ELLE Gourmet Italy and the Med Food and Wine Event Returns October 21

Some Wednesday nights in Toronto are for staying in. This is not one of them. On October 21, 2026, ELLE Gourmet brings back its Italy and the Med Food and Wine Event for a third year, turning Queens Harbour at 245 Queens Quay West into a walk-around celebration of Italian and Mediterranean cooking, wine, and cocktails, all against the waterfront.

The format is the reason to go. Instead of a seated dinner, the evening runs as a tasting: stations of Italian and Mediterranean dishes to graze through at your own pace, glasses of wine and cocktails in hand, live entertainment filling the room, and the harbour lights outside the windows. It is built for wandering, for going back to the station you liked best, for the kind of night where dinner becomes an evening out.

What makes it special

Toronto does food events well, but few pair this particular combination: two of the world’s most loved food cultures, a waterfront venue, and a crowd that actually came to eat. The third edition signals the formula works. ELLE Gourmet, the food arm of ELLE Canada, has spent three years refining the mix of chefs, pours, and pacing, and the returning crowd is the review that matters.

The walk-around structure also changes the social math of the night. You are not locked to one table or one menu. Couples can split up and compare notes. Groups of friends can each chase their own cravings and reconvene. For anyone who has sat through a tasting menu wondering what the next table ordered, this is the opposite problem: everything is within reach.

What to expect

Doors open at 6:00 PM and the tasting runs until 10:30 PM. Expect stations serving Italian and Mediterranean dishes, from handmade pastas to coastal Mediterranean plates, alongside wine pours, cocktails, and live entertainment through the evening. The venue, Queens Harbour on Queens Quay West, puts the water right outside, which does half the atmosphere work on its own.

Your ticket, priced at 128.97 CAD, includes a limited-edition tote bag valued at over 50 CAD. It is a 19+ event, so leave the little ones with a sitter and make it a proper night out.

Practical details

When: Wednesday, October 21, 2026, 6:00 PM to 10:30 PM
Where: Queens Harbour, 245 Queens Quay West, Toronto
Tickets: 128.97 CAD, includes limited-edition tote bag (19+)
Getting there: Right on the waterfront at Queens Quay West; the 509 Harbourfront streetcar stops nearby, and there is paid parking in the area if you are driving in.

Who it is for

For the couple planning a midweek date night that feels like a getaway. For the group chat that keeps saying “we should do something” and never does. For anyone who believes the best way to spend an October evening is a glass of wine in one hand, something delicious in the other, and the city lights on the water. If that sounds like you, tomorrow night already has plans.