Best Food in Toronto

Frequently Asked Questions

What food is Toronto known for?

Toronto is known for its incredible diversity of cuisines rather than one signature dish. However, the peameal bacon sandwich (at St. Lawrence Market) is Toronto's most iconic local food. Other Toronto staples include roti from Little India, dim sum in Chinatown, and jerk chicken from Eglinton's Caribbean strip. Toronto is also one of the world's best cities for Japanese, Korean, Ethiopian, and Middle Eastern food.

Where is the best food in Toronto?

The best food in Toronto is concentrated in a few key neighbourhoods: Kensington Market for multicultural street food, King West for upscale restaurants, the Distillery District for elevated Canadian cuisine, Ossington for wine bars and chef-driven spots, and Leslieville for brunch culture. St. Lawrence Market's South Market is essential for food lovers.

What is the best restaurant in Toronto?

Alo Restaurant (Queen West) has been ranked Canada's best restaurant by multiple national lists. Other top-tier options include Canoe (54th floor downtown), Byblos (Eastern Mediterranean), and Edulis (European tasting menu). For more accessible excellence, current Kensington Market vendors and Quetzal in Little Portugal are strong options; check individual listings before visiting.

Is Toronto good for food?

Yes — Toronto is considered one of the best food cities in North America. With over 200 distinct cuisines and a restaurant density second only to New York City in North America, Toronto is a legitimate world-class food destination. The city has Michelin-recognized restaurants, a thriving street food culture, and authentic immigrant-owned restaurants across nearly every global cuisine.

Is Toronto food expensive?

Toronto's food scene covers every budget. You can eat extremely well for under $15 at Kensington Market, Chinatown, or Little India. A mid-range restaurant dinner costs $25–45 per person. Fine dining tasting menus at top restaurants run $150–250+ per person. The city's diversity means you're never forced to spend a lot to eat well.

What neighbourhoods in Toronto have the best food?

The best food neighbourhoods in Toronto are: King West (upscale and trendy), Kensington Market (multicultural and eclectic), Little Italy (College St for Italian-Canadian), Chinatown (Spadina/Dundas for dim sum and noodles), Little India (Gerrard St E for South Asian), and Leslieville (Queen East for brunch and café culture).

Toronto restaurants worth planning around

• PAI Northern Thai Kitchen — Entertainment District: Massaman curry that'll ruin you for every other curry forever. Tiny restaurant, huge flavours — they fly in ingredients from Chiang Mai. The green papaya salad alone is worth the wait.
• Porchetta & Co. — Little Italy: A sandwich so good it put Toronto on the international food map. Slow-roasted heritage pork, crispy crackling, fennel pollen — all stuffed into a fresh bun. No frills, all thrill.
• Alo Restaurant — Queen West: A seasonal tasting-menu restaurant at 163 Spadina Avenue, with service Tuesday–Saturday from 5pm. Book ahead — this is a special-occasion meal built around precise cooking and polished hospitality.
• WVRST — King West: German beer hall meets Toronto energy. Massive craft beer selection, house-made sausages you pick off a chalkboard, and a patio that's always packed. Oktoberfest energy year-round.
• La Palma — Ossington: Italian-ish small plates in a beautifully designed room with a massive natural wine list. The kind of restaurant where everything just works. Pasta is made fresh daily.
• Banh Mi Boys — Chinatown: Vietnamese banh mi elevated to an art form. Long pork, kimchi, sriracha mayo, daikon and carrot piled into a perfect baguette. One of the best sandwiches in the city, full stop.
• Bero Restaurant — The Annex: Filipino-Canadian tasting menu in a cosy Annex rowhouse. Chef Carlo Catajan's cooking is rooted in memory and tradition — each plate tells a story. One of Toronto's most exciting newer openings.
• St. Lawrence Market — St. Lawrence: A historic Toronto food market with the peameal bacon sandwich from Carousel Bakery, specialty vendors, and a current schedule that includes the South Market and Saturday Farmers' Market.
• Hanmoto — Dundas West: Toronto's best kept izakaya secret. $1 oysters on Sundays, tiny yakitori skewers, and sake bombs well past midnight. Cash only, seats about 20, vibes are immaculate.
• Forno Cultura — King West: Italian bakery and café where everything is made with absurd levels of care. The cornetti are flaky, the espresso is perfect, and the bomboloni on weekends will ruin your diet permanently.
• Chef Anar — Kensington Market: Brunch cooked with Persian love. The shakshuka is loaded with warmth, the chai is spiced perfectly, and the staff will make you feel like family every single time.
• Taste of Manila — Scarborough: The go-to spot for lechon, sinigang, and kare-kare in Toronto. Packed on weekends, family-run, and the kind of place where every plate arrives in generous portions.
• OddSeoul — Ossington: Korean-ish small plates that go to places no other restaurant in Toronto dares. The smoked brisket ssam and spicy crispy chicken will short-circuit your brain in the best way.
• Terroni Queen West — Queen West: Southern Italian done the right way — no substitutions, no modifications, just proper cooking in a beautiful space. The pizza is Neapolitan thin, the pasta is handmade, and the wine list is excellent.
• Nodo — Leslieville: Plant-based Italian cooking that will convert even the most committed meat-eater. Cashew-based ricotta, gluten-free pasta options, and a Sunday brunch that's become a neighbourhood institution.
• Patois Toronto — Dundas West: Caribbean-Chinese fusion that sounds wild and tastes incredible. Jerk pork dumplings, curry goat wontons, and rum cocktails that hit you sideways. One of the most fun dinner spots in the city.
• Adega — Yorkville: Elegant Portuguese fine dining with a 35,000-bottle wine cellar. The seafood rice is a showstopper, the bacalhau is perfectly salted, and the service is world-class.
• Commisso Brothers & Racco — Little Italy: The old-school Italian bakery College Street was built around. Proper espresso, fresh pastries, biscotti. The nonnas who run it have been doing it right for 60 years.