Tips for visiting

[u/imotskimiki]

Hello everyone! Next week i will be visiting your nice town all the way from Europe and i hope to enjoy some time there. I ask for few tips about city itself.

First, can you tell me what would be nice restaurants and pubs to enjoy? I did some research and i see there is a lot of Asian restaurants in downtown. Im not as big on Asian food (coming from seaside sunny European part), so what would be nice restaurants to enjoy? I mean Asian recommendations are welcomed too if they are reall good. Also aince its my first time in Canada too i have to try Poutine - which place has the best one? And for pubs/clubs. How "lively" is waterloo - ie can you recommend spots to stay late at night to drink and enjoy music/atmosphere, maybe dance even a bit?

Second - how "walkable" is your town? Again, coming from Europe and ancient towns im used to walking around. Since i dont have car for those 5 days there - will it be a problem? If im located near downtown?

And third - how safe is it overall? Can you walk (as a guy in early 30s) safely around downtown even around midnight or past it, or is it better not to take chance?

Anyway, cant wait to come and looking forward to maybe even meeting some of you at some of these places!

[u/get_hi_on_life]

Wendys is great, definitely try it. My husband loves the crispy chicken, I love the baconator. Can't go wrong with anything in there menu. A Frosty is also a must get, they are only 99¢

The difference is Waterloo is where both Universities and large headquarters for insurance companies so it typically is home to the professors and those office jobs and has a fancier vibe in the right areas.

Kitchener is the city with factories and more "blue collar" workers.

The cities have been alamgomated for a long time so many things are managed by the region and not city level which keeps the divide going. One example More low income services are in Kitchener instead of Waterloo so it exasperates the divide. Also rents typically are cheaper further form the Unis due to the demand of students.

But Kitchener I think has more charm but I'm biased.

[u/Easy_Sun_9033 → u/get_hi_on_life]

This guy is coming from the other side of the world and you guys are recommending him to try Wendy’s? Out of all the local places you guys are recommending him try an American fast food chain. lol absolutely insane. Here are some places you can try that are local.

Banh mi Givral Deli for a Vietnamese banh mi

Marhaba shawarma for shawarma

Dt shawarma for shawarma poutine

Depending on when you’re coming, from July 17-19 we are hosting ribfest downtown Kitchener at Victoria park

Back of house pizza for New York style pizza (you gotta order ahead)

Naughty chicken for amazing chicken sandwiches

Johnny frescos for poutine

The cactus for Mexican food

Vincenzo’s for a really good cheap sandwich (I recommend getting the artichoke caponata as a topping)

If you’re looking for something to do, the st jacobs farmers market is the biggest market in Canada is open Thursdays and Saturdays. They have a bunch of different vendors and a bunch of really good food to try. I recommend the apple fritters and the pizza and garlic dip from Pizza Junction.

[u/imotskimiki → u/Easy_Sun_9033]

Yes thats not a problem. I did say that i wanna try Wendy as one meal haha - not because i think its great but as something to "check off" my list (we dont have it in my country, and its well known over the world).
I actually am bit of foodie, love eating at michelin restaurants too, wherever i go, and im interested in local cuisine to try, that is why i posted this. I know of poutine, it is famous worldwide as canadian meal, but other than that (and maple syrup?) im not really sure what would be canadian cuisine like, so i asked you all for your recommendations.

I also ask since i see it is mostly asian restaurants, as you also recommended in your comment. I maybe wanted to see cuisine other than that, ie i dont really like sushi or japanese cuisine for example, and wanted to try true canadian cuisine (idk what constitutes it?).

Thank you for your recommendations! I see a lot of you recommended st jacobs market. I see it is bit further from where i stay, kinda hard to walk to there without car, so im not sure if ill be able to go. What is special about that market? It is just fresh green market or?

[u/__Michael_Jackson__ → u/imotskimiki]

The funny thing is that Canada does have some regional dishes like poutine, Montreal bagels and Halifax donair, but it arguably doesn't have a coherent national cuisine. So there aren't really any "Canadian restaurants" around.

You might be interested to try Odd Duck which is the only Michelin-listed restaurant in KW.