Restaurants in Toronto saw a notable increase in dining during the World Cup, according newly released data. OpenTable is reporting that on average people dined out 18 per more on June 12, 17, 20, 23, 26, and July 28, the days when World Cup matches were being played in the city, compared to that same time frame in 2025. To reach this conclusion, the online restaurant booking platform referred to its State of the Industry Dashboard, comparing the average of daily seated diners from online reservations for all active restaurants in Toronto on June 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 26, and July 2 and 4, 2026 to those during that corresponding period in 2025. The platform, which allows people to explore more than 65,000 restaurants worldwide and make reservations, also found that there was a 28 per cent increase in dining in Toronto on days when Team Canada played in the tournament, regardless of where the match was held, compared to the same time frame the previous year. Eating out spiked in the city when Canada played World Cup knockout match: data The most notable increase in eating out in the city during the World Cup was on June 28, during the “late shoulder lunch period,” from 1 to 3:59 p.m., when Canada played its first World Cup knockout match against South Africa in Inglewood, California. On that day, OpenTable restaurants in Toronto saw a 166 per cent jump in dining, compared to the previous year. This figure is based on seated diners who made online reservations for all active restaurants on the platform in the city by mealtime on June 28, compared it to the corresponding time period in 2025 (June 29). It should also be noted that 38 per cent more OpenTable diners also ate out in Toronto on July 19, the day of the World Cup finale match between Argentina and Spain in Rutherford, New Jersey, compared to that day in 2025.
