Like anyone, I enjoy a good restaurant with a view, so during a recent trip to Toronto I made reservations for 360 Restaurant, located at the top of CN Tower.

Upon arrival, it’s easy to spot who came for dinner and who’s just there for the ride up, as the hoodies and shorts mingle with cocktail dresses and suits. Much like any tower with an observation deck, visitors are led through a series of hallways filled with informative destination information before being guided to an elevator and photo-op.

The ride up to the restaurant is nothing ordinary, though. As you pull away from the bottom floors, you realize the sides and bottom of the elevator are thick glass, giving you a unique view of the world dropping away beneath you as you climb 1,150 feet.

Once at the restaurant, the floor slowly rotates beneath you at a rate of one rotation per 72 minutes, giving you a 360-degree view of the city of Toronto over the course of your meal. Sections are numbered so guests who wander from their table can find it again.

The fixed-price menu (which changes twice yearly) consists of either two or three courses. For the first, guests can choose from a variety of salads, seasonal soup and seafood options. Both the salads and the mushroom bisque were satisfactory. Your entrée choices range from seafood to duck breast to several vegetarian plates. The prime rib, which I gathered to be one of the restaurant’s more popular items, was a massive portion, and was nice but not outstanding. The best part of the meal by far was the dessert; the dark chocolate tower was rich but not too heavy, and in a portion just large enough to cure a sugar craving. Combined with a raspberry coulis and vanilla bean crème Anglaise, it had all the right flavor combinations.

For drinks, the cocktail menu is nice and varied, and you’ll find cocktails with a Canadian flair (you may enjoy a combination of bourbon and maple syrup more than you think). However, the real star is the wine list, as the restaurant boasts the world’s highest wine cellar at 1,151 feet, stocked with more than 500 international wines.

Overall, 360 Restaurant is more about the view and experience than the food, and it seems all the diners (and staff) are aware of the fact. 360 Restaurant is one you experience once to say you did, and then cross it off your list.

360 Restaurant

301 Front St. W
Toronto, ON M5V 2T6, Canada
tel 416 362 5411