Friday Harbour restaurants include Lake Club, Avenue Cibi e Vini, Ember, Beach Club, Dirty Oar Public House and more on the Promenade in Innisfil, about 15 km and 15–25 minutes from downtown Barrie. A business sedan one way is a $150–170 planning range, and an hourly chauffeur from $135–160 waits through dinner. See our Friday Harbour chauffeur from Barrie page.
Which Friday Harbour restaurants are worth booking?
That depends on the night. The resort's own dining page lists a dozen venues on its Promenade, from a lakeside restaurant that takes reservations to a gelato shop that does not need one. Most of them are within a short walk of each other, which makes Friday Harbour unusual: you can decide where to eat after you arrive, and many couples do.
This guide sorts the venues by occasion, using what the resort and the restaurants say about themselves, and then handles the practical question, how to time a car around a table. We are independent of the resort and name it because customers ask to be taken there. For the resort itself, see our Friday Harbour attraction page.
How far is Friday Harbour, and what does the ride cost?
Friday Harbour Resort is at 3999 Friday Drive in Innisfil, on Lake Simcoe, about 15 km and 15–25 minutes from downtown Barrie. These are one-way planning figures for a business sedan, all-in plus HST, tolls and gratuity included; larger vehicles on short trips are quoted by the engine.
| Trip | Distance | Drive time | Fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown Barrie to Friday Harbour, business sedan | about 15 km | 15–25 min | $150–170 |
| Hourly, business sedan | 3 h minimum | car waits | $135–160 per hour |
| Hourly, business SUV | 3 h minimum | up to 5 guests | $175–205 per hour |
| Hourly, executive SUV | 3 h minimum | up to 6 guests | $225–265 per hour |
| Hourly, first-class sedan | 3 h minimum | up to 3 guests | $350–410 per hour |
| Hourly, Sprinter | 3 h minimum | up to 14 guests | $475–550 per hour |
A four-hour sedan booking is $540–640 all-in plus HST, which covers the drive, a dinner and a walk by the water.
What does the resort list as dining?
The resort's dining page names these venues: Avenue Cibi e Vini, Beach Club, Cantina By Zaza, Dirty Oar Public House, Ember, ESSENCE, Lake Club, Nest Clubhouse, Parisienne, Pier Bar, Starbucks and The Gelato Shop By Zaza. The page itself says little about each, so the table below adds what the venues' own listings say and marks what we could not confirm.
| Venue | What we could confirm | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Club | Contemporary Canadian cuisine with marina views; reservations recommended | Celebration dinners, brunch |
| Avenue Cibi e Vini | Described as modern Italian in its listings | Date night, family dinner |
| Ember | Described as Mediterranean flavours | Shared plates, groups |
| Beach Club | Relaxed waterfront dining, seasonal per the resort | Summer lunch, families |
| Dirty Oar Public House | A public house, per its name; check its menu | Casual evenings |
| Parisienne and The Gelato Shop | A bakery and a gelato shop, per the resort | A coffee, a treat on the walk |
| Pier Bar, Cantina, ESSENCE, Nest Clubhouse | Listed by the resort; style not confirmed | Check each venue before booking |
Menus, hours and seasons change, so read the resort's dining page before you book.
When should you book Lake Club, and for which meal?
Lake Club is the venue with the most published detail. Its own site gives the address as 330 Sunseeker Avenue, describes contemporary Canadian cuisine with locally sourced seasonal ingredients, recommends reservations and welcomes walk-ins. It lists weekday lunch and dinner, weekend brunch and dinner, and private dining for up to 18 guests.
Hours matter for the ride: when we looked, dinner ran to 10 pm on weekdays and Sundays and to midnight on Saturdays, with live music from 6 to 9 pm on Saturdays. Hours change, so check the Lake Club site before you set the pickup. A Saturday table is the one to book a week ahead and to plan a late return for.
What is the Avenue Cibi e Vini evening?
The listings describe Avenue as modern Italian in a contemporary space, and it is the venue most often chosen for a date night or an anniversary. It takes reservations through the booking platforms that list it, and a table for two on a Friday or Saturday is worth securing early.
For the ride, the plan is simple: pickup at 5:30 or 6 for a 6:30 or 7 pm table, an easy 20-minute drive, a drop at the Promenade, and a pickup time set for after the last course. Our anniversary chauffeured evening guide and the engagement proposal guide cover the occasion side.
Where does Ember fit?
Ember's listing describes Mediterranean flavours, which suits sharing: a table of six or eight can order across the menu and nobody feels left out. That makes it a good choice for a birthday dinner for a mixed group, where one person is vegetarian and another is fussy.
A group of six fits an executive SUV, and a group of seven to fourteen fits a Sprinter. Tell the engine the headcount, and ask dispatch if you want the chauffeur to confirm the group's drop at the Promenade. A four-hour hourly booking leaves room for a stroll before the table.
What about Beach Club, the Pier Bar and the summer evening?
The resort's home page lists Beach Club among its seasonal options, and the events calendar we read listed seasonal programming at the beach and on the CIBC Pier. Seasonal venues open and close with the weather, so check the dates before you plan a table outdoors.
A summer evening here is long: dinner, a walk along the marina, ice cream from the gelato shop, and a late return. The best use of a chauffeur is to leave the return open on an hourly booking, so you can stay for the sunset. See our Innisfil Beach Park page for a swim earlier in the day.
What about pubs, bakeries and the casual end of the promenade?
Not every visit is a celebration. The Dirty Oar Public House, the French-style bakery Parisienne, a gelato shop and a Starbucks give the Promenade a casual end, good for a family afternoon, a first date or a coffee before a walk in the nature preserve. The resort says its Promenade welcomes day visitors.
For a casual visit, a one-way ride out and a return at a time you pick is usually cheaper than keeping a car on the clock. Child seats are available from $25 each, added at booking, and families with strollers do well in a business SUV or luxury minivan.
Where do you eat after golf at The Nest?
The resort lists The Nest Clubhouse among its dining venues, and The Nest Golf Club as an 18-hole course. For a foursome, the clubhouse is the natural finish: the round ends, the bags go in the car, and nobody drives home.
Plan an executive SUV for four players and their bags, and tell dispatch about the clubs. Our golf courses guide covers the transport side of a round. Alcohol is not allowed in our vehicles, so the 19th hole stays at the clubhouse.
Which night suits which table?
A few pairings that dispatch sees often:
- Anniversary for two: Avenue or Lake Club, business sedan, hourly if you want the car to wait.
- Birthday for six to eight: Ember or Lake Club's private dining for up to 18, executive SUV or Sprinter.
- Grandparents and children: an early dinner at Beach Club in season, luxury minivan, child seats added.
- Friends' Saturday night: Lake Club with live music, a return planned for late.
- Golf finish: the clubhouse after The Nest, executive SUV for bags.
How do you time the ride around a reservation?
Work backwards from the table. A 7 pm reservation means arriving by 6:45, so a drop at 6:40 after a 20-minute drive, a pickup at 6:15 in Barrie. Add 10 minutes on a Saturday in summer, when the approach is slow.
For the return, set a time that suits the last course, and message the chauffeur ten minutes before you are ready. On an hourly booking the car is outside when you walk out. On a one-way booking, tell dispatch the return time at booking and move it later by contacting us.
Is hourly or one-way better for dinner?
For a four-hour dinner with a walk, hourly is simplest: one booking, one chauffeur, no return to schedule. Two one-way fares can cost less on paper, but hourly keeps the return certain on a busy summer Saturday, when queues at the Promenade can be long.
Included waiting on a one-way pickup is 15 minutes, then 15-minute blocks, so a late finish can add up. Our hourly versus point-to-point guide shows how to compare, and our restaurant nights out guide covers the Barrie side.
Where does the car stop, and what about parking?
The resort's home page says Promenade parking is available for day visitors, and that its Experience Centre operates daily from 8 am to 8 pm. A chauffeur drops you at the Promenade entrance, which is simple on a quiet weekday; on a summer weekend or event night dispatch builds in extra time and confirms the best drop with you.
The advantage of a driven car is that you do not circle a full lot. If you are staying at the resort, our Friday Harbour and Innisfil hotel transfers page explains where cars stop for guests.
Is a chauffeur worth it for a dinner only 15 km away?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no, and we would rather say so. For two people who will not be drinking, with a car at home and no appetite for a fixed return time, driving is cheaper. The chauffeur earns the fare on celebration nights, on groups, in winter, and any time a drink is part of the plan, because the whole point is that nobody drives afterwards.
The fixed fare also removes arithmetic: you see the all-in figure before you confirm, with gratuity inside it, and the ride home is a text away. For a short dinner, one-way fares with a timed return are the economical shape; for a long evening, hourly is the calm one.
What about guests who cannot walk far?
The Promenade is a walking street, and the resort lists an accessibility page on its site, so check it for the venue you have chosen. A wheelchair-accessible vehicle is available from us if you book in advance and tell us about the wheelchair or scooter; we do not state a ramp specification.
The chauffeur drops you as close to the entrance as the Promenade allows, helps with seat belts and stows a folding walker or manual wheelchair. Tell the restaurant about any seating needs when you book the table, because a booth or a patio may not suit everyone.
What about winter dinners?
The resort runs a calendar through the cold months too, so winter dinners are common, and Lake Club publishes weekly hours. Highway 400 between Barrie and Highway 89 is in the snowbelt, and side roads in Innisfil are slower to clear than the highway. Our vehicles run on winter tires from November to April, and dispatch checks Ontario 511 before each trip.
A winter dinner is one of the best uses of a chauffeur, because the drive home after a good meal is in the dark and the cold. If a squall warning goes up, dispatch may suggest an earlier pickup, and the fare does not rise with the weather.
How do you book the ride direct?
Open the reservation engine, enter your Barrie pickup and Friday Harbour as the destination, choose one-way or hourly, add child seats and read the fixed fare. Book direct with BarrieLimo.net: no app, no aggregator commission, one dispatch desk. Make the restaurant reservation yourself, and tell us the time.
Cancellation is measured from the scheduled pickup: more than 72 hours before is free; 72 hours or less is 10 per cent; 48 hours or less is 50 per cent; 24 hours or less or a no-show is 100 per cent. For a longer trip with flights or hotel nights, see our travel desk.
