Meeting People in Toronto: Where to Go

Meeting people in a city is easier when you attend a recurring event: a language exchange on Wednesday, a board games night on Thursday, a run on Tuesday evening. You see the same faces again, and a stranger quickly becomes someone you know. This guide only lists events that the organizer describes on its own page.

The options at a glance

Name	Area, venue	Format	When	Price (year)	Signing up
Toronto Babel	Madison Avenue Pub	Language exchange, games and socializing	Wednesday, 7 to 11 pm, about every other week according to Meetup	$5 entry (2026)	RSVP on Meetup, pay at the door
Meet People Social Toronto	Paupers Pub	International social evening with language practice and games	Friday, 6 pm	$5 (2026)	Book a ticket
Toronto International Language Exchange (TILE)	Saturday: Madison Avenue Pub; Wednesday: Café Princess, 5590 Yonge St, North York	Language exchange and games, optional English class	Saturday, class 6:30 to 7:15 pm, social 7:15 to 11 pm; a Korean and English exchange on Wednesdays, 6:30 to 8:45 pm	Saturday $5 for the class, the social or both; Wednesday a café purchase, plus $5 from your third TILE event (2026)	Ticket or sign-up, limited places for the class
For The Win Board Game Cafe	Yonge and Lawrence	Board games, beginners and experienced players welcome	Thursday, 7 to 11 pm	$12 cover plus HST and an 18% gratuity, with $4 off a food or drink item (2026)	RSVP required, limited places
Midnight Runners Toronto	STACKT Market, Bathurst Street	Social run with music and exercise stops; the current listing asks for 7 km without walking	Tuesday, meet 7 pm, start 7:30 pm	Free (2026)	RSVP on Heylo
St. Clair Dance Collective	579 St Clair Ave W, second floor	Beginner ballet for adults 18 and over	Tuesday, 7:30 to 8:30 pm, during the fall term	$10 for your first class at the studio, plus HST (2026)	Book online
Sauté Sundays	Usually Jrew's, 165 Niagara St	Cookbook club, everyone brings a dish	Once a month	Free, you bring a dish (2026)	RSVP, limited places
Timeleft	Downtown or Midtown, the venue is shared shortly before	Dinner with a small group of strangers	Dinner Wednesday and Friday at 7 pm, other meet-ups at weekends	Membership by plan, plus food and drinks (2026)	In the app, book ahead

"Not stated" means we found no price, not that it costs money.

Talking

Toronto Babel (Madison Avenue Pub)

A language exchange with games and other social activities at the Madison Avenue Pub, on Wednesday evenings from 7 to 11 pm. According to its Meetup dates, the group currently meets about every other Wednesday, so check Meetup for the next one. You RSVP on Meetup and pay the $5 entry fee at the door (2026). The group says you are welcome to come on your own. Toronto Babel on Meetup

Meet People Social Toronto (Paupers Pub)

A weekly international social evening on Fridays at 6 pm at Paupers Pub, with language practice and games. According to the organizer, the evenings bring together newcomers, international students and locals. Entry costs $5 (2026), and you book a ticket on the organizer's page, where you should check the next date before you go. Meet People Social Toronto, events

TILE, Toronto International Language Exchange (Madison Avenue Pub)

On Saturday evenings, TILE holds a social at the Madison Avenue Pub with language exchange and games, from 7:15 to 11 pm, and before it an optional English class from 6:30 to 7:15 pm; $5 covers the class, the social or both (2026), and places in the class are limited. On Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:45 pm, TILE holds a Korean and English exchange with a class and games at Café Princess, 5590 Yonge St in North York: you buy something from the café menu, and from your third TILE event the class costs an additional $5 (2026). Check the venue of each date on Meetup. Its website announces more language evenings and classes this fall and names languages such as English, French, Korean, Japanese and Spanish. TILE on Meetup

Playing

For The Win Board Game Cafe (Yonge and Lawrence)

Weekly Board Games is a board games night on Thursdays from 7 to 11 pm at For The Win Board Game Cafe, at Yonge and Lawrence. The group welcomes beginners and experienced players. The cover is $12 plus HST and an 18% gratuity, and it includes $4 off a food or drink item (2026). An RSVP on Meetup is required, and places are limited. For The Win on Meetup, the café's website

Running

Midnight Runners Toronto (STACKT Market, Bathurst Street)

On Tuesdays, runners meet at 7 pm at STACKT Market on Bathurst Street and start at 7:30 pm for a 7 km social run with music and exercise stops along the way; the Toronto page describes these bootcamp runs and their social stops, with time to talk afterwards. The group welcomes newcomers. Its group page asks that you can comfortably run at least 6 km, and its current bootcamp listing asks that you can run the full 7 km without walking, with a cut-off pace of 7 minutes per kilometre. The runs are free, and you RSVP on Heylo (2026). Midnight Runners Toronto

Dancing

St. Clair Dance Collective (St. Clair Avenue West)

A dance studio at 579 St Clair Ave W, on the second floor, with a beginner ballet class for adults 18 and over on Tuesdays from 7:30 to 8:30 pm during the fall term. On Wednesdays at the same time there is a Ballet Barre class. Your first class at the studio costs $10, once per person, and the schedule gives a drop-in price of $22.50 for the Wednesday class; the studio adds HST to both (2026). You book online. St. Clair Dance Collective, adult ballet classes

Sharing a table with strangers

Sauté Sundays (Niagara Street)

A free cookbook club that meets once a month: members usually cook a dish from the same featured cookbook, bring it along, and the group eats together; themed evenings can follow a different format. It usually meets at Jrew's, 165 Niagara St; when it meets elsewhere, the address comes with your RSVP confirmation. You RSVP, and places are limited (2026). The dates are on its Luma calendar. Sauté Sundays

Timeleft (Downtown and Midtown)

An app that brings you together with a small group of people you don't know yet. In Toronto, dinners take place on Wednesdays and Fridays at 7 pm, Downtown or in Midtown, and you learn the venue shortly before; the page also lists other social meet-ups at weekends. You book on your own, ahead of time, and Timeleft puts the group together. You need a membership, whose price depends on the plan you choose, and you pay for what you eat and drink (2026). timeleft.com/toronto

Going alone

Pick one format and go three times before you judge it. The first evening is often the most awkward, and every time you return, you are more likely to see familiar faces. A shared activity gives you something to talk about straight away: the language you are practising, the game, the dish you brought. At Toronto Babel, the group says you are welcome to come on your own, and at Timeleft everyone books on their own anyway.

Good openers are deliberately ordinary: "Is this your first time too?", "How did you find out about it?", "Which language are you practising?" Ask one follow-up question and listen to the answer.

Making plans to meet again

A good conversation does not turn into a second meeting on its own. Before you leave, suggest something concrete: "Are you coming to the board games night again next Thursday?" or "I'm going to the run on Tuesday, want to come?" A specific suggestion is easier to answer than "We should do something sometime".

Try it this week

• Pick one format from the table above
• Put the date in your calendar and check it on the organizer's page
• Arrive five minutes early and talk to one person
• Before you leave, suggest a specific plan to meet again

For organisers

If you host evenings like these, you know the moment: people get on well and then lose touch. before is a web app for organisers. Guests check in at the door with a QR code in their browser, without installing an app, and anyone who likes takes a selfie. The day after, the afterparty is open from 10 am to 8 pm. Anyone who shared a selfie sees everyone else who shared one there and can press the button for meeting again for up to five people. At 8 pm everyone finds out at the same time who wants to see each other again, and only then does a chat open. One-sided wishes stay invisible, and nobody receives a rejection. Nobody needs a profile. More on the page before for organisers.