Tillsonburg, in Oxford County, was built on tobacco. For generations, the crop shaped the community, its farms and its economy. However, when the industry began to change, so did Tillsonburg. The town’s agricultural roots remained firmly planted, while a new generation of entrepreneurs began looking for creative ways to grow something different.
Today, that spirit of reinvention is easy to spot. Independent food producers, farm shops, cheesemakers, flower growers, restaurants and small businesses are putting their own spin on what it means to live and work in Oxford County. You can pick up locally raised meat, sample sheep’s milk cheese, wander a flower farm, enjoy a Nordic spa and sit down to an excellent dinner, all within a relatively small corner of the county.
Plan Your Tillsonburg Escape
That makes Tillsonburg an ideal base for a food-focused getaway. Spend three days exploring the farms and businesses around town, discovering the people behind the products and, naturally, eating very well along the way.
Here’s how to spend three days in Tillsonburg, Ontario, with a focus on local food, farm finds and a few unexpected experiences along the way. Onwards!
Don’t want to read the whole thing right now? No worries, skip ahead by day:
- Day 1: Lunch at JTK Meat Shoppe, Red Dragon Dairy, Wave Nordic Spa, Dinner at the Mill + Stay Over
- Day 2: Bre’s Fresh Market, Makkink’s Flower Farm, Dinner at Nectar
- Day 3: Breakfast at Skyway Cafe, Dande Collective, Annandale House, GoodPud
Hot Tip: You’re going to want to bring a cooler.
Day 1: A Slow Start
One thing you need to know about Tillsonburg (and Oxford County in general) is that it’s meant to be enjoyed slowly. Thinking leisurely drives on back roads, lunches with no rush and even a little spa time. You should have no problem slipping into that mantra by following this day 1 itinerary.
Start with lunch at JTK Meat Shoppe
Ease into your Tillsonburg food getaway with lunch at JTK Meat Shoppe, a family-owned butcher shop in nearby Verschoyle.
Don’t be surprised if there’s a lineup out the door at this popular local spot! JTK sources from small local farms including their own hog farm, and specializes in premium beef, pork and chicken. Additionally, they’re stocked well with deli items, prepared foods, sauces and grilling supplies. Think jalapeno poppers, brisket, pulled pork and more! Told you you’d need a cooler.
If you’ve had a long drive, we highly recommend grabbing their lunch special and enjoying it at the picnic tables out front. When we visited, the special was a brisket philly cheese steak and trust us, it’s worth its weight in ooey gooey goodness.
Come hungry and leave with a few provisions for the road. That’s what we call efficient vacation planning.
Get a Taste of the Local Cheese at Red Dragon Dairy
Next, head out into the countryside for a taste of Oxford County’s cheese scene at Red Dragon Dairy. You are in the Dairy Capital of Canada after all! You’re also along the Oxford County Cheese Trail (in case you feel like extending your stay).
Red Dragon Dairy is run by the Morris family who immigrated from Wales to farm with more space. You’ll find that Welsh touch all over the store from the import section to the name itself (Red Dragon refers to the Welsh flag).
This family-run cheesemaker specializes in sheep’s milk products, including cheeses, curds, cream cheese and yogurt. You can also browse a selection of Welsh baked goods, UK imports, lamb and other local grocery items.
We recommend grabbing some locally cured meats and their famous 20-year aged cheddar to enjoy on the patio. You can also grab your last (or not) scoop of ice cream for the season and perhaps a loaf of their baked-in-house sourdough bread.
Unwind at Wave Nordic Spa
After lunch and a little rural exploring, switch gears completely with some time at Wave Nordic Spa. Break up all that eating and truly relax. Build a few hours into your afternoon to slow down, soak and recharge before dinner. After all, a food-focused getaway should include some downtime between meals.
Build your own hot-cold thermal therapy circuit as you switch between cold plunges and warming pools, take in the sauna and steam rooms and enjoy time relaxing in the salt rooms too. Located on a rural property and golf course just outside of Tillsonburg, it’s the perfect spot to take a deep breath of fresh rural air and turn inwards.
Feeling a bit peckish? You can check out KALOS on site or enjoy the outdoor bar and patio for a lighter snack.
Dinner and an Overnight Stay at The Mill
For dinner, head to The Mill Inn + Eatery, located in a historic 1878 grist mill connected to Tillsonburg’s founding family. The restaurant offers spacious dining rooms and a patio overlooking Otter Creek, while the renovated inn upstairs makes it easy to turn dinner into an overnight stay.
The menu is peppered with loads of local producers from poutine topped with curds from Oxford’s own Bright Cheese to their Reuben on rye using Norpac corned beef and locally-raised rainbow trout. You can wash it all down with a local beer from Ramblin’ Road (try their potato beer) or Upper Thames. Like what you tasted? They also have a few fridges and freezers to shop locally from before you leave as well as handmade goods from local artisans.
Staying at The Mill also means you can skip the post-dinner drive and settle in for the night. That feels especially appropriate after a day that started with a butcher shop and ended with a spa.
Hot Tip: Looking for a little after hours fun? The Mill has a downstairs music venue called Paddy’s Underground and the lineups are pretty wild! From metal and punk to folk, country and comedy there’s something for everybody. Check out what’s happening during your stay.
Day 2: Farm Finds, Flowers and a Damn Good Dinner
Day two is all about getting a little closer to the source, from fresh-picked produce and baked goods to flowers grown right in Oxford County. Take your time browsing local markets and getting hands-on at a family-run farm before settling in for a well-earned dinner. There’s also plenty of room for a little post-meal fun if you’re not quite ready to call it a night.
Stock up at Bre’s Fresh Market
Start your second day with a trip to Bre’s Fresh Market in Ostrander. Bre’s brings together food from its own farm and neighbouring farms across the tri-county area (that’s Oxford, Elgin and Norfolk Counties), making it an excellent stop for discovering what’s growing and being made locally.
The market carries fresh produce, pantry products and baked goods from its on-farm bakery. Do not sleep on their blueberry muffins!
Take your time browsing the shelves and don’t overlook the bakery. The treats are made from scratch using local fruit, so this is one stop where “just looking” can be a dangerous strategy. Before heading out (particularly if travelling with little ones), say hello to the goats!
Pick your own adventure at Makkink’s Flower Farm
Next, head to Makkink’s Flower Farm for an experience that puts you right in the middle of the countryside, even though you’re just minutes from town.
Book their pick-your-own experience and you’ll find yourself wandering the farm and picking your own flowers before learning how to pull it all together into one beautiful arrangement. The farm’s Cut Your Own fields are open from June 15 through September 30, making this a particularly colourful summer and early-fall stop. Browse the full range of experiences and be sure to book ahead.
Makkink’s also has a Bakery Café, where you can settle in for lunch after your farm experience. The menu includes light lunch options, baked treats and a great selection of fun and seasonal beverages. We’re particular fans of the cranberry brie sandwich made with made wth Gunn’s Hill Artisan Cheese’s Brigid’s Brie.
Dinner at Nectar
After an afternoon among the flowers, head back into Tillsonburg’s downtown for dinner at Nectar Bistro & Bar.
Nectar has a cozy, polished atmosphere that makes it a nice change of pace after a day spent exploring farms and markets. With particular Dutch inspiration, you’ll find a creative menu that ranges everything from frikandels (think a thin, Dutch-style hotdog), croquettes and bison burgers paired up with cocktail flights, beer from Powerhouse Brewing in London and a great selection of Ontario wines.
Settle in and enjoy a slower evening. By this point, you’ve earned it.
Hot Tip: Looking for something a little more playful after dinner? Add Skill Shot Pinball to the evening. Just minutes away, you can add a little nostalgia to your day with a large lineup of accessible pinball games.
Day 3: Local Flavours, Small-Town Finds & a Sweet Send-Off
Ease into your final morning with a classic breakfast before spending a little more time exploring Tillsonburg’s local shops and history. From a creative local collective to a beautifully preserved historic home, there’s plenty to discover before you leave. And, naturally, no food-focused getaway would be complete without one last sweet treat for the road.
Start with breakfast at SkyWay Cafe
Before you head out exploring for your final day, grab breakfast at SkyWay Cafe inside the Tillsonburg Flying Club and Tillsonburg Regional Airport.
The cafe serves all-day breakfast, including omelettes, pancakes, French toast, breakfast sandwiches and its signature Hungry Pilots breakfast.
La piece de resistance? You’ll also get a view of the runway, which makes this more interesting than your average roadside breakfast stop. Watch heritage planes, including yellow Harvards and the occasional large jet hit the skies!
If you’re travelling with someone who likes planes, this one is an especially easy win.
Browse local finds at Dande Collective
Next, make your way into town to browse Dande Collective.
Located right on the main drag, Dande Collective is a great addition to the itinerary if you like independent shops, locally minded finds and a little retail therapy between meals.
Give yourself some time to wander rather than treating this as a quick in-and-out stop. Three days of exploring Tillsonburg should leave room for discovering something you didn’t know you were looking for. Think handcrafted jewellery, skincare, clothing and more!
Step into Tillsonburg history at Annandale House
Before you leave town, spend some time at Annandale National Historic Site.
Built in the 1880s by E.D. Tillson, Tillsonburg’s first mayor and son of the town’s founder, Annandale House is one of Canada’s best surviving examples of the Aesthetic Art Movement. Its design was influenced in part by Oscar Wilde’s ideas about decorative arts after E.D. and Mary Ann Tillson attended Wilde’s “The House Beautiful” lecture in Woodstock.
The house is also closely connected to the area’s agricultural history. It was once the centrepiece of a 600-acre model farm called Annandale Farm, so it’s a fitting stop for an itinerary centred around Tillsonburg’s food and farming roots.
Finish with Good Pud
Before you point the car toward home, make one final stop at GoodPud.
This small-batch dessert is made with Ontario dairy and Belgian chocolate, then packaged in glass jars in flavours including Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate and Salted as well as some seasonal flavours. It’s rich, chilled and very easy to justify as a road-trip snack.
In fact, buying one for the drive home might be the most important item on this entire itinerary. Trust us.
Your Three-Day Tillsonburg Food and Farm Getaway
Three days in Tillsonburg is enough time to get a real taste of Oxford County without rushing from one attraction to the next.
You’ll meet local producers, shop farm markets, eat at independent restaurants, wander a flower farm, learn a little local history and have plenty of opportunities to put good food in your suitcase before heading home.
And that may be the best thing about exploring Tillsonburg: the food experiences aren’t separate from the countryside. They’re part of it. The farms, cheesemakers, markets, restaurants and small businesses all tell a bigger story about a community that knows how to grow, make and serve good food.
So bring a cooler, leave some room in the trunk and plan to eat your way through Tillsonburg.
