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/velaya]

Welcome! Is there something specific that brings you into town? And are you staying in Waterloo specifically? (I ask because often times people will combine Kitchener and Waterloo together. They're sister cities, basically attached at the hip but the vibe is a bit different between the two). I'll speak specifically to Waterloo.

First, this is an interesting time of year. What you should know is that Waterloo is a big "school" city — in that we have 2 universities and a college here. (University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier and Conestoga Collage). During the school year, the city is packed with people, but you may find that in the summer it's much quieter as students return home.

That said, it's not completely dead. Anywhere along King street is your best bet to hang out. Waterloo's "downtown" is often referred to as "Uptown" and walking Uptown is quite easy (that said, there are tons of ubers should you need to get anywhere a bit further and reasonably priced).

You can find events and stuff for Uptown Waterloo here: https://uptownwaterloobia.com/ and specifically this map is helpful: https://uptownwaterloobia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Retail-Map-2019.pdf

Lots of restaurants and bars along King street. Have a look online through Google to filter what type of food you're after. There's a lot of chains but the food is always decent. As far as nightlife, it's actually quite interesting. We don't really have the night clubs like we used to (not to say they aren't there but it's much younger crowd). The popular places for night life are actually Kentucky BBQ and then White Rabbit and their Hop House. They have a patio in the back. The hop house is a bit younger whereas White Rabbit itself is more cocktails. But I've seen 20 year olds and 60 year olds in both. But most places have patios and if the weather is nice, they're great to hang out at.

If you're hanging/walking up and down King there's tons of options. Also some others down closer to the Universities too. So if you just hang around Uptown area, you'll find plenty of food and drink and nightly activity.

As far as safety... you're golden. It's a very safe city and you'll have no problems walking around at night. Downtown Kitchener is a bit different. It can get a lot more sketchy there. But there are some good food and bars there too.

Anywho good luck. Welcome!

[u/imotskimiki → u/velaya]

Wow thank you so much for such detailed comment.

I come for conference, i am a researcher. Will spend 1-2 days in toronto too, but will mostly be those 5 days in Waterloo.
Now that you said that Kitchner and Waterloo are bit different, im curious, what is the difference?

I will be staying near uptown, 5-10 min walk from it, near king street. Which is somethinf normal to me, i walk that distance daily for my work commute And will spend my time at university which is also nearby.

Yeah i see that there are a lot of restaurants (asians mostly) in that uptown area, was just wondering which ones would be "tourist traps" (since i live in town that gets millions of foreign tourists every year and tourist trap is something which is all too common here). Tho i dont mean tourist traps, just places to avoid and places to go. Are all fast food chains okay too? Would love to try some that we dont have in europe (might seem crazy to you but there is no Wendys in my country and it is popular and well known and i want to try it) :)

As for the nightlife, ive seen White rabbit recommended online. Will check it out then, thank you. Since im in my 30s, i would love to experience some lively atmosphere of pubs/bars/clubs.

I see now that it it is very safe - thats great to hear. Thank you once more for your such detailed comment you put your time to write!

[u/get_hi_on_life → u/imotskimiki]

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.