Things to do in Toronto this week: October 4–10

This is a week to plan around the weather and the shows, not the other way around. Sunday and Monday stay cool and overcast—perfect for indoor venues—while Wednesday nudges toward mild. A few genuinely solid live events anchor the stretch, but the bigger story is how the city's dining and neighbourhood character are shifting right now.

Start with Sunday at Massey Hall, where Raffi—the Armenian-Canadian children's music legend The Washington Post once called the most popular kids' singer in the English-speaking world—brings his catalogue to a 2 p.m. matinee. It's a specific draw for families; if that's not your crowd, skip it. The same afternoon, ZHU x HNTR play CODA at 3 p.m. for electronic and hip-hop fans, tickets from $45.

Monday is where the week finds its strongest footing. Modest Mouse, the American indie rock band that emerged from Issaquah, Washington in 1993, takes Meridian Hall at 7 p.m.—a band with genuine staying power and a catalog that justifies the trip. The same night, The Jungle Giants, an Australian indie outfit from Brisbane, hit Lee's Palace. Both venues are walkable from King West; if you're torn, Modest Mouse carries the heavier draw, but it's a real week for guitar-driven alternative rock.

Wednesday afternoon brings Katie Pruitt to The Drake Hotel at 7 p.m. Pruitt is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter whose debut album Expectations arrived in 2020. The Drake's smaller room suits her folk-inflected style, and it's a Wednesday night option if you want something lower-key than the Monday shows. By Wednesday the forecast edges toward 23°C at its peak—still overcast, but the warmest day of the stretch—so a patio before or after the show makes sense. PAI, the Thai spot on King West, would be a natural pre-show meal if you're in the neighbourhood.

Beyond the live calendar, pay attention to what's opening and shifting in the city right now. Millie Desserts, the beloved mille crepe shop that shuttered all three locations by 2024, is back with a window on Adelaide Street downtown—a real return for a spot locals mourned. If you want to eat at something that's actually worth the hype, Mott 32 at the Shangri-La just landed Canada's best Chinese restaurant title for 2026; the Cantonese cooking there is refined and serious, the opposite of the AI-generated food images now plaguing some restaurant menus across the city. And if you're in Liberty Village, know that Bushido, a $350 omakase-kaiseki spot from Liberty Entertainment Group, opens on October 22—sushi chef Yi-Joo Na moving you through different rooms in Casa Loma itself. That's not this week, but it's worth marking.

For tableside theatre, Toronto's restaurants are bringing back the old ceremony: watch Peking duck flamed at Mott 32 or parmigiano-reggiano pasta wheels set ablaze at Sal's. It's a small trend with real character.

Casa Loma's Legends of Horror runs through the week with multiple time slots—family hours at 5:30 p.m. and the full production at 7 p.m.—if you want a Halloween-adjacent activity indoors on a cool week.

If you have a single night to commit, make it Monday for Modest Mouse at Meridian Hall. It's the kind of show that draws a real crowd and justifies the ticket.