Are Dogs Allowed on Patios in Toronto? Ontario's Rule

Yes, if the restaurant says yes. Since 1 January 2020, Ontario’s food premises rule has allowed dogs in a restaurant’s outdoor eating area, as long as no food is prepared there. No restaurant has to allow them, though: Toronto Public Health says operators can keep pet dogs out. Inside, pet dogs are allowed only in a few low-risk places, while service animals can go anywhere food is served. This guide follows the rule itself, Ontario Regulation 493/17, section 14, and Toronto Public Health’s page on service animals and pets in food premises, both checked on 22 October 2026.

The short answers

• Can my dog sit with me on a patio? Yes, if the restaurant allows dogs and no food is prepared on the patio (O. Reg. 493/17, s. 14).
• Does the restaurant have to let my dog in? No. “Food service premises operators are not required to allow pet dogs” (Toronto Public Health).
• Can my dog come inside? Usually not. Only where the place makes nothing but low-risk food, and only in a room where no food is prepared (below).
• What about service dogs? They’re allowed in any area where food is served, sold or offered for sale (s. 14; Toronto Public Health).

What Ontario’s rule says

The Food Premises regulation, made under Ontario’s Health Protection and Promotion Act, starts from a ban: every room where food is prepared, served or sold “shall be kept free from live birds or animals”. Then it lists exceptions. The one for patios reads:

“Live dogs in an outdoor eating area of a food service premise as long as food is not prepared in the eating area.” (O. Reg. 493/17, s. 14 (2), para. 4)

What that means in plain words:

• Dogs only. The patio exception names dogs, and Toronto Public Health says “Dogs are the only pets allowed in food service premises”.
• Outdoors only, in the eating area. Inside is a separate, narrower exception.
• No cooking on the patio. If food is prepared in the outdoor eating area, the exception doesn’t apply. The rule says nothing else about the patio, such as its size, a separate entrance or how many dogs.
• It covers food service premises: any place where meals are prepared to eat right away, or sold or served ready to eat (s. 1). Toronto Public Health’s examples include restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries, grocery stores and bars.

The change came from Ontario Regulation 471/19, filed on 23 December 2019, which says it “comes into force on the later of January 1, 2020 and the day it is filed”. So dogs have been allowed on Ontario patios since 1 January 2020.

Each restaurant decides

The regulation lets restaurants allow dogs; it doesn’t make them. Toronto Public Health puts it plainly: “Operators can ban the entry of pet dogs, but not if the dog is a service animal.” So a patio with a “no dogs” sign is within its rights, and a dog-friendly one can set its own house rules. Ask before you sit down.

Inside: only in a few places

The indoor exception is much narrower. Dogs may be in an indoor eating area only if both are true (s. 14 (2), para. 5):

1. The only food the place makes or prepares is low-risk food.
2. The dog is in a room where only low-risk or pre-packaged, ready-to-eat food is served or sold, and no food is prepared in that room.

The regulation defines low-risk food as food that isn’t “potentially hazardous”, and potentially hazardous food as food that can grow harmful germs and “requires time and temperature control” (s. 1). Whether a café, bakery or bar qualifies depends on what it makes and serves, so ask. For unusual cases, Toronto Public Health takes questions at 416-338-7600 or dinesafe@toronto.ca.

Food courts and food halls: Toronto Public Health notes that their shared seating area “is usually not part of a food service premises”. Ask the building’s management what they allow.

Service dogs are different

• Allowed wherever food is served. The regulation’s first exception is for service animals as defined in Ontario’s accessibility standards, in any area where food is served, sold or offered for sale (s. 14 (2), para. 1). Ontario’s Integrated Accessibility Standards say a business must let a person with a disability enter with their guide dog or other service animal and keep it with them, unless the animal is excluded by another law (O. Reg. 191/11, s. 80.47).
• What counts as a service animal: one that can be readily identified by a vest or harness, or one for which the person has documentation from one of nine kinds of regulated health professional in Ontario, such as a doctor, nurse or psychologist (O. Reg. 191/11, s. 80.45 (4)).
• Emotional support and therapy animals count as service animals only with the vest or harness, or that documentation (Toronto Public Health).

Patio manners

Toronto’s own rules come first. Toronto Public Health says dogs must be supervised and on a leash in food service premises, under sections 12 and 12.1 of the City’s Animals bylaw. The leash can be no longer than 2 metres (Animals bylaw, § 349-12.1), and leashing your dog to a pole or bike rack isn’t allowed (City of Toronto, Responsible Dog Ownership), so don’t leave your dog tied up outside while you order inside.

The UK’s Royal Kennel Club has practical advice for eating out with a dog:

• Walk and feed your dog first, so it settles and is less tempted by food.
• Go at a quieter time, and think about whether your dog will be comfortable around crowds of people and dogs.
• Use a short leash. It stops your dog running off and stops people tripping over it.
• Don’t tie the leash to the table or a chair. The club says they aren’t necessarily secure and can injure your dog and other people.
• Don’t feed your dog at the table. It may learn to go up to other diners for food.
• Not everyone wants to meet your dog, so keep it by you.

A few more things worth doing:

• Bring water and a bowl, and look for shade on hot days. The Royal Kennel Club tells dog-friendly businesses to offer both to cut the risk of heatstroke.
• Bring a mat or blanket so your dog has its own spot under your table, out of the way of servers. Keep it on the ground, not on chairs or the table.
• Keep your food to yourself. ASPCA Animal Poison Control lists foods to keep from dogs, and many turn up on a patio: alcohol, coffee and caffeine, chocolate, onions, garlic and chives, grapes and raisins, salty food, and xylitol, a sweetener in gum, candy and baked goods (ASPCA). If your dog eats something it shouldn’t, call your vet.
• Bring clean-up supplies, and wash your hands after touching or cleaning up after your dog and before you eat (Toronto Public Health).
• Leave if your dog isn’t enjoying it. The Royal Kennel Club says to keep an eye on your dog and make sure it seems relaxed, safe and comfortable.

If a dog bites or scratches someone, Toronto Public Health says to report it to them, wash the area with soap and water for at least 15 minutes and get medical help right away. You’re also legally responsible for what your dog does (Responsible Dog Ownership).

How to find a dog-friendly patio

• Ask the restaurant, or check its own website. The Royal Kennel Club suggests looking at the website and calling before you go.
• Ask the details: whether dogs are welcome on the patio that day, and how you get there. If the only way is through the dining room, ask staff how they’d like you to come in.
• Check lists before you trust them. A restaurant can change its mind, and the patio may be closed for the season.

One example: Hair of the Dog on Church Street says on its own site that its patio is dog-friendly. See Hair of the Dog and our other dog-friendly places in Toronto.

Parks and beaches in summer

A park with a café or a patio is still a park: your dog stays on a leash outside a dogs off-leash area (Responsible Dog Ownership). Dogs aren’t allowed on the City’s supervised swimming beaches except from 1 November to 31 March (Parks bylaw, § 608-34), so from April to October, keep your dog off the sand. See off-leash dog parks in Toronto, Woodbine Beach and Toronto Island Park.

FAQs

Can a restaurant refuse my dog on its patio? Yes. Toronto Public Health says operators don’t have to allow pet dogs and can ban them. They can’t refuse a service animal.

Can my dog come inside a restaurant in Ontario? Usually not. Only where the place makes nothing but low-risk food, and only in a room where no food is prepared (O. Reg. 493/17, s. 14). Service animals are the exception: they can go in any area where food is served.

Is my emotional support dog allowed inside? Only if it counts as a service animal: it wears a vest or harness that shows it’s helping you with a disability, or you have documentation from a regulated health professional (Toronto Public Health; O. Reg. 191/11, s. 80.45).

When did Ontario start allowing dogs on patios? On 1 January 2020, when O. Reg. 471/19 came into force.

More for Toronto dog parents: off-leash dog parks in Toronto and the dog licence.