10 brilliant restaurants you won't want to miss in Toronto
Once Toronto restaurants stopped trying to copy New York's dining scene, everything clicked. Gone was the one-upmanship, the garish interiors, the needless haughtiness, overpricing, fusion for the sake of it. The city’s brilliant chefs started bringing things closer to home and hearth, back to the land, the farm, the heart of why they started cooking in the first place. Food trends tend to come in waves – tacos, tapas, sushi, gourmet burgers; the crowds are nothing if not fickle. Toronto is currently in love with its comfort food, which comes in a variety of multi-culti ways, dressed up or down. There is also a lot, a lot, of meat. So dig in – and dig deep.
Yonge & Bloor
Constantine
Chef Craig Harding, of La Palma and Campagnolo fame, explores different regions of the Mediterranean at this restaurant in boutique hotel Anndore House. A wood-burning oven anchors an open kitchen situated in the centre of the dining room. Approaching familiar Italian dishes from inventive angles, Harding folds in Israeli and Greek elements, adding more than a few surprises. Expect crispy pizzas, grilled aged meats, grilled octopus and sea bream, and handmade pastas, all meant to be shared. Vegetables, too, are given their due, everything in season and melting in your mouth.
Contact: 00 1 647 475 4436; constantineto.com
Prices: ￡￡￡
Opening times: Mon-Wed, 7am-11pm; Thurs-Fri, 7am-1am; Sat, 8am-1am; Sun, 8am-10pm
Nearest metro: Bloor-Yonge Station
Reservations: Essential
Best table: Watch the show from one of the tall stools ringing the kitchen. It’s almost like dinner theatre.
Downtown
Kōjin
The Japanese god of fire lends his name to this popular spot on the third floor above Momofuku Noodle Bar. Chef Paula Navarrete’s menu is inspired by her Colombian upbringing, where kitchen life revolved around the hearth. As such, pasture-raised Hereford-Angus beef takes centre stage, as do a changing selection of house-made sausages. Sumptuous griddled corn flatbreads are dressed to the nines and come with a pair of scissors. Raw seafood choices are truly national, covering off East Coast oysters and West Coast shrimp. All is propped up with à la carte vegetable embellishment.
Contact: 00 1 647 253 6227, kojin.momofuku.com
Prices: ￡￡￡
Opening times: Mon-Wed, 11.30am-2pm, 4pm-10pm; Thurs and Fri, 11.30am-2pm, 4pm-11pm; Sat, 5pm-11pm; Sun, 5pm-10pm
Nearest metro: Osgoode Station
Reservations: Recommended
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Kensington Market
Ozzy’s Burgers
The best burger in town is piled so high with everything but the kitchen sink, your jaw may never recover. Ozgur Sekar wouldn’t have it any other way, his tiny spot on Nassau Street in Kensington Market churning out 100 per cent prime AAA beef burgers, hand-pressed and halal, on red-and-white checked paper held together with little pegs. The Notorious B.L.T. comes with a fried egg inside, the Mustang Sally towers with onion rings. The Purple Rain manages to fit in grilled pineapple, mozzarella, guacamole, jalape?os and caramelized onions. The Stairways to Heaven is a monumental triple-burger, triple-cheese artery clogger. Safe to say, it’s okay to lick your fingers.
Contact: 00 1 416 473 9596,
Address: 66? Nassau St
Prices: ￡
Opening times: Sun-Thurs, 11am-11pm; Fri-Sat, 11am-1am
Nearest metro: Queen’s Park Station
Reservations: Walk-ins only
Grey Gardens
Noted restaurateur Jen Agg and chef Mitch Bates offer up self-described North American cuisine at this catch-up-with-a-friend kind of place in Kensington Market. A nondescript entrance leads into a muted white and grey room cheered up with potted plants and palm-frond wallpaper; an open kitchen in the back, wine bar in the front, chairs lined up along both. An haute-but-hip crowd orders little seafood plates – scallops with charred cucumber, smoked fish – as well as things that would be right at home in Grandma’s kitchen – crispy pig’s head, beef tongue, stuffed chicken. An extensive wine list includes a huge selection of international ciders.
Contact: 00 1 647 351 1552; greygardens.ca
Prices: ￡￡￡
Opening times: Mon-Sun, 5pm-11pm; wine bar open later
Nearest metro: Queen’s Park Station
Reservations: Essential
Best table: Bar seats are primarily held for walk-in traffic
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Little Italy
Bar Raval
It's ironic that Little Italy’s go-to late-night still-hot spot is Spanish. A Catalonian pinxtos bar to be more specific. The Basque cuisine menu was curated by Toronto tastemaker Grant van Gameron and two partners, who all work their magic in a small room anchored by swirling waves of carved mahogany everywhere you look, from the ceiling down the walls to the bar. As this is a snack joint, you snack. Small plates give your experience a picnic feel. Mow down salt cod tortillas, white anchovies, house-smoked mackerel and ham croquetas, washed down with primarily Iberian wines, one or two from Niagara thrown in for good measure. Beware: strong cocktails.
Contact: 00 1 647 344 8001, thisisbarraval.com
Prices: ￡￡
Opening times: Mon-Fri, 11am-2am; Sat-Sun, 10am-2am
Nearest metro: Bathurst Station
Reservations: Walk-ins only
King West
Chubby’s Jamaican Kitchen
Three little words: jerk pit grill. A little pink neon sign invites you into what was once an old three-bedroom house off King Street West. Inside, it has been stripped to the rafters, transformed into a little island hideaway. Here, chefs Elio Zannoni and Donavon Campbell indulge you in home-style Caribbean comfort food. After saltfish fritters and slow-baked jerk chicken wings, sink your teeth into jerk pork or shrimp from the grill, curried chicken and goat, or steamed snapper, the latter being the only thing on the menu over Can$20 (￡12). Skip the tropical cocktails and just drink your way down the rum list.
Contact: 00 1 416 792 8105, chubbysjamaican.com
Prices: ￡￡
Opening times: Mon-Wed, 11.30am-10pm; Thurs-Fri, 11.30am-11pm; Sat, 11am-11pm; Sun, 11am-10pm
Reservations: Recommended
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Le Sélect Bistro
This classic French bistro on tree-lined Wellington Street West has been open since 1977, now in its second location. The zinc bar, tiled floors, tin ceiling, marble-top tables and red-leather banquettes make diners feel like they’ve stepped into one of the vintage French movie posters that line the walls. A simple frisée and lardons salad and a plate of steak frites couldn’t be more satisfying. Succulent chunks of lamb, pork belly, sausage and duck confit blessedly outnumber the white beans in a rich cassoulet. There are more than 1,200 wines and 95 beers in the basement, so take the time to get it just right.
Contact: 00 1 416 596 6405, leselect.com
Opening times: Mon, 11.30am-9.30pm; Tues-Thurs, 11.30am-10pm; Fri, 11.30am-10.30pm; Sat, 11am-10.30pm; Sun, 10.30am-9.30pm
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: ￡￡
Best table: The front patio is serene and sexy in the summertime.
Ossington Strip
Tanto
Spurred by a sojourn in South America, chef Julian Iliopoulos has created an Argentine-influenced menu for his cosy restaurant on the Ossington Street strip. Exposed brick and dark wood floors are warmed up by a long, navy blue, tufted banquette and the cabinetry over the bar has your wine choices all lined up for the feast of small plates: spicy beef empanada is spiced further with a paprika aioli; grilled squid topped with pancetta is rendered even more velvety with a burnt almond salsa. Generous cuts of meat range from short ribs to bavettes to ribeyes – add the bone marrow butter or smoked foie gras or both.
Contact: 00 1 416 546 3022, tantorestaurant.com
Prices: ￡￡￡
Opening times: Sun, 11am-4pm; Tues-Sat, 5pm-11pm
Reservations: Essential
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Cabbagetown
House on Parliament
In a town where neighbourhood pubs tend to be sad, smelly, samey or all three, Cabbagetown’s House on Parliament delivers a consistent English pub experience so well, there’s a line at the door every evening. (Which, thankfully, goes quickly.) Diners have all been here before many times and everybody has their go-to dish. Crispy battered wild Nova Scotia haddock makes the fish and chips a menu star. Fancy bangers and mash has local sausages drenched in gravy and balsamic-marinated charred onions. Save room for the coffee- and spice-infused sticky toffee pudding and something from the 'Fancy Whiskeys' list.
Contact: 00 1 416 925 4074; houseonparliament.com
Prices: ￡￡
Opening times: Mon-Fri, 11.30am-2am; Sat-Sun, 11am-2am
Nearest metro: College Station
Reservations: Walk-ins only
Leslieville
Greta Solomon’s Dining Room
This tiny 26-seat Leslieville restaurant named after the owner’s grandparents aptly feels more like someone’s sitting room than a restaurant. Traditional French dishes are given modern upgrades, served on smaller plates so as to not overwhelm through portion size or price. Go with oysters, charcuterie or a cheese tray to start. Follow that with a watercress, pear and goat cheese salad. Top it off with a main dish of wild salmon with a mousseline sauce, escargots in parsley butter or seared striploin with a rich jus. There’s no rush here, so treat yourself first to the nightly cocktail special.
Contact: 00 1 647 347 8640; gretasolomonsdiningroom.com
Prices: ￡￡
Opening times: Tues-Sat, 6pm-10pm
Reservations: Essential
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