Knife located along Givins Ave near Queen St. W. is a high end cookware and coffee accessory shop…read more Located along a residential street just off the busy Queen St. W., this unassuming shop has quality cookware and coffee accessories as well as blacksmith services as well. They also have a coffee bar (called Slow Coffee Bar) featuring a menu with rotating roasters/beans where you are able to get some good quality pour over (the baristas use the best methods to extract the best flavour of the beans from the coffee). There is some seating in the front area of the store to enjoy your coffee as well. I've been meaning to visit Knife for the longest time for their coffee bar and was finally able to do so on Sat morning. This review is specifically for their coffee bar services only. The shop had a steady flow of customers and the coffee bar was definitely non-stop busy. Since pour over does take time (different water temperatures/timing for certain beans), I did appreciate the meticulous precision it took to craft that perfect brew. Since I do drink pour over at home, I was excited to try this coffee spot. The store is big where they have a selection of high end quality Japanese knives, which are displayed at the back of the store. There is also a huge display of coffee brewing accessories. Blacksmith services are also on site where you can sharpen your knives as well. The coffee bar is located in the middle. In terms of the coffee bar, don't expect this experience to be quick. The idea behind the coffee bar is to savour the moment. I did wait about 5-10 min for my pour over but staff were nice enough to ask me to take a seat where they brought my coffee over. I asked them for a recommendation based on my preference for coffee (more floral and more acidic). The recommendation they gave me suited my tastes perfectly where I could taste the notes of Jasmine, peach and Bergamot in my coffee. Savouring the coffee, I spent some time just relaxing in the space. Afterwards, I paid for my coffee and the barista mentioned that they change their offerings frequently. Overall, a great coffee experience not to be missed by any coffee enthusiast! The pour over is great and the baristas definitely know a lot about coffee and how to perfectly execute the brewing method to best extract the flavours of the coffee out. It can be quite pricey but as someone who drinks pour over daily, I appreciate the time and effort it takes to execute each cup. A great somewhat hidden gem near Queen St. W.!

Amazing experience. If you know that you don't know everything and you want to learn more. I've…read morebeen living in kitchens and restaurants all my life. Liv was our instructor and her easy and patient style will make you all knife aficionados. Well done. I took away more than I brought, for me that's a win. Great spot to visit and Liv ROCKS!

​I'm grateful for the exceptional service from Olivia and the team. They are professional,…read morewelcoming, and clearly care about their craft. I highly recommend them for any knife enthusiast!

After a lifetime of watching too many Food Network shows I have accumulated way too many kitchen…read moreknives. So many that more than a few occupy space at the back of my knife block, patiently waiting while others get used and often put back clumsily. A little over a month ago I pulled out one of my rarely used knives-a Shun "Sumo" somewhere between a chefs knife and a cleaver; and was horrified to find a series of large chips along the cutting edge of the blade. Seriously, the damn thing was practically serrated. I debated tossing it, thinking it would cost more to repair than I paid for it, but instead reached out to my friends at Nella Cucina. They recommended Tosho. I called first since their hours are limited. I explained the problem and asked how much it might cost to fix my knife. They quoted me a very reasonable $20, much less than the cost of buying new-if I could find a new one. They did caution me over the phone that in order to make the knife usable again they would grind it down to the level of the deepest chip, which might change the angle and width of the blade. Since my choices were either to see if $20 could make it functional again or essentially throw $150 in the garbage, I figured I'd give it a shot. Not like it was going to a better place anyway. I dropped the knife off on a Thursday and was told it would be ready in a week. I was instructed to pay up front, which surprised me but again-$20 and minimal inconvenience vs. Throwing it away. The knife was ready way ahead of schedule and the edge looks flawless. My only complaint is that when I brought it in, the associate pointed out a number of scratches along the side of the blade. I took this to mean that they would try to remove them, but when I got the knife back they looked like they hadn't been touched. No matter. I view my cooking equipment as tools, not museum pieces. My knife is now functional for the next time the urge to use it strikes. I will gladly go back to Tosho next time I need sharpening.

Absolutely the best knife sharpening service available in Toronto…read more At an average of 15$ per knife, this service is obviously not for lower-grade knives, but if you have good German or Japanese knives and want them brought to *above* factory sharpness by hand rather than machine ground into merely usable sharpness, this is the place to go. I brought a pair of somewhat neglected global knives to him (one with minor chips on the blade) and they came back chipless and sharper than when I first bought them. He also offers slightly more expensive services for fixing major chips or restoring broken points, again, worth the money for great knives, and again, all by hand. He also makes beautiful handcrafted wooden sayas or sheaths for protecting individual knives. For people with very high end japanese knives, he also offers a range of above-and-beyond services including polishing and treating the handle, converting the blade to a hamaguri edge and polishing the spine. The sharpener is a professional chef and the service is run out of his house. You can contact him through email or phone and then drop the knives off at his place. He generally takes three to four days to sharpen them. Nella is cheaper and still decent, and I am sure there are several passable services in the city (I've sent my knives to a few not-so passable ones as well), but if you want your knives brought to beyond factory sharpness *by hand*, by someone who will treat each job with an incredibly high level of personal attention to detail, this is the only option.

ignore the bad reviews. This place is great for regular and professional kitchen gear. Bought a…read moregreat knife at a reasonable price, and a standard teapot that doesn't drip. Overall, good store

2-2.5 stars I was in…read moreneed of some kitchen tools and this was a recommended shop to visit. Actually, this was the franchise that was recommended, but not this location. I had heard rave reviews for their Bathurst Street location, but this was closer for me. I've been twice now, and each time there are a few employees working, but they don't seem particularly helpful. The first time, after standing at the cash register and waiting for quite some time while the cashier was busy typing away, I asked her about the knives, and she said that the display case was unlocked and to go check each knife for the price. As soon as I open one of the display cases, another employee comes over to assist me. It's just a bit odd that the cashier didn't let the other employee know that I was interested in the knives or tell me to ask the other employee for assistance. On the second visit, after wandering the store and finding what I needed, I went to the cash register to pay. Except that I'm left standing there while the cashier walks off with no explanation. She finally comes back so that I can pay for my items.  The only good thing about the store is that George Brown students get 20% off.

I took my boots here to have new lifts put on the heels of my leather boots recently. I was charged…read more$35 and given a complimentary shine for an excellent repair job! Prior to going to this store, I went to the shoe repair in the laneway between Metro and the Hot House Cafe on Front St. The owner at this store told me the cost would be $85 which would include $20 for polishing my boots. I said that I did a great job polishing my boots on my own, so could he deduct $20 from the cost and I'd forgo the polish job. This man refused so I went down the street to 10 Lower Jarvis St. (inside the Loblaws building) and am I happy that I did. Saved $50, got a complimentary shine and excellent service! Try this place you won't be disappointed.

Tried this place out after being exasperated with Fluevog's turn around time for even the simplest…read moreof repairs. it's hard to take your $400. shoes to be repaired just anywhere but I took a chance and was pleasantly surprised. They would have been done while I shopped had I not come in so close to their closing time. Have taken a few pairs since and it's like clockwork ... or rather shoe work - great job, usually same day and did I mention how reasonable the prices are? I certainly got the best and my moneys worth! Thank you Fred!

I had wanted to check out this truck for some time as we saw him pass through our neighbourhood…read moreregularly in hopes of sharpening our well loved knives. I asked John about knife sharpening and he said no issue. Commented on how nice the knives were then went to immediately grind away their edge and break the tips off of two of three knives for sharpening. While the knives were sharper, they were all ruined but as I brought them in a towel was not able to inspect them until I got home and the truck was immediately gone. I have found no way to contact John about replacement or refund of the costs. On the positive, he did a great job with our garden shears and I would highly recommend the service for outdoor implements, but not kitchen knives and other nice blades.

yeah, a few years ago when relatively new to higher end knives, this guy was stopped near my place…read moreand my spyderco manix 2 was a little dull, so I approached his back door with it and asked him how he would go about sharpening a pocket knife like the one I held out to him....he grabbed it out of my hand and stuck it straight onto a super corse bench grinder and made an absolute mess of my knife.....he asked for money after this and I just walked away sad.

Excellent service, prompt response to email, arrived on date promised, did a wonderful job…read moresharpening my gardening equipment and knives.

I had a horrible experience, he was extremely rude and moody, grumpy and demanding, had no social…read moreskills. made me feel unsafe.

Ted is a great option for all of your blades if you live in/near the Danforth area (I'm not too far…read moreover in Leslieville). He understands the difference between high-end Japanese steel and your regular everyday use go-to kitchen knives and treats them all with precision and care. My knives came back as good as new with all the nicks worked out and incredibly sharp for our needs. His service was super prompt (he did them all on-the-spot for me while I waited) and the pricing was reasonable. I know it sounds odd, but I'm looking forward to using him more frequently (now that I have found him), in order to keep our blades in tip -top shape rather than getting used to gradual dulling and stop-gap sharpenings/maintenance with my own tools.

as a first time customer the service was fast prompt and professional i highly recommend this knife…read moresharpening service to all culinary wizards