Discover A World of Flavour in Modern North Bay

By Caitlin Carpenter Caitlin Carpenter runs Days Out Ontario, a trip planning website and travel blog.

April 12, 2023

New Look North Bay

Let’s play a game of word association. North Bay: endless forests, lakes of with bass and pike, an outdoorsman’s dream, a place to refuel and restock when camping or cottaging. In some ways, North Bay retains many of the charms forged in the days of early twentieth century resource exploration. Modest but historic buildings still line the classic main street, the railroad still cuts a path along the sparkling waters of Lake Nipissing, and simple, no nonsense homes dot the landscape.

Yet, those who visit North Bay recently have begun to notice some exciting new additions to North Bay’s tourism and culinary landscape. People of all ages will enjoy the modern and walkable design of North Bay’s revitalized downtown, and gourmands can enjoy a surprisingly broad variety of international flavours.

The sprawling civic plaza in front of the old train station and new bus depot is a great place for public events, or for a stroll on a sunny day when you can enjoy the public artwork (you can’t miss the blue archway topped by silver leaves). Directly behind the plaza are open grassy fields, perfect for kicking around a soccer ball or a picnic. The plaza leads under the raised railway to a circular stone courtyard overlooking Lake Nipissing—either beautifully sapphire under sunny skies, or photogenically brooding on stormy days.

The World Comes to North Bay

The outdoorsy crowd drawn to North Bay may be known for mixing up a mean granola or cooking up fresh caught fish for a shore lunch, but the culinary scene in North Bay holds pleasant surprises.

You don’t need to go to a major city to have an expert Japanese chef sauté your stir fry right in front of you. For a quarter of a century, North Bay’s Kabuki House has served up spring rolls, sashimi, tempura, and every imaginable delight from the land of the rising sun. When you make your reservation at Kabuki House, be sure to request a table in the main dining room with a view of the Teppan table, the grill where Chef Masa cooks up his culinary creations. Upstairs there's a Tatami room, where guests sit on cushions on the floor as they enjoy their meal in traditional style.

If you’re craving an authentic thin crust pizza from a wood-fired oven and topped with creative ingredients, look no further than Arugula Fresh. One of the newer restaurants on the North Bay food scene, Arugula has a stylish, bright interior, centered around the prized Stefano Ferrara pizza oven imported straight from Naples, Italy. You’ll be tempted by tasty starters, such as beloved meatballs, but their pizzas—bubbling with true Italian mozzarella atop naturally leavened crust—are so filling that you may need a to-go box.

Continuing your world travels via your taste buds, there’s the local favourite, Chicago Café, serving up Chinese dim sum specialties, The Cedar Tree Lebanese Restaurant right downtown on Main street and for amazing Indian cuisine let George and Indra of Indra's Curry House guide you through their flavoursome and tasty dishes.