The Rec Room
The Rec Room is Toronto’s premier destination for kids both big and small to go and play nearly a hundred arcade games and to enjoy live entertainment and elevated Canadian pub food.
The 40,000 square foot space is housed in Toronto’s heritage roundhouse where they used to repair train cars. Great lengths have been taken to preserve the historical integrity of the industrial skeleton of the space.
A more adult-oriented half of the space has billiards and a full-sized stage, which is backed by a projector playing television or sports games when there’s no performance.
Full service restaurant Three10, named for Canada’s three territories and 10 provinces, is also back here. It serves a menu of pub faves.
If you tire of the whirrs and bleeps of the arcade, respite can be found out on the patio with awesome views of the CN Tower, and you don’t have to give up on the fun entirely with a ping pong table out here.
The arcade area is coolly dubbed “The Yard,” where games range from old school classics to popular new games like Crossy Yard. This is also Canada’s only location of world-class VR system The Void.
Points are collected virtually and can be redeemed for a similarly wide range of prizes from temp tats to makeup and cocktail ware.
Wood fired olives ($8) at Three10 introduce the theme of wood oven cooking here, a meaty mix of five different olives with lemon zest, fennel, and sweet pepper drops.
The Butcher’s Daughter ($17) is topped with house ground fennel sausage and oily, spicy pepperoni as well as red onion, parmigiano reggiano and zinging chili flakes. Some of the largest imported pizza ovens in Canada cook a range of wood-fired pies in ninety seconds.
A fried chicken Caesar sandwich ($17) is more personally sized and brings high end touches with hand breading, a brioche bun, and roasted soleggiati tomatoes.
Bison lasagna ($22) ups the ante on comfort food with bison and pork Bolognese layered between silky sheets of fresh pasta with house pomodoro and a goat ricotta on top that adds a rich creaminess.
Raisin pecan butter tarts ($8) are apparently made using a top secret family recipe and are served warm with mini scoops of moistening ice cream.
A pickled Caesar ($11) is garnished with a pickled egg and summer sausage, and rimmed with steak spice.
The best part is that you’re allowed to bring your pints, doughnuts, pizza slices or whatever else almost anywhere in the complex, whether it be beside the pool table, out on the patio, or while hunting virtual deer and aliens.
Jesse Milns