The Island Café is officially back, just in time for summer.
Fifteen months after it was destroyed in a devastating fire, the popular, family-run restaurant on Ward’s Island reopened its doors Friday with a newly expanded outdoor patio, plus a revitalized food and bar menu.
Gone are the deep fryers and fast-food options, general manager Eyren Davis told the Star on Friday. Instead, she says locals and island-hoppers can choose from a list of seasonable items made from sustainable, locally sourced ingredients, including vegetables grown in the restaurant’s own garden.
“We are elated,” Davis said, her excitement palpable as she described the restaurant’s new dishes. “We’re keeping things fresh and fairly light.”
While the menu and decor may be new, Davis insists the vibe at the Island Café 2.0 hasn’t changed.
“We keep hearing that it’s got the same energy and flow and flair,” she explained. “Plus, a lot of our staff have stuck with us through all of this and are back for another season. So it’s a lot of familiar faces, and people have been responding really well.”
The original Island Café was housed in the Ward’s Island Association Clubhouse, a nearly 90-year-old community space. The restaurant was founded in 2010 by Zorah Freeman-McIntyre, who runs it with his parents, longtime island residents since the 1980s.
Over the years, the café — one of the few full-service restaurants on an island that sees up to 20,000 visitors on a busy summer day — became a staple for city tourists. Located just a few hundred metres from the ferry dock, it served as many as 800 customers a day.
In March 2024, a structural fire destroyed both the Island Café and the Ward’s Island Association Clubhouse, which in recent years was a popular venue for weddings, birthdays and company events. The loss sent shockwaves through the tight-knit community on Ward’s Island, but its operators were determined to rebuild. With the support of Mayor Olivia Chow and Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik, Freeman-McIntyre got to work almost immediately.
Last July, the Freeman-McIntyres opened two temporary kiosks — an ice cream and cafe kiosk, and a taqueria. And though the restaurant’s plans to expand faced some pushback from members of the local community concerned that it might bring increased traffic and noise, the family moved ahead.
“The Freeman-McIntyres are the most resilient people I have ever worked for,” Davis said. “They jumped into action right away.”
“I have never seen something go from ground zero to (completion) so quickly,” she added. “They also are islanders themselves, so they know the immediate need for places like ours to be available for tourist season and for Torontonians. So that was their motivation to kickstart things after mourning the loss of the building.”
The newly rebuilt space — with views of Lake Ontario, the city skyline, and seating for up to 100 — is kicking off the summer this weekend with a series of festivities, including live music and beer sampling.
“We’re delighted that the Island Café, an institution here on the water, is re-opened to welcome visitors from the GTA and tourists from around the world this year,” Tim Kocur, executive director of the Waterfront BIA said in a statement.
For Davis, watching the rebuild unfold was a reminder that “anything is possible if you put your mind to it.”
“Although tragedies do happen,” she said, “great things can come out of them.”
