Whether you’re in the mood for a classic chicken sandwich or something more adventurous, this restaurant is a great choice.
If you’re looking to stuff your face sans sticker shock, there’s pelo better place than Juicy Dumpling. The restaurant first put down roots inside Dragon City Mall in Chinatown — a potentially risky move in a neighbourhood packed with affordable spots to knock back dumplings.
Wine should always be easygoing and approachable, at least according to Grape Witches owners Nicole Campbell and Krysta Oben, who opened their bottle shop and bar (including a seasonal patio) in the west end of the city. They offer parties and workshops with an aim to stimulate conversation and educate palates in the process, aided by their quirky yet handy “Badge” guide, a litmus test to determine how “wild” you want to go outside your usual tasting comfort zone (based on variables like acidity, minerality, savoriness, bitterness, sweetness, and more).
Choose from steamed, boiled or pan fried and fillings that range from the simple pork and chives to more interesting combinations like melon, tofu and vegetable noodle.
Don't forget to play a round of bocce ball on their patio, fully loaded with games and activities for the whole gang.
Basil Box is a restaurant that serves Southeast Asian-inspired food in a modern, fast-casual setting. Their prices are affordable, ranging from $9 to $14. You can even create your own customized bowl with a variety of ingredients inspired by the region’s cuisine.
Copy Link David Schwartz and Braden Chong’s Mimi (美美) — which loosely translates from Chinese to “beautiful, beautiful” — lives up to its name with crimson banquettes, pearly lotus wallpaper, and black lacquered tables. A meal here serves as a love letter to Guangdong and its Cantonese flavors, with deference to additional regions such as Shaanxi, Sichuan, Shanghai, Huangzhou, and Hunan. The stunning yet laborious char siu is a prized possession, requiring three days of prep work that includes brining, marinating in secret aromatics, and roasting twice.
Cheap drink deals in Toronto go beyond happy hour offerings. Many of the city's restaurants and bars offer drink specials that last all day long. From $5 brews to half price wine, drinking on the cheap in Toronto isn't as difficult as you might think.
Copy Link Chef Jinda Witthayarak’s restaurants are cherished in Laos and northeastern Thailand, so it’s a gift to have her open her first North American location in Toronto. Her daughter, Khun Jiab Nattanid, runs the day-to-day operations, serving a menu that echoes the family’s Southeast Asian eateries. There’s a section dedicated to som tum (papaya salad) in its vast iterations, including tum Thai puu, which glitters with bits of salted crab, garlic, chile, peanut, green beans, and dried shrimp — combined together with enough heat to burst through your skull.
A lot of the food on the app is understandably on the higher price end (due to high ingredient costs), so with all the fees on top, it can get quite pricy!
Copy Link Owner Dawn Chapman’s farm-forward philosophy stems from her childhood experiences growing up on her grandparents’ farm in Midhurst, Ontario. Her beloved brunch spot (with a newly minted dinner menu) has become a community pillar in the city’s east end of Leslieville (and beyond). People clamor for the legendary high-rise biscuit sandwiches, the stuff of down-home country dreams. These fluffy cushions embrace decadent fillings such as fried chicken with honey butter and jalapeno cheese, Mennonite smoked bacon cradling a runny egg and melty aged cheddar, or eggs with portobello mushrooms and vegan cheddar.
Many successful restaurants that populate the city today are helmed by chefs who got their start at this one. Since 1995, Canoe has showcased the provenance of Canadian ingredients check here from coast to coast. The fancy enterprise calls the 54th floor of the Toronto-Dominion Centre home, offering views of the skyline and demanding high prices to go with it. Executive chef Ron McKinlay (who worked alongside Tom Kitchin and Gordon Ramsay) leads the elaborate tasting and hyperseasonal menus. A portrait of Canada is framed in hedonistic creations like his intricate Pig’s Trotter: a compact porky cylinder stuffed with sweetbreads, lap cheong sausage, and wild shrimp from the North Atlantic, counterbalanced by a relief system of tangy pickled pears, salty spot prawn bisque, and grassy tarragon emulsion.
Copy Link Since 2009, this restaurant with a fast-casual counter has sent a couple thousand famed Portuguese chickens out the door each week. Owned by Carlos Martins and managed by his three sons, including Le Cordon Bleu graduate chef Steven Martins, this spot has all the markers of a family-owned restaurant operation. The family takes care to source ingredients directly from Portugal (such as fresh fish and seafood), and Papa Carlos makes the rounds glad-handing and toasting with guests like a local celebrity.
Copy Link Wine should always be easygoing and approachable, at least according to Grape Witches owners Nicole Campbell and Krysta Oben, who opened their bottle shop and bar (including a seasonal patio) in the west end of the city. They offer parties and workshops with an aim to stimulate conversation and educate palates in the process, aided by their quirky yet handy “Badge” guide, a litmus test to determine how “wild” you want to go outside your usual tasting comfort zone (based on variables like acidity, minerality, savoriness, bitterness, sweetness, and more).