Toronto has a number of restaurants and lounges with great views of the city and Lake Ontario.

If you can arrange to eat around sunset, you can get the best of both a daytime and nighttime view.  This sunrise/sunset calendar can tell you when the sun will set in Toronto (and many other cities).

Restaurants

There was a discussion of the best restaurant with a view on the TripAdvisor Toronto forum.  Some of the choices mentioned:

  • 360 at the CN Tower (Toronto Life review): the food rarely gets great reviews, but this is Toronto's highest restaurant.  The restaurant revolves every 72 minutes to give you a complete view of the city skyline; on the clearest of days, you may be able to see across the lake to Niagara Falls.
  • Canoe (Toronto Life review): occupying the 54th floor of a bank tower designed by famous modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Canoe is known for upscale dining with Canadian touches and a view of skyscrapers and the lake from the heart of the financial district.
  • Scaramouche (Toronto Life review): another top-notch restaurant, with a view that is lovely but slightly less dramatic.  It's located on a hill, and its windows overlook downtown Toronto from the north.  Best to ask for a table by the window when you reserve.

Lounges

  • The Roof Lounge: this intimate lounge at the Park Hyatt hotel is known for its martinis and its view of the city skyline; it also has a bird's-eye view of the newly renovated Royal Ontario Museum. 
  • Panorama (Toronto Life review): located atop an office tower at the north end of downtown.