Markham

The GTA’s most underrated food destination

Markham sits northeast of Toronto in York Region, and for travelers who treat it purely as a suburb to skip, that’s a genuine miss — it’s home to one of the largest and most established Chinese-Canadian communities in the country, and the food scene that’s grown around that community rivals or exceeds what’s available in Toronto’s own Chinatown. Alongside that, Markham holds onto Unionville, a preserved 19th-century Main Street that stands in sharp contrast to the modern retail and office towers surrounding it, giving the city an unusual split personality: heritage village on one side, dense Asian retail and dining hub on the other.

Neither half takes more than a few hours to see properly, which makes Markham a reasonable full-day trip if you combine both, or a focused half-day if food is the specific draw.

Markham’s transformation over the past few decades is genuinely notable within the wider GTA context — it’s grown from a largely agricultural township into one of Canada’s major technology and life sciences employment hubs, home to Canadian and regional headquarters for a long list of tech companies, while simultaneously becoming home to one of the country’s largest Chinese-Canadian communities. That combination of high-tech economic growth and deep community roots is part of what makes the city’s food and retail scene feel less like a suburban afterthought and more like a genuine cultural centre in its own right, built by and for the community that lives there rather than engineered for outside visitors.

Getting there from Toronto

By car: about 40–50 minutes from downtown Toronto depending on traffic on Highway 404 or the Don Valley Parkway, and the most practical option for reaching both Pacific Mall and Unionville in one day, since they’re a 15–20 minute drive apart.

By GO Train: Markham is served by the Stouffville GO line, with the Unionville and Markham stations both reasonably close to their namesake areas, though Pacific Mall requires an additional bus or rideshare connection from the nearest station.

By TTC/York Region Transit combination: reachable from downtown Toronto via subway to the northern terminus followed by a York Region Transit bus, workable but slower than driving for a single-day visit.

What to actually do in Markham

Pacific Mall, North America’s largest indoor Chinese shopping mall, packs hundreds of small independent vendors — electronics, fashion, jewelry, and a food court that’s genuinely one of the better cheap-eats destinations in the GTA — into a dense, maze-like layout that rewards browsing rather than a targeted shopping list. It’s a completely different retail experience from a standard North American mall, closer in spirit to markets in Hong Kong or Taipei.

Unionville Main Street, a few kilometres away, is the historical counterpoint — a preserved 19th-century streetscape with heritage buildings now housing boutiques, cafés, and restaurants, centred on a small pond (Toogood Pond) with walking trails. It’s one of the better-preserved historic main streets in the GTA, and considerably quieter than Pacific Mall’s retail intensity.

Markham’s broader Asian food scene extends well beyond Pacific Mall’s food court — the Highway 7 and Kennedy Road corridor, along with Times Square Markham nearby, hosts a dense concentration of regional Chinese, Hong Kong-style, and other Asian cuisine restaurants that draw diners from across the GTA specifically for the food, not incidentally.

Toogood Pond Park, adjacent to Unionville’s Main Street, offers a short walking loop around the pond — a pleasant, low-effort break between shopping or eating, particularly appealing in fall when the surrounding trees turn.

Flato Markham Theatre, the city’s main performing arts venue, runs a regular calendar of concerts, theatre, and comedy — worth checking if the timing of a visit lines up with a show, though not a primary draw on its own.

Markham Museum, focused on the area’s agricultural and settlement history before its transformation into a major suburban and tech hub, gives useful context for how dramatically the city has changed over the past half-century — worth a stop for visitors interested in that broader GTA growth story rather than a headline attraction.

Where to eat in Markham

Beyond Pacific Mall’s food court, Markham’s real food strength is concentrated along the Highway 7 corridor and the surrounding plazas near Kennedy Road and Warden Avenue, where dense clusters of regional Chinese restaurants — Sichuan, Cantonese, Northern Chinese, and Hong Kong-style cafés among them — serve a large, established community rather than a tourist-facing simplified menu. This is genuinely one of the best areas in the entire GTA for specific regional Chinese cuisine, and food-focused travelers who make the trip specifically for a meal here are making a reasonable choice.

Unionville’s Main Street offers a different, more mixed dining scene — cafés, ice cream shops, and a range of casual to upscale restaurants housed in the heritage buildings, better suited to a relaxed afternoon than a targeted food crawl. Combining a Pacific Mall or Highway 7 meal with an Unionville dessert or coffee stop is a common and sensible way to experience both sides of the city’s food culture in one day.

Best time to visit

Markham works reasonably well year-round given that much of its appeal (Pacific Mall, restaurants) is indoors. Unionville’s Main Street and Toogood Pond are at their best in spring (blossoms) and fall (foliage), similar to other heritage-village destinations in the region.

Summer brings the most restaurant patio activity along Unionville’s Main Street, while winter holiday lighting around Unionville and the Flato Markham Theatre’s seasonal programming give the area a different, cozier character.

Practical tips

• Come hungry — Markham’s real strength is food, and trying to see the historic and shopping sides without allocating real time for a proper meal misses the point of the visit.
• Pacific Mall can be disorienting — the layout is dense and maze-like by design; downloading a mall directory or simply accepting some wandering is part of the experience.
• Weekday visits give a noticeably calmer version of both areas — Pacific Mall and the Highway 7 restaurant strip get busy on weekend afternoons and evenings, while Unionville sees the heaviest foot traffic on nice-weather weekends.
• Don’t skip Unionville because Pacific Mall seems like the bigger draw — the two areas offer genuinely different experiences, and travelers who only do one often regret not seeing the contrast between them.
• Check the Flato Markham Theatre schedule ahead of time if live performance interests you — it’s a modest venue, but a well-programmed one worth the detour if a show lines up with your visit.
• Cash and card both work, but some of the smaller independent vendors inside Pacific Mall lean cash-preferred, so having some on hand smooths transactions.
• Unionville parking is limited on the historic Main Street itself; nearby municipal lots are the more reliable option on busy weekends.
• Combine with Richmond Hill if you have a full day — the two York Region cities are close enough (about 15–20 minutes apart) to cover in a single extended day trip.

Where this fits in a longer trip

Markham pairs most naturally with Richmond Hill, its York Region neighbor with a similarly strong multicultural food and community scene, and can be combined with Mississauga for a broader “GTA beyond downtown Toronto” day if you’re spending extra time in the region. It’s a strong complement to a Toronto-focused trip for travelers specifically seeking out Asian cuisine beyond what downtown Chinatown offers.

Related guides: Toronto food tours guide and Kensington Market food guide offer useful comparison points for travelers weighing downtown Toronto’s food scene against Markham’s. The GO Transit guide covers the Stouffville line connecting Markham to Union Station in more detail.

Markham’s food scene versus downtown Chinatown

Visitors deciding between a Markham food trip and staying downtown often ask the same question: which is the “real” version. Downtown Chinatown is denser, walkable without a car, and easy to combine with a broader downtown day, but its restaurants lean more toward a mixed, tourist-facing crowd. Markham’s Highway 7 corridor serves a large, established Chinese-Canadian community directly, with more regionally specific menus, but it genuinely requires a car or a GO Train plus rideshare combination to reach comfortably. Food-focused travelers with a car and half a day to spare get the more authentic version in Markham; those without a car or short on time do better sticking with downtown Chinatown.

Frequently asked questions about Markham

Is Pacific Mall worth visiting if I’m not shopping for anything specific?

Yes — the food court alone justifies a visit for many travelers, and simply browsing the dense layout of independent vendors is an experience in itself, closer to an overseas market than a typical North American mall. Budget at least an hour to properly explore rather than a quick pass-through.

How is Unionville different from the rest of Markham?

Unionville is a preserved 19th-century village core within Markham’s modern city boundaries, with heritage buildings, a historic Main Street, and Toogood Pond — a deliberate contrast to the dense retail and office development that characterizes most of the rest of the city.

Is Markham’s food scene really better than Toronto’s Chinatown?

Many food-focused travelers and locals consider it so, largely because Markham’s restaurant scene serves a large, established Chinese-Canadian community directly rather than a tourist market, resulting in more regionally specific and less anglicized menus than some of downtown Toronto’s more tourist-facing Chinatown restaurants. It’s a genuinely debated local topic rather than a settled fact.

Can I visit Markham without a car?

It’s possible via GO Train to the Unionville or Markham stations combined with local transit or rideshare, but a car makes the day considerably easier, particularly for reaching Pacific Mall, which isn’t within easy walking distance of the GO stations.

How much time should I budget for Markham?

A half-day (three to four hours) covers either Pacific Mall or Unionville properly with a meal; a full day allows for both plus a relaxed walk around Toogood Pond. Trying to rush both areas in under three hours tends to shortchange the food, which is the main draw.

Is Markham family-friendly?

Yes — Pacific Mall’s food court and browsable retail work well for families, and Unionville’s Main Street and Toogood Pond offer an easy, low-key walk suitable for kids. Neither area has significant nightlife or adult-oriented attractions that would make it unsuitable for a family day trip.

Is Markham the same as Richmond Hill?

No, though they’re neighboring York Region cities with some overlapping character — both have strong, distinct ethnic food and community scenes and a mix of modern suburban development with preserved historic areas, but Markham’s identity leans more toward its Chinese-Canadian community and Pacific Mall, while Richmond Hill’s centres more on its Persian-Canadian community, Lake Wilcox, and the David Dunlap Observatory.

What’s the best way to combine Pacific Mall and Unionville in one visit?

Driving is the most practical approach, since the two areas are a 15–20 minute drive apart and not connected by a direct transit route. A sensible order is Pacific Mall first for lunch and browsing, followed by Unionville in the afternoon for a quieter walk around Toogood Pond and a coffee or dessert stop on Main Street.