Chinatown Centre has been around since I was a kid. I used to head over here with my mom on Sundays. It's located on the west side of Spadina Avenue, south of Dundas Street West. When I took Cantonese classes in high school at Ryerson Public School (now Ryerson Community School), I'd walk walk over to this mall and Dragon City to hang out before heading home. I liked to stop by and hang out like most teens did then. It had been eons since I was last here. I was parked on Grange Avenue, steps away from the entrance to Chinatown Centre. I checked out this mall while visiting a bunch of businesses last month. This mall has seen better days. Originally, the concept of having condos above a mall happened with this mall's design, well before the condo boom started in Toronto, which still endures. A statue of Dr Sun Yat Sen is prominent outside the main entrance facing Spadina Avenue. I visited most floors while I was here. The basement is where the food court and washrooms are. The women's washroom was a bit dingy. There were a couple of eateries that were open when I was there at around 5:30 pm. There are some stores facing Spadina that are a part of this mall, but don't allow you to go through it to enter and exit this mall. My new favourite store is Sisi Wholesale and Retail. You can't to through this store to access the mall. It does have cute M&M's keychains, purses, and souvenirs that I liked. On the other hand, some stores have full access to the mall, such as Famous Canada. This store also had a lot of cool souvenirs. However, if you want to use a credit or debit card, you need to spend $20. The main floor has security. I spoke to the security man in passing, who was friendly and nice. There are also seats on this floor if you need to sit down. A lottery stand and a bunch of businesses occupy this floor. The second floor has more businesses. Many were closed by the time I headed up there. This mall closes at 8 pm. It was 7:30 pm by the time I walked back to this mall and cut through it to get to my car. The top floor has a hotel -- a Super 8. I didn't see any advertising at all. I only knew about it when I walked into the elevator and saw a button for it. Wow! It was nice heading back and checking it out again. I used to come here on public transportation growing up. It was different driving over here as an adult and parking on a side street. I hope to return when more stores are open, to relive past memories and make new ones. (338) read more

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I've been to Chinatowns all over the world and my rating is because the Toronto one rates as a below average Chinatown for me. I understand it is the biggest one in Ontario but the place is simply not in good condition. Most of the businesses are old, a lot of stores were closed down, and there was a lot of graffiti everywhere. In contrast, the one in Vancouver is much cleaner and modern. The main reason to stop here is for the food. There are a lot of restaurants here serving authentic Chinese food. read more

Chinatown Centre - Local Flavor Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Really large center to go walk through, but very disappointed. It seems really sad and barren now; not many shops to look at and not very hustling and bustling. Most of the stuff to do in Chinatown is outside unfortunately. read more

Went to go shopping and I took a picture of myself while in the elevator only to be yelled at and harassed by two security guards who forced me off the property saying no pictures are allowed in the store. There is nothing stating such rule, the stores are okay but the security is not friendly. Especially since their demeanor turned negative when I told them I was a tourist. read more

I pretty much went inside and then straight out. There isn't much to see here. We came here on a Thursday afternoon and it seems like majority of the stores are closed. The mall is in Chinatown. It was bustling outside and super empty inside at the mall. Worse was that it seems like the mall AC was not working. Maybe that is why there is no one here? read more

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Don't go! Very sketchy, almost all the stores were closed, very dirty and overall not worth your money.

if this is the Pacific Mall, it is absolute crap! it's all cell phone case stores and old lady clothing stores and I'm talking Mrs Roolder stuff! I found one knockoff Gucci backpack and that's it! and it doesn't open until noon! also, the cell phone case people, they literally follow you to try to make you go into their stores! it's crazy! I feel like I need to look down and not make eye contact with anyone! read more

To my mind, Toronto has one of the best China Towns of any city, in fact better than the more noted ones of Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco or that of Sydney, Australia. It's easy to get around and besides just simply being nothing but Chinese, also has areas of Korean, Malaysian as well as a surprisingly large area of ethnic Portuguese enclave. So when touring the area you are easily able to explore other ethnic areas as well. Toronto's China Town offers shopping bargains galore, all sorts of markets loaded with varying goods include some of the most exotic of fruits and vegetables and the best of what are real authentic Chinese restaurants with hardly any of them including those cheap American New York styled Chinese crap such as General Tao's Chicken. Yuck! Better yet, the neighborhoods have greatly improved over the years, now having become rather upscale due to the relocation of many of the locals brought about by the gentrification of the former hippie areas of Yorkville or formerly impoverished areas of what is known as Cabbagetown. read more

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Love Chinatown in Toronto. Plenty of good eats. Affordable restaurants with delicious food. Bakeries every where I turn. Cute stores with all sorts of random stuff for sale. Awesome place to visit. read more

Chinatown Centre - Local Flavor Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

This Chinese mall has definitely seen better days (along with Chinatown - everything is moving to the northern suburbs). Many empty storefronts and mainly local residents frequent this place. Lots of cheap clothing and toy stores on the main floors.almost empty food court in the basement. All their pricing is essentially the same - four dishes for four dollars. Adequate food - unsure how fresh it is. Watch the grease and MSG. Probably worth a quick gander - there is Internet and washrooms although they are not particularly clean. read more

Chinatown Centre - Four dishes for four dollars. Notice the shine from all the oil! - Local Flavor Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Food was generally good but did not have the flavor I expected from a Chinese restaurant. Also a bit dry-not enough sauce. But service was excellent and they tried their best to make adjustments after we complained. I would pay a return visit. read more

We stopped here after AGO museum and found it amazing. My wife and I visited Winnipeg and Vancouver on previous trip but this one is the best. No surprise I know being the biggest city in Canada. But, it was nice to visit this as well as Koreatown. Be sure to check this out. You can get authentic food here. I only got some steamed buns, pineapple buns, and pineapple cake and they were all great. read more

When C and I were trying to explore Toronto on our own, we saw this place was still open. We decided to drop on in and check this place out. It was pretty late at night so a lot of the stores were already closed. We managed to find this place called L&M - another imported clothing shop but CHEAP!!!! The sales lady name Rain helped us and got C to buy loads of things. I didn't see too many things that were my style since I don't like to wear stuff that makes me look like a pansy. There's a little cafe in here that sells TEA EGGS for .80 cents! I love Tea Eggs!!! I know I know...what the hell are Tea Eggs? They are eggs that are infused with Tea and has a marbled appearance! They were so addictive!!!! But beware the lady there is more into gossiping on the phone than attending to her customers! It's cools if you don't want to make rent! read more

Whatever vision the developer had for this mall back in the day, it is not taking form today. Chinatown Centre is the better of the two shopping malls in Toronto's Chinatown, atmosphere-wise and in terms of stores. That though isn't saying much for a building in decline. Even ten years ago it wasn't like that, there was enough life for the mall to be a go-to destination. But now it's a sad uninviting version of its former self. Like Pacific Mall, Chinatown Centre tries to bring a Hong Kong style shopping experience to Toronto, complete with bedroom-sized retail spaces and an indoor and outdoor courtyard. Architecturally, the place has lots of questionable features that only add to the depression, like the sketchy entrance next to the parking garage, or poorly lit dark confusing corridors in the deep reaches of the mall. Not surprisingly those are where you'll find the majority of vacant storefronts. The third floor restaurant space had been empty for so long that it's now a Super 8 hotel. Meanwhile, the stores that remain mainly sell cheap imported knickknacks and confectionery, bootleg Chinese movies, electronics and jewelry, as well as knockoff crap and fruity clothes I wouldn't wear. Not much else. Hardly a soul in sight. And then there's the dark and dingy food court, which infamously was shut down by Toronto Public Health in 2004 for the kind of nasty things Chinese restaurants are stereotypically associated with. Yeah, I wouldn't eat here either still, even if one place is offering four items for $4. "We fried your order" sure says a lot. Continuing the theme, many stalls have been empty for years (one since 2006 according to a green health inspection sign), and the three arcade game units by the entrance look like it hadn't seen any love since Mel Lastman was mayor of this town. The food court now primarily serves as a hangout for the neighborhood oldtimers. In such a prime downtown location, its a shame the mall management have not made any effort to improve the place and attract tenants and shoppers. read more

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An ongoing complete and total disaster area. Clearly, property owners and property management could care less. Simply ready similar valuable feedback on this site dating back to 2014!!! read more

If you've ever been to Pacific Mall, or any Hong Kong style mall in the world, imagine a crappier version and you've got the Chinatown Centre. I mean, it's basically all we've got in the downtown core, so it does its job. They've got their share of cheap imported knock-off clothes, display cases full of fake Chanel and Burberry bags, a couple travel agencies where you can get cheap casino bus tours, and a bunch of stands with TONS of jewelry and a lifetime supply of cell phone charms (I'm a sucker for those things). Bring a bunch of cash, because most places don't take debit or credit, grab a bubble tea and go wandering around looking for trinkets. The cheap clothes are great but don't usually go beyond a size 8 so beware. The food court downstairs offers stands where you can get a bunch of noodles in a styrofoam container for like $5, but you can do that almost anywhere in Chinatown so don't feel obligated to eat here. read more

This Chinatown was a bit smaller than NYC and San Francisco's, but was pretty large. It also seemed more authentic than the others. You will not find replica designer purses and jewelry here. You will find fruit and vegetable stands, cheaply-made household goods (including rice cookers), cheap sandals, cell phone cases and cords, paper lanterns, and a random assortment of other goods and decorations merchandised in no particular order. Worth walking through and seeing, but don't allot too much time to this area because there's so much more to see and do elsewhere. read more

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I'll comment on the Chinatown Centre food court. It has convenient access to the outside. Unfortunately it is dark, gloomy and a bit grimy. Too bad as it has lots of windows so could be a lot more pleasant. There are several food outlets but some are vacant. The two that are open around 5pm are at each end, but appear to be the same outlet with exact same food. One outlet sports a large menu sign with the title "We Fried Your Food". Both outlets offer a generous plate of 4 items for $4 (includes tax). What could be cheaper. The food items range from okay to inedible and gross. Sometimes you can't get your teeth through the veggies, much less the meat. Tough as old shoe leather. Tofu is a good bet. Shrimps (heads still on with beady eyes staring at you accusingly) smell odd and sort of disintegrate when you try to peel them. Some meats are not what they appear to be, and are misidentified by the server. The "steak" may be spongy cow lungs, which I would normally like, but not in this case. In spite of that, I am strangely drawn to the place. Not for much longer, though - even my cast-iron stomach can't take much more of this. read more

A different world maybe, but a very run down feeling world. If you have some time to kill, its definitely something to wander through but it is very run down. The variety is interesting and it does feel like a different world. The street performers, while touristy, were entertaining. It is crowded, fairly safe and easy to navigate. It seems more authentic than NYC in that you don't see junk knock offs, but more like a functioning market, vegetable stand and butcher for the local residents mixed in with cell phone stores, 5 and dime type and appliance stores. There are plenty of restaurants. You can pretty much do a 15 minute walk through and see it or stay and explore longer if you like. read more

Chinatown Centre is the mall that is south of Dundas and not connected to the mini mall at the corner of Spadina and Dundas (Dragon Center). Above this mall are condos built long before the condo boom and are fitting to the area constructed as a medium rise building. Inside is a maze-like labyrinth of small stores hawking cheap imported goods. There is even a passport photo shop that still has an old-school photo developing machine. Beside that place upstairs is a knowledgeable TV shop. And in the basement is a food court that resembles more of a dungeon. The layout of the mall is interesting and suits the mystery that sometimes surrounds Chinatown. My fave stores are easily accessed from the street and are on my way thru the shortcut I take walking from Alex Park to Spadina. One is Princess Dry Cleaning and the other is Sweet Magic, an amazing import candy store that I can't seem to love enough. At the mall front and center and up is a Super 8 Hotel. Although I haven't seen inside, it had scaffolding in front of it for so long that grass and moss started growing underneath on the concrete. The scaffolding is gone, and maybe the hotel has improved, who knows? This mall is an important hub of Chinatown activity with its basement level outdoor courtyard hosting many locals engaged in mahjong. The mall is forthright, and a valued part of the neighbourhood. read more

This place should be condemned. Most of the lights don't work, the escalators are always out of order and it is a total mess. The layout is brutal you can't find anything and half the stores aren't open when they should be. I was actually scared being in this building. I tried to talk to a few store clerks to ask questions but they brushed me off and wouldn't look at me. I finally stumbled upon the help desk and the security staff was pleasant. I will never go back. Literally the worst. read more

There is a sense of having entered another world when you enter this area. The street signs, shop signs and in fact every sign is in both English and Chinese. The majority of the people on the street seem Oriental or to be tourists and everything about this area just makes you feel like you've entered another world. From a giant karoke sign on a mall to the duck hanging in the window, you'll feel it as well. This us the best place to go and enter a totally different world. read more

not a lot of options at this multi-level mall, often times when I went into this mall, I was confused by the layout and all of the things It had to offer, later finding out that its more of a niche mall, dare I say a tourist mall as well. the food court has a lot of options to eat from! very accessabile by transit, being served by the 505 and 510 streetcars. lots of parking available in the area as well! read more

They are racist to African Caribbean's , they keep it Chinese , and are very ignorant, the management is stuck in the past, and does not want to see new ideas, This mall needs to be sold because it sucks and they are too stuck in old ways of thinking, bad experience all around . read more

Located at West of Spadina, South of Bloor, this 'town' is a vibrant place to visit. Once you turn the corner off the main streets you would be forgiven if you thought you had stepped out of Canada and into China. If you like Chinese food there are hundreds of restaurants to choose from. For shopping there are tons of small out of the way places as well as a lot of produce stores that are priced significantly lower than their north American competitors. And where else can you basically be guaranteed to find star fruit year round! English is sometimes a little sparse, and a lot of the roads are not very well paved. Don't bother driving as parking is next to impossible. Instead take the spadina street car from the subway station and get off when you think things begin to look interesting. read more

Not bad, but not great. You can get a $5 meal from the food court on the lower level and there are a couple of decent restaurants here as well. Great place to buy Chinese style snacks, but the layout of the mall is a bit confusing. read more

This is where Auntie Fe and all the hardcore Filipinos in Toronto shop for ingredients for Pinakbet (Filipino Meat Vegetable Stew with Shrimp Paste) and other Filipino dishes as well. As always major cities must have their Chinatown - unique shops, vegetable stands, butcher shops, cash only restaurants, phone card stands, bootleg DVD's, knock-offs, and gifts / specialty stores. And this was a great adventure with my Auntie Fe....to see her best kept secrets and hook-ups. The sellers knew her well and always gave her the "discount". I found myself as the "carrying" boy as we ventured from vegetable stand to vegetable stand. After each purchase I was the one holding all the bags. I didn't mind because this activity because it reminded so much of my grandmother. There were times I actually had déjà vu and almost called Auntie Fe by my grandmother's name. The only thing I dreaded was her smiling at me and asking, "I'm going to buy a 50 pound bag of rice, you can carry it - right?" Walter P Trip Advisory: - Bring cash. It helps when bargaining. - Backpacks are the way to go. I learned the hard way the first time. Those cheap plastic bags break easily - especially when carrying tons of vegetables. - Parking: Forget it. Take the subway train and get off at the nearest stop. Walking isn't far (about half a block away). - Venture here during the late morning into afternoon. At night, it gets pretty ghetto. ! read more

Use to be a decent place to shop, when it wasn't over crowded with fake stuff all over the second floor. I'm not talking about the actual stores, it's the ones that are outside (kiosk?) that poses a safety hazard. I hear it has been raided multiple times for pirate and counterfeit products, but business continues as usual.. Where are the cops when you need them? read more

Iv been to Chinatown center multiple times... Every time I shop at chinatown I will come here and look around and shop a little....this place sells a lot of suivioner Items... I bought a house warming gift in one of the stores inside the center... I think a plant like an orchid.... bamboo....or fortune tree would be nice....Plants are considered good fung shui for home... So perfect for house warming gift! I also grab a few Asian munchies and bubble tea here... Theres a few cute little asian stores for teenagers such as a photo booth store...Place gets really crowed during the weekends... Parking is lousy...great place to walk around during the summer time...air conditioner is spot on! read more

Well, I gotta say, it's a pretty good mall for some selection, it used to have 2-3 anime/otaku stores, and a couple of game stores and electronic stores, I give that a 4 out of 5 back in its heyday. And as of right now, there are cellphone providers that helps survive this whole entire mall, the cheap food court, arcadeshop(used to be, but now it's part of the food court) and one electronic store that survive from the last 1.5 decades which is still a great landmark out of every store, so I give that a 3.5 out of 5.... This is the best out of the 2 malls in Spadina Chinatown area. Needs some improvement somehow. read more

Lots of little shops all shop keepers friendly, not many places to get a soda tho and not to sure about the hygiene of the dried items in boxes out side the shops. read more

Had a little look around here and was surprised by the authenticity of this place. The streets, shops, people, food, smell (not the most pleasant) Except that they also speak some English! In the downstairs food court was a stall called Citywok. It was so cheap. $5 for a full sized meal! Looking at the menu I don't think there was anything over $5 in fact. Don't expect crockery though, it's all disposable and food court service. Amazing. A must try cheap eat. read more

Not a bad place to take a walk and see fun stuff. However, Id be careful buying anything from the guy selling telephone cases on the second floor (near the coffee shop). He will give you a price and when you pay he will refuse to give you change saying that what you paid is the price he quoted. read more

Chinatown is the BEST part of Toronto. In fact, the BEST neighborhood in the entire province of Ontario. It is not just an opinion; it is a fact. I am Canadian-born and raised and have been to every part of Ontario. I am not someone who works or lives in Chinatown; I live and work very far from it. I am not even of Asian background. I simply state the truth. I visit this part of Toronto sometimes. Chinatown has the kindest, friendliest, most helpful, and most hospitable people in the entire city and province. Excellent and convenient location of Spadina and Dundas West. Frequently running TTC trams/streetcars. Just a few minutes tram/streetcar ride from TTC's Spadina Subway Station. Large underground parking garage below Chinatown Centre. Every major Canadian bank has a big branch in Chinatown. A plethora of shops, restaurants, and services. Many great deals. Many excellent restaurants serving very delicious and very high-quality food, in gigantic portions, at very cheap prices. Very lively and friendly atmosphere. There is even a very nice hotel here, the Super8, part of the same international hospitality chain that owns Ramada, Best Western, Howard Johnson, etc. Just down the road, within easy walking distance, is the well-known Toronto Western Hospital, a major research and teaching facility, located at Bathurst and Dundas West. My sincere thanks to the wonderful people of Chinatown for your splendid kindness/friendliness/helpfulness/hospitality, for contributing so much to the city, province, and to the Canadian economy as a whole, for sharing your beautiful and rich Oriental culture with other Canadians, and for so much more. God Bless. read more

i like the place a lot, i forget if it was the second or third floor, probably second, but i really liked the little store with the woman who was selling a lot of little key chain, there was lots to choose from, like cats, different animals, you could even get pokemon or anime stuff.... really cool i think, and all the little shops had a lot of different things in them. i like going in and looking around. read more

Well this place seems really run down, the basement consist of many closed business. But i do love to go down there to get a frozen yogurt my favourite : ). it has become like a tradition everytime i come here and to run a few games of fooseball. Not a big fan of the food court i usually get sick after eating there but it still good LOL and cheap! any 4 or 5 items for like 4$ i'm not really sure because everytime i go it seems like the prices always changes : D read more

I would recommend avoiding this place if you are visiting Toronto unless you really, really want to see it. We recently visited Toronto and decided to visit china town. We were shocked by the behaviors there. Prior to china town, everywhere in Toronto we were treated well. We shopped and the stores readily accepted our credit card. If we wanted to pay in cash, the stores were more than willing to do the currency conversion for us (albeit, the rate was slightly higher but that was okay). Once we got to china town, the store merchants there either refuse to accept credit cards (they said their card reader was broken) or demanded only U.S. dollar bills. One merchant said (and I quote here), "you from U.S. you pay in dollar; he from Canada, he pay in Canada money." We refused to buy and left his store. Another store demanded that my daughter pay in US dollar for her smoothie but then gave changes back to her in Canadian currency. I told him that to be fair he should return the changes in US currency. He ignored us and walked away. Three out of the four stores that we visited in china town either tried to or outright ripped us off. We left after that. As a fellow Asian, I was disappointed by their behaviors. I would like to believe that we Asians are fairly decent human beings. We work hard and we try to get along with everyone. We don't try to cheat others (well, most of us anyway) because we have principles, honors, and values that were handed down to us from our parents. It was something that was glaringly lacking in these merchants. So, here's my recommendation: 1. Avoid Toronto's china town unless you really must see it. 2. If you must go, change your currency first before going there 3. Try to not look like a tourist (hard to do when you don't know your way around) 4. Don't be afraid to walk away if it seems like they are trying to cheat you 5. If you got ripped off like us, try not to let it ruin your vacation. Remember, not all Asians are that unscrupulous. Most of us still have honors and values. Besides, a few dollars isn't going to make him richer or put you in the poor house. Tomorrow, you will wake up in your cozy home and he will still be living in his run down house. Hope this help. read more