Being one of the most culturally diverse and electrifyingly eclectic cities in North America, Toronto is really challenging to categorize. While other cosmopolitan cities like Paris, Venice, or Tokyo have restaurants that feature immediately identifiable cuisines, Toronto’s wealth of distinct, varied, experimental, and bold dining establishments make the city and it’s culinary scene to be an ever-moving target.
While Canada’s largest city is known for exerting a great deal of influence across all categories of society and culture, many say that it’s strongest suit is it’s culinary scene. Now, in the last couple of years, like pretty much every other metropolitan area in the world, Toronto has lost a few of it’s dining institutions to the pandemic, but now that we seem to have made it through the worse of the COVID era, it seems as if the city’s food scene is making a miraculous comeback. In fact, the Toronto foodie scene seems to be more alive now than it’s ever been.
Join Viewcation as we take a look at some of the best dining establishments in what is arguably one of Canada’s finest cities. From quirky Thai fusion cafes to classic French bistros and swanky up-scale Ramen joints, these are the best restaurants in Toronto, Canada.
Avelo
With it’s warm and inviting atmosphere, excellent service, and creative menu, Avelo is a plant-based dining establishment that even the most carnivorous of foodies can get behind. It’s located in a classic Victorian townhouse and offers a vegan menu that is both fun and inventive while lacking that pretentious vibe that scares many diners away from other plant-based establishments.
Avelo’s menu changes on the daily depending on the seasonal availability of ingredients and whatever specials are being featured at the time. You can find featured ingredients such as dairy-free cheeses, sauteed root vegetables, and savory mushrooms, adding a hefty dose of flavor, color, and texture to Avelo’s award-winning menu items.
The mushroom ravioli in truffled cauliflower sauce that we tried was exquisite – as was the zucchini caponata. The restaurant likewise features one of the best vegan-friendly drink menus in the city.
Kiin
Owned by Chefs Nuit Regular and Jeff Regular, Kiin is one of the premier Thai restaurants in Toronto – if not the world. Everything featured on the menu as well the presentation of everything, is on point. The attention to detail is exquisite, and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who’s had an unfavorable experience dining here.
Kiin uses only the freshest seasonal ingredients to artfully craft dishes that are every bit as flavorful, complex, and delicate in terms of taste and texture as they are in regard to their beautiful presentation.
Their Yum Tua Plu, a dish perfect for sharing featuring wing beans, chili shrimp paste, toasted coconut, soft-boiled duck eggs, and peanuts, is an explosion of flavor, textures, and colors. The equally delectable crab curry with wild betel leaves is also stellar.
Canoe Restaurant and Bar
Hands down, Canoe offers the best view of Toronto aside from the CN Tower. But the atmosphere is just one of it’s many strengths. The food here is every bit as good as it’s setting. While looking off into the Toronto skyline, watching planes landing at City Airport, you can enjoy an adventurous, bold, and surprising menu of flavors that are birthed from a wide range of unique ingredients sourced from throughout Canada.
The foie gras Canoe serves hails from Quebec, while they source their fresh fish straight from the Pacific. All of their produce, meats, and dairy are also sourced from in and around Ontario.
We recommend starting your meal off with the Ontario burrata served with birch-pickled cucumbers and crunchy-nutty prairie seeds. The foie gras with pink peppercorn, rhubarb, and sumac meringue is also to die for. For your main, consider ordering the tea-smoked duck breast with a duck-liver mouse, poached Niagara pear, and parsnips.
Richmond Station
This elegant neighborhood restaurant offers a menu that while being a bit on the shorter side, features dishes that are creative, flavor-rich, and unpretentious. If you’re not sure what you should order, consider trying the tasting menu designed by Top Chef Canada winner Carl Heinrich. The tasting menu is appropriately billed as “let us cook for you” and it’s a no-brainer choice if you’re wanting to see the full range of what Richmond Station has to offer.
Pinky’s Ca Phe
Sitting inside an old converted house on it’s first floor, Pinky’s offers diners an exciting and unforgettable take on Vietnamese cuisine. To start off your dining experience, you can opt to try the lightly fried banh xeo. These savory creeps are stuffed with broccoli and are sure to leave you wanting more. We also highly recommend Pinky’s mouth-wateringly delicious Tiger’s Milk ceviche, which is served with scallops, surf clams, yellowfin tuna, cilantro, chilis, tom yum spices, and coconut milk.
The Pho beef ‘dip-you-dip-I-dip’ is not only humorously named, but it’s also worth writing home. It consists of a torch-roasted banh mi cheese steak with thinly sliced brisket, asiago cheese, hoisin sauce, sriracha, and cilantro served alongside a bowl of pho for dipping purposes.
Oji Seichi
While ramen normally is seen as a fairly straightforward dish, Oji Seichi has managed to deliver a genuinely sensational and innovative take on the classic offering. Chef Mitch Bates is famous around Toronto for his other establishments like Grey Gardens and Momofuku – and once again, he’s hit a home run with this cozy little space located in Toronto’s East Chinatown borough.
Chef Bates take on the beloved brothy, noodle dish is one that is sure to please even the most scrupulous of ramen aficionados. While the ramen takes center stage – as it should be – there’s also a fairly fabulous selection of other menu items on offer as well. For dessert, inquire if there is any Coso Kasu Pie available. One bite, and you’ll forget all about whatever woes life might be throwing at you.
Grey Gardens
Since we already gave it a little shout-out, we should probably go ahead and give you the inside scoop about what makes this bohemian-luxe Kennsington Market establishment such a superb choice. The restaurant is vintage without feeling too stuffy. Some of the menu standouts include the dry-aged Peking duck breast served on a bed of duck fried rice and housemade sauerkraut, as well as the sweet shrimp with compressed watermelon radishes. Just keep in mind, if you’re hoping to enjoy dinner here with a friend, you’ll need to make reservations. Otherwise, you can always stop in for a glass of rare Sauternes and a light snack without having to be put on a long waiting list.
Sotto Sotto
The Italian fare featured at Sotto Sotto is both filling and incredibly flavorful. That being said, it might not wow foodies who are used to more inventive menus. It’s been said that being in this restaurant is more important than actually eating there. That sentiment is something that we can attest to as the atmosphere is phenomenal and the culture of service is quite impressive.
That being said, for those that are okay with simpler dishes, their seafood risotto is clearly one of Sotto Sotto’s best offerings. It takes about forty or so minutes to prepare, and it’s nothing short of extraordinary. Sotto Sotto’s wine list, which is largely comprised of Tuscans as well as a few bubbly Franciacortas, is likewise pretty awe-inspiring, albeit a bit on the pricier side.
The best time of year to visit is during the Toronto International Film Festival, which kicks of in the first half of September. Who know’s you just might end up getting seated next to one of your favorite movie stars!
Alo
Situated on the corner of Spadina and Queen streets, this restaurant comes to you from the ingenious mind of chef Patrick Kriss. His restaurant is located on the third floor of a historic Victorian building that is neither posh nor especially interesting to look at at first glance. But ever since Chef Kriss opened this unassuming spot up in 2015, he’s been delivering high-concept, French-inspired cuisine that’s certain to enliven your senses and tickle your taste buds. Within no time, Alo began topping critics from all over world’s lists of the best restaurants in Toronto.
Alo’s menu changes throughout the seasons, but some of the items that you’ll likely encounter include Hokkaido sea urchin with fennel, yuzu, and wasabi and month-long dry-aged rack of lamb.
Le Select Bistro
This beloved Parisian Toronto restaurant offers typical French bistro-style fare that’s artfully prepared and presented. While the menu frequently changes, expect to see dishes like steak frites, omelets, bouillabaisse, and fried mussels all cooked to absolute perfection.
Our favorite offering, however, has to be the Croque madame. Despite being on the completely opposite side of the globe, it rivals anything you’d find over in Paris.
Louix Louis
Located on the 31sst floor of the renowned St Regis Toronto luxury hotel and spa, this restaurant offers a winning combination of excellent views and scrumptious eats. The setting is unparalleled. The restaraunt’s two-story high Grand Bar draws inspiration from Toronto’s heritage as a significant distillery district during the early 19th century. You’ll find a collection of more than 500 dark spirits – which just so happens to be one of the largest assemblages of such libations in North America.
The restaurant further features a 60-foot ceiling mural painted by esteemed local artist Madison van Riju thats titled ‘Bouquet of Whiskey’. The work is inspired by a tall glass of Canadian Whisky and really, it’s a marvel to look at.
Louix Louis offers a fabulous royal brunch that includes items like lobster avocado toast, crepes, filet mignon, and poached eggs. If you still have room in your belly after sampling all of those tasty treats, there’s an awesome thirteen-layer chocolate cake that will make you forget about anything that’s been troubling you – at least for a moment that is.
Pukka
Chef Dinesh Butola delivers a refined yet casual take on traditional Indian cuisine that includes inventive re-imaginings of dishes like slow-braised beef short ribs served with cardamom, cloves and cumin, as well as thinly sliced paneer with shiitake mushrooms, pistachio, and spinach.
Pukka’s extensive menu of British desserts include standouts like sticky coffee pudding. This ooey-gooey mountain of sweet and flavorful starches is accentuated with flavors like chai and caramel. Drink-wise, Pukka is proud to present you with a wine list that includes an astounding selection of relatively affordably priced bottles that compliment the rich and bold flavors featured on the menu.
While we would love to tell you about each and every restaurant in Toronto that we think is worth visiting, we’ll have to save our other picks for another time. Although we’re going to go ahead and wrap this video up, we’d love to hear from you!
What are some of your favorite restaurants, cafes, or pubs in Toronto? If you’ve never visited Canada’s largest and most culturally diverse city before, which restaurants are you most excited to try on your first visit? Let us know in the comments. And as always, happy travels!