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- Thread starter Ellen Seiling
- Start date
ganjavih
Senior Member
There are thousands of restaurants in TO. You need to be a little more specific with your question!
Catapult
Active Member
Try torontolife and toronto.com for restaurant reviews and other info on Toronto. Welcome to Toronto!
urbandreamer
recession proof
Ossington, Queen West from U av to Roncesvalles, Dundas St West from Bathurst to Royal York, Bloor St West etc. There are hundreds of amazing restaurants if you're thinking trendy cool places to eat with damned good food; thousands if you consider authentic ethnic restaurants with even better food imho! They can be found everywhere--even in Misserysauga!
CityPainter
Active Member
Welcome to Toronto! It's a great place to eat. I agree with previous posters that with Toronto being such a large and diverse food city, you will need to be a bit more specific about what you are looking for in order to get some quality recommendations.
Assuming the moderators here don't mind external references, I would recommend you spend some time on the Toronto Chowhound boards, which are well-populated with vigorous discussions about Toronto's food scene. Perhaps try searching on there for specific types of cuisine you like (say "vegan" or "indian") and do some reading. Often the same highly regarded restaurants come up in discussions repeatedly. http://chowhound.com/boards/23
To make some generalizations about food in Toronto, you'll probably find that Mexican and Latin food is not as well represented as it is in California. I think this is a simple matter of demographics. On the other hand, various types of Chinese food are well represented, both in the downtown area and, more recently, in the suburbs such as Markham where there are large populations of recent Chinese immigrants. Also, not being near an ocean limits our seafood supply, so you will have to look a bit harder than in California for top-notch seafood and sushi, though it does exist. Two good all-round foodie destinations are the St. Lawrence Market (two buildings, the south one open 5 days a week, the north open on Saturday's for a farmer's market) and Kensington Market (not a building but a neighbourhood of small specialty shops, a bit gritty at times but filled with good food).
Assuming the moderators here don't mind external references, I would recommend you spend some time on the Toronto Chowhound boards, which are well-populated with vigorous discussions about Toronto's food scene. Perhaps try searching on there for specific types of cuisine you like (say "vegan" or "indian") and do some reading. Often the same highly regarded restaurants come up in discussions repeatedly. http://chowhound.com/boards/23
To make some generalizations about food in Toronto, you'll probably find that Mexican and Latin food is not as well represented as it is in California. I think this is a simple matter of demographics. On the other hand, various types of Chinese food are well represented, both in the downtown area and, more recently, in the suburbs such as Markham where there are large populations of recent Chinese immigrants. Also, not being near an ocean limits our seafood supply, so you will have to look a bit harder than in California for top-notch seafood and sushi, though it does exist. Two good all-round foodie destinations are the St. Lawrence Market (two buildings, the south one open 5 days a week, the north open on Saturday's for a farmer's market) and Kensington Market (not a building but a neighbourhood of small specialty shops, a bit gritty at times but filled with good food).
urbandreamer
recession proof
I've been discovering that Bloor West Village (I'm beginning to call it K-Market West 
) (and Roncevalles) has similar mass of foodie shops as K-Market. There's fresh pasta, seafood, organic vegetables, meats etc in these areas, as well as fantastic gourmet grocery stores and of course ethnic food shops--Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Lithuanian, Jewish, English, etc. My absolute favourite source for organic meat (the best damn sausages in Toronto imho!) is Annette & Runnymede's Butcher by Nature, superior to Rowe Farms or the Healthy Butcher I've come to believe.
A good place to start is either Toronto Life's Daily Dish or Blogto's restaurant reviews and of course the alt weekly Now magazine's restaurant reviews.
) (and Roncevalles) has similar mass of foodie shops as K-Market. There's fresh pasta, seafood, organic vegetables, meats etc in these areas, as well as fantastic gourmet grocery stores and of course ethnic food shops--Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Lithuanian, Jewish, English, etc. My absolute favourite source for organic meat (the best damn sausages in Toronto imho!) is Annette & Runnymede's Butcher by Nature, superior to Rowe Farms or the Healthy Butcher I've come to believe.A good place to start is either Toronto Life's Daily Dish or Blogto's restaurant reviews and of course the alt weekly Now magazine's restaurant reviews.
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greenleaf
Senior Member
www.yelp.ca is another good resource for finding user reviews on restaurants (and other stores as well).
urbandreamer
recession proof
I'd read positive reviews about the Big Ragu at Lansdowne and St Clair, finally made it there tonight. The pizza is good, perhaps a small notch below Terroni's and Libretto's but certainly in the top 10 Toronto pies.
I recommend the place--it's a much smaller and more intimate experience than either Terroni or Libretto.
St Clair West--from Bathurst to Lansdowne--has many good restaurants, some quite modern and trendy and others just great-old-fashioned family-style eateries. There's more to Toronto than SoB--south of Bloor.
I recommend the place--it's a much smaller and more intimate experience than either Terroni or Libretto.
St Clair West--from Bathurst to Lansdowne--has many good restaurants, some quite modern and trendy and others just great-old-fashioned family-style eateries. There's more to Toronto than SoB--south of Bloor.
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hbl33
Active Member
I've tried a large (I believe it was) steak burrito (all dressed) at Big Fat Burrito two weeks ago. The steak was tender, the vegetable was quite fresh and the sauce (mayo with some bbq sauce?) was irrestible. But of course, at $10.95 with Boylan (is it called Boylan?) root beer, the price seems high for a Saugan like me. But it is probably the best burrito I've ever tasted in T.O. (much better than crummy Mission Burrito @ The Grange and overpriced, decent Chipotle at Yonge St.).
Hipster Duck
Senior Member
Welcome to Toronto. California is a food lover's delight, so hopefully Toronto can compete with your expectations. My favourite restaurants are probably:
$ = under $40 for 2 (before drinks)
$$ = $40 - $80
$$$ = $80-$120
$$$$ = >$120
Joso's ($$$$)
Harbord Room ($$$ - $$$$)
Hiro Sushi ($$$ - $$$$)
The Black Hoof ($$$)
Dynasty on Bloor (dim sum) ($$ - lunch)
Guu ($$)
Nazareth ($-$$) (don't know if this is still open)
Mother's Dumplings ($)
Golden Turtle Pho ($)
It's rare that I go out for stuff in the $$$$ or $$$$$ range, but Nota Bene is good and I've heard that Splendido is fantastic.
$ = under $40 for 2 (before drinks)
$$ = $40 - $80
$$$ = $80-$120
$$$$ = >$120
Joso's ($$$$)
Harbord Room ($$$ - $$$$)
Hiro Sushi ($$$ - $$$$)
The Black Hoof ($$$)
Dynasty on Bloor (dim sum) ($$ - lunch)
Guu ($$)
Nazareth ($-$$) (don't know if this is still open)
Mother's Dumplings ($)
Golden Turtle Pho ($)
It's rare that I go out for stuff in the $$$$ or $$$$$ range, but Nota Bene is good and I've heard that Splendido is fantastic.
Hipster Duck
Senior Member
Oh, and PS, the best thing about Toronto - pretty much unparalleled anywhere else - are the brunch spots. There are so many good places to try: Le Petit Dejeuner, Swan, Hoof Cafe (across from the Black Hoof), Mitzi's Sister, Edward Levesque's kitchen, Easy Rider, Aunties and Uncles, etc.
kettal
Banned
Somehow, I think Ellen is actually an advertising robot for City Maid Service
Ellen Seiling
New Member
Ellen Seiling
New Member
Whoa!!! I just read the last comment on this forum... I am no "robot"!!! My niece works for them, that's how I ended up moving out here... anyway... I could understand how using the link signature could be misunderstood, so I'll just stop doing that...
-Ellen
-Ellen
Therion
Senior Member
Something about robots and maids in the same sentence makes me think of Spaceballs. "It's Mega Maid. She's gone from suck to blow!"
Anyway, here's my favourite joints. I'm no gastronome, but I like cheap places that have great food. Unlike most cheap places. Here's a couple of recommendations:
Indian: Byriani House on Hayden, half a block south of Yonge and Bloor.
Chinese: Cha Liu on Yonge just north of Eglington for Dim Sum, Asian Legen (several locations) for regular Chinese
Vietnamese: Pho Hung at Bloor and Avenue. Great Pho.
Southern BBQ: Higway 61 on Bayview, south of Eglington.
Italian: Bar Volo on Yonge, mostly for its huge beer selection.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head.
Anyway, here's my favourite joints. I'm no gastronome, but I like cheap places that have great food. Unlike most cheap places. Here's a couple of recommendations:
Indian: Byriani House on Hayden, half a block south of Yonge and Bloor.
Chinese: Cha Liu on Yonge just north of Eglington for Dim Sum, Asian Legen (several locations) for regular Chinese
Vietnamese: Pho Hung at Bloor and Avenue. Great Pho.
Southern BBQ: Higway 61 on Bayview, south of Eglington.
Italian: Bar Volo on Yonge, mostly for its huge beer selection.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head.