahoy Rentals offers groups from two to five a weekend voyage and lunch aboard a sailboat. Board the Pommie Bee, a 26-foot sailing sloop and take in the views of Kingston’s picturesque waterfront while enjoying a delicious lunch from Pan Chancho, including a platter of cheese, fruit, and spreads, an entrée of your choice, and assorted desserts. Visit the Ahoy Rentals website for more details and to book your spot.

Brewery tours at Fine Balance Brewing

677 Innovation Dr.

By appointment

Get the inside look at beer-making with a visit to Fine Balance Brewing Company in Kingston’s east end. Groups of up to four can take a guided tour through the on-site brewhouse and learn about their process for crafting beer. This 15-minute tour comes full circle with a visit to their taproom for a tasting. Check out their website for details and to book your visit.

Kingston Food Tours

Start at the Visitor Information Centre

Wednesdays–Sundays

There’s no better way to get acquainted with Kingston’s famous food scene than to join a delicious Kingston Food Tour. Offered Wednesdays through Sundays, the Classic Kingston tour takes you on a stroll through the limestone streets of downtown and into restaurants and shops, tasting hand-picked dishes and learning local history along the way. For a different flavour, check out the Tapas Tour on Fridays and Saturdays, in which small plates are paired with alcoholic (or non-alcoholic) beverages. Read our feature on Kingston Food Tours to get the inside scoop.

Kingston 1000 Islands Cruises: dining cruises

Depart from Crawford Wharf

Daily; April 18–fall

If you enjoy a good view while you eat, Kingston 1000 Islands Cruises brunch, lunch, and sunset dinner cruises are a must-try. Take in stunning views of the 1000 Islands aboard the Island Queen while enjoying a three-course plated lunch or brunch or take to the river aboard the glass-topped Island Star for a sunset dinner cruise. On top of unbeatable vistas, all cruises include live music and a full-service bar. Read our story to check out what it’s like to dine on board. Check out the Kingston 1000 Islands Cruises website for details and bookings.

Bonus:

Brunch at Academy Food + Drink

285 King St.

Try featured items from Academy’s new spring menu while listening to a three-piece jazz band at the Easter Brunch on April 20, enjoy breakfast for dinner with specialty cocktails at Sunset Brunch on May 3 & 31, or treat your mom to Mother’s Day Brunch on May 11. More details will be available soon. Follow their Instagram or Facebook to stay updated on these upcoming events.

This May, take a stroll around downtown Kingston and visit these local businesses serving mocktails with eclectic flavour profiles—from coconut strawberry to cucumber.

During Downtown Kingston’s Mocktail May, pick up your “Mocktail Passport” at any of the participating businesses, order the signature mocktail featured on this list, and receive a sticker on your passport. Once you’ve collected five stickers, submit a picture of your passport to the Downtown Kingston website for the chance to win a $500 Downtown Kingston gift card, an overnight stay in a downtown accommodation, and 2 K-Passes, allowing you to experience a 1000 Islands Cruise, the hop-on hop-off trolley tour, and the city’s museums.

Mocktail May ends May 31 so visit these businesses and order their alcohol-free beverages soon!

Olivea – Aperitivo Spritz

39 Brock Street

This authentic Italian restaurant has created a refreshing mocktail to enjoy on their patio overlooking Springer Market Square. Olivea’s Aperitivzo Spritz includes Bella Aperitif, Cordoniu Zero, sparkling wine, and soda.

Something in the Water Brewing Co. – Golden Gale mocktail

275 Princess Street

Step into this local brewery decorated with colourful wall art and neon signage to enjoy their Golden Gale while watching a hockey game. The mocktail—infused with Earl Grey tea, maple syrup, and apple cider—is perfect if you’re looking for a sweeter drink to enjoy on a spring day.

Bar Mayla – Cloud Nine

343 King Street East

To go with their tapas (made with local produce and poultry), Bar Mayla created a fruit-forward beverage for May. Their Cloud Nine mocktail is infused with a berry shrub, lime, vanilla, egg whites, and hibiscus tea—the perfect drink to complement your table’s small plate of street corn nachos and chicken empanadas.

Union Kitchen + Cocktails – Cucumber Crush

184 Princess Street

Union Kitchen + Cocktails has added another mocktail to their eclectic drink menu to satisfy customers’ taste buds. Their refreshing Cucumber Crush includes cucumber, lime juice, maple syrup, mint leaves, and egg whites. Union recently updated their menu to include Italian fare so stop by the local restaurant this weekend to try their new dishes and drinks.

Black Dog Tavern – Ginger & Juice

69 Brock Street

This local establishment (featuring a secret back patio) created a mocktail to go along with their French-inspired dishes like steak frites and duck cassoulet. Served in a frosty glass, their Ginger & Juice includes NOA London Dry “gin,” guava, lime, and ginger beer.

Harper’s – Harper’s Refresher

93 Princess Street

Harper’s—a local joint serving classic cheeseburgers and innovative burger creations—is serving their Harper’s Refresher all month long. This bright red drink is garnished with fresh fruit and made with muddled berries, 7 Up, lime, and cranberry juice.

Atomica – Mango Mule

71 Brock Street

A summery spin on the Moscow Mule, Atomica is offering their Mango Mule all month long. Infused with ginger beer, mango & lime juice, and simple syrup.

Dianne’s –

195 Ontario Street

Dianne’s made a drink alluding to the East-Coast-Mexican fusion restaurant’s iconic mermaid logo—the Mermaid Mocktail. This fruity mocktail includes blueberries, soda limonada, guava juice, and lemonade, and is garnished with fresh mint. Enjoy the drink on their patio located next to Confederation Basin or sip on the mocktail inside Dianne’s interior adorned with nautical decor.

Baja Craft Kitchen – Blackberry Thyme Mojito

235 Ontario Street A.

Enjoy Baja’s spin on a mojito, featuring classic ingredients like mint, thyme, and simple syrup, soda, and fresh lime along with juicy blackberries. Wash down your tacos with this fresh mocktail on the Mexican restaurant’s back patio overlooking Kingston’s waterfront.

Tango Nuevo – Bright & Sunny

331 King Street East

This restaurant’s mocktail’s name speaks to its taste, featuring “spiced rum,” pineapple, lime, ginger beer and mint. Pair this refreshing mocktail with Tango Nuevo’s tapas like roasted Brussels sprouts and Thai cod curry.

Symphony Spa & Yoga – Summer Daze

295 Brock Street

The most fruit-forward mocktail on this list, head over to Symphony Spa & Yoga and order the Summer Daze. This local yoga studio, smoothie, and raw bar’s mocktail includes orange juice, guava juice, lemon juice, raspberry, blueberry, and sparkling water. After grabbing your Summer Daze, take a short walk to Confederation Basin and enjoy your alcohol-free beverage by the waterfront.

AquaTerra – Coconut Strawberry Lemonade

1 Johnson Street

Both indulgent and fresh, creamy and fruity, AquaTerra’s coconut strawberry lemonade is the perfect drink to sip on as spring gives way to summer. The fine-dining establishment’s mocktail features local ingredients like muddled strawberries alongside lemon juice, simple syrup, lemonade & coconut water, soda, and a strawberry garnish. Enjoy the lemonade on their patio or interior that boasts panoramic views of the water.

The Bank at The Frontenac Club – Arnold Gets Roasted

225 King Street

Another spin on a classic cocktail, this gastro-bar created a smokey and fresh drink to enjoy inside their blue-accented interior. Akin to an Arnold Palmer, Arnold Gets Roasted mocktail includes roasted black tea leaves and lemon juice and is crowned with a crunchy lemon Earl Grey sugar rim, fresh mint, and dehydrated lemon.

Check out these locally made, roasted, brewed, and blended beverages from small businesses in and around Kingston.

Carbonated beverages

The County Bounty artisanal soda

County Bounty sodas are made in Napanee, just west of Kingston. These lightly carbonated, lightly sweetened sodas use locally grown fruits and herbs in delightful combinations, like strawberry and basil, sour cherry and mint, and foraged botanicals. Find them in Kingston at Daughter’s General Store, The Everly Restaurant, Improbable Escapes, Juniper Café, Old Farm Fine Foods, The Screening Room, The Silly Yak, and Otter Creek Kitchen.

Mohawk Soda

The Indigenous-owned small company in nearby Deseronto creates delicious sodas using traditional ingredients. Flavours include strawberry sweetgrass, orange maple, and blueberry sweetgrass “sumac-ade.” Find these sodas in Kingston at the Visitor Information Centre.

Two of Kingston’s breweries also make non-alcoholic beverages:
Spearhead Brewing Company makes Akwa, a sparkling hop-infused botanical water. You can also find it at The Screening Room, Tara Natural Foods, and Pan Chancho.

Something in the Water Brewing Company offers sparkling hop water in three flavours: lime, berry, and peach. You can also find them at the Visitor Information Centre.

Patriam

Patriam’s Lemon Ginger Sparkling Americano is a canned coffee made with all-natural ingredients, fresh juices, and locally roasted organic coffee. The fun and vibrant packaging you see on the cans was created by a local artist. Head to Patriam tucked inside Fine Balance Brewing at 677 Innovation Dr. Unit 4 to try one in person.

Stay tuned for the three flavours Patriam is adding this spring, including a decaf version of our original flavour and iced tea.

Coffee

Cooke’s Fine Foods

Cooke’s coffee blends can be found in many local restaurants. Some venues – Chez Piggy, the Frontenac Club, and Days on Front – have their own signature Cooke’s coffee blend. You can sample these blends with your restaurant meal or take home a pound of beans or ground coffee from Cooke’s Fine Foods on Brock Street, where it is roasted in-house.

North Roast Coffee Roaster

Kingston’s North Roast offers a variety of fair trade, organic, and micro lot coffee, roasted on site and packaged in 100% compostable bags. They offer free delivery in Kingston and online shipping elsewhere. You can also pick up grinders and other coffee accessories.

County Roasters

From Picton comes County Roasters, a family-run micro coffee roaster that offers organic and ethically sourced coffee beans. In Kingston, you can find their beans at Old Farm Fine Foods and General Brock’s Commissary.

Tea

Cha Cha Tea

Cha Cha Tea offers a wide variety of high-quality looseleaf tea, from traditional black and oolong teas to green and herbal teas to seasonal blends. If you need advice on what kind of tea to get, talk to Kaoru, a certified tea sommelier.

Kebaonish

Kebaonish is an Indigenous- and woman-led coffee and tea company in nearby Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. Kebaonish offers seven tea blends inspired by the Anishinaabe Seven Grandfather Teachings: honesty, love, respect, wisdom, truth, humility, and bravery. In Kingston, enjoy a cup of Kebaonish tea at Pedal Works Café, or pick up a package of tea bags to take home at Cha Cha Tea.

Juniper Cafe

Check out the locally inspired tea blends at both of Juniper Cafe’s locations. They include Breakfast in Kingston, Limestone city chai, and Queen’s rooibos.

Apple cider

Memorial Centre Farmers’ Market

Hall’s Apple Market in Brockville offers its apple cider (in addition to other apple goodies) at the Kingston Memorial Centre Farmers’ Market every Sunday.

Kingston Public Market

Baycrest Farms near Picton offers apple cider at the Kingston Public Market Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Beer

Kingston breweries

Kingston is also home to several amazing breweries. Discover local brews on-site and at local restaurants. Learn more about Kingston beers.

Whether you’re looking for local vegetables, sustainably sourced ingredients, or tasty baked goods, it’s easy to eat local in Kingston.

Memorial Centre Farmers’ Market

303 York St

Every Sunday, 9 am to 1 pm

Kingston has plenty of fantastic restaurants to check out, offering flavours from a wide range of culinary traditions. If you want to sample a world of flavours in one stop, you’ll want to make a trip to the Memorial Centre Farmers’ Market. The market brings together local vendors offering farm-fresh produce and spectacular hot dishes. How often can you get Chinese-style steamed buns, authentic Ukrainian perogies, fresh babaghanush, and hot churros, all in one place? And it’s all produced within 100 km. of the market.

Check out their roundup of their diverse list of vendors.

Kingston Public Market

Springer Market Square

Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, 8:30 am to 5 pm

Dating back to 1801, the Kingston Public Market is the oldest and longest running public market in Ontario. Today, it carries on that legacy as the perfect place to load up on farm-fresh produce, preserves, local maple syrup, fresh-cut flowers, and more.

For an in-depth look at this historic market, check out our story on the Visit Kingston website.

Miss Bāo Restaurant + Cocktail Bar

286 Princess St.

Thursday to Sunday, opening at 5 pm

Miss Bāo serves delicious Asian fusion cuisine shaped by a commitment to sustainability and local ingredients. They leverage seasonal ingredients in their dishes, collaborate with local suppliers, and keep a large portion of the menu composed of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free items. They even grow their own microgreens in the restaurant with their in-house gardening system. It’s hard to get much more local than that!

Check out their menu online to see what delicious dishes are in store today.

Feast On® certified restaurants

Multiple locations

If you’re looking for a spot to get a taste of Ontario, let Feast On® be your guide to restaurants that not only serve delicious food, but have a proven commitment to community and sustainability. Initiated by the Culinary Tourism Alliance, Feast On® certified restaurants have proven that their procurement process for ingredients meets a minimum standard of Ontario-grown or produced items, for both food and beverage.

Did we mention that Kingston has ten businesses that have earned this prestigious certification? Explore the full list on the Feast On® map.

Pasta Genova

234 Wellington St

Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, 10 am to 5 pm

Just steps away from Princess Street you will find a local gem that specializes in quality Italian groceries and some of the best bread in the city. Since opening in 1988, Pasta Genova has garnered a reputation for being the premiere spot downtown to grab homemade pasta and sauces, fine cheese, and freshly baked focaccia. Pop by for lunch for one of their delicious sandwiches with provolone cheese, homemade muffuletta, and stacks of cured meats or eggplant on warm focaccia.

Baltic Deli

506 Days Rd.

Monday – Friday, 11 am to 6 pm, Saturday 11 am to 4 pm

Located in Lasalle Plaza in Kingston’s west end, Baltic Deli specializes in Polish delicacies. As well as a selection of deli meats, sausages, and cheeses, Baltic Deli offers a variety of takeaway sandwich options for lunch. Just make sure to pick up some paczki (jam-filled Polish doughnuts) or one of their other fresh-made desserts while you’re there.

Coffee Way Donut Shop

472 Division St.

Daily, 6 am to 11 pm

We couldn’t leave out this Kingston icon when talking about local eats. Coffee Way has been serving some of the city’s favourite donuts for decades. Pick up a box with freshly baked favourites like apple fritters, Boston creams, crullers, and Canadian maple. For those with a super sweet tooth, check out the special, topped with toffee pieces and a caramel drizzle.

Now serving: Ontarieau sparkling water

Sometimes it’s the small additions that make a big impact. As well as being Feast On® certified, the Black Dog Hospitality Group restaurants have taken their commitment to local ingredients a step further with the addition of Ontarieau Sparkling Water, a sparkling spring water sourced (naturally) from Ontario. Find it at Black Dog Tavern, Dianne’s, and Atomica Kitchen & Cocktails.

Bonus: eat Canadian

Flight Cheese Shop now offers a “domestic flight,” showcasing Canadian cheese. Take a tour around the country via your taste buds; each container has six types of Canadian cheese, with tasting notes and pairing suggestions.

Some of these places are participating in Kingstonlicious. Make sure to try their special prix fixe menus before the culinary festival wraps up on March 31! See participating restaurants and their menus online.