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If I had a dime for every time I’ve been asked what I thought of Toronto’s first Michelin Guide that came out recently — or similar annual lists where the same restaurants get the accolades year after year — well, I could probably finally afford to eat at one of those places.
As someone who has lived his entire life in Toronto and been a food reporter for a decade, I’ve been on a mission to highlight the places and people that don’t always get the spotlight but nonetheless propel the city’s dining scene by rethinking familiar dishes, carrying on decades-long family legacies, or simply combining complex flavours and textures in ways that make dining out exciting and memorable.
What places would I personally consider to be Michelin-worthy? Well, a lot of restaurants I love and frequent probably wouldn’t belong in a guide for moneyed diners who are able to discern how a tasting menu in Paris compares to one in New York or Tokyo. But that’s not how most Torontonians (including me) eat anyway. Instead, I present this alternative: a guide to my long-time loves, from a 50-year-old burger spot to my parents-approved dim sum hall, plus newer spots doing innovative and exciting things. By no means is this a complete list (no dining scene can be summed up in 15 joints) but these places capture the range and energy of Toronto’s unique culinary landscape.
Photo: Rene Johnston/Toronto Star
Rarely are the words omakase and affordable found in the same sentence, as prices for this type of Japanese dining typically start in the triple digits in the city. But Aoyama, a family-owned gem on the Scarborough-North York border that opened in 2007 next to a KFC in a plaza behind a thrift shop, is a place where diners can get a taste of sushi master Masashige Endo’s seven-course set dinner for less than $100.
Typically, that meal includes a seaweed salad with king crab; buttery fried lobster; tempura; sashimi and nigiri; dobin mushi, a light seafood broth usually served from a teapot; and dessert (opt for the green-tea or black-sesame cheesecake slice if either are available). Even though it’s technically fine dining, this laid-back, kid-friendly neighbourhood restaurant also has takeout and a la carte menus (non-sushi items like crisp fried eggplant and grilled shiitake are also worth getting).
Avling
Brewery/Nordic-Chinese
Leslieville
1042 Queen St. E.
Photo: Giovanni Capriotti/For the Toronto Star
Photo: Giovanni Capriotti/For the Toronto Star
Former Momofuku chef Eva Chin’s inventive Nordic Chinese menu at Avling makes diners rethink beer pairings as her menu touches on the fermented, sweet, sour and spicy flavours of Chinese cooking. Slices of raw B.C. albacore tuna and plump tomatoes sit atop a shallow pool of olive oil infused with Sichuan peppercorn, which when eaten leave a slight numbing sensation and prove that the spice can be used in subtle ways (ask for bread to sop up the delicious oil).
Chin puts her spin on the requisite pub burger by giving two pork patties a sweet char siu glaze (my mom does something similar with her barbecue) made from rhubarb, and sandwiches them in a black sesame bun. Spaghetti squash is wok fried with Chinese fermented black beans and chili vinaigrette and finished with dollops of acidic, creamy quark cheese, creating a full-flavoured wallop of umami goodness that begs for an accompanying pint.
Even though I’m not much a drinker, the brewery’s Sanfroid barrel-aged farmhouse ale, made with Cabernet Sauvignon skins and honey, is a perfect pairing; its fruitiness reminds me of sparkling cranberry and black cherry juice and adds a sweet counterpart to the fermented, creamy and umami flavours.
Bong Lua Vietnamese Restaurant
Vietnamese
Leacock
2572 Birchmount Rd.
Photos: Giovanni Capriotti/For the Toronto Star
Photos: Giovanni Capriotti/For the Toronto Star
Since my mom started getting takeout from Bong Lua at the recommendation of a Vietnamese friend years ago, I don’t think I’ve ever ordered the same thing twice. One day I’ll have the pho thai lan (brisket pho in a tom yum broth), another time I’ll have banh canh cua (shrimp, blue crab and sausage udon in an egg drop soup), then I’ll get the popular bun rieu (blue crab pho in a tomato broth).
Since 2011, owner and chef Quy Huang Dang (a.k.a. Jimmy) built a menu showcasing the vastness of pho and its regional differences, such as the bun ca bong lua, or fish vermicelli, native to the northeast coast of Vietnam (where he’s from) and the pho ca ri de, a curry goat pho from the central and southern regions. It’s hard to choose just one dish, but I have a soft spot for the off-menu mam tom de: goat simmered in a beef broth with a hint of shrimp paste to give it a subtle fermented pungency that nicely contrasts with the fresh herbs on top.
Photo: Andrew Francis Wallace/For the Toronto Star
It’s hard to overstate the influence Jamaican culture has had on the city, and the island’s cuisine is no exception.
The place features the requisite jerk chicken and oxtail, but years ago a co-worker suggested I go just for the jerk shawarma poutine. The marinated chicken is roasted on a vertical spit, shaved thinly and placed on a bed of fries with jerk chicken gravy and mozzarella that quickly melts into a gooey, velvety sauce (another variation uses sweet potato fries). It’s common to see a mini crowd gathered on the sidewalk (it’s a takeout spot), as people know this is a place worth waiting for.
Curryish
Modern Indian
West Queen West
783 Queen St. W.
Photos: Giovanni Capriotti/For the Toronto Star
Photo: Giovanni Capriotti/For the Toronto Star
In a sea of empty storefronts and pot shops along Queen West, a new restaurant is a welcome addition. After years of cooking for major Toronto restaurant group Oliver & Bonacini, chef Miheer Shete opened his own place, Curryish, last spring. It’s called that because it combines his experience with European-style cooking at O&B with his memories of growing up in Mumbai.
Among Shete’s inventive and fun dishes is a start of minty, tangy and sweet pudina jal jeera is poured into house-made panipuri filled with raw yellowfin tuna. The parathas are sprinkled with Everything Bagel seasoning (genius); shredded-coconut-stuffed grilled branzino is covered in a golden turmeric-lemon-butter sauce (get a side of rice); and the ghee-confit duck leg is served atop a goda masala curry with a piece of foie gras to add a buttery richness to contrast the tart pickled grapes.
Emma's Country Kitchen
Brunch
St. Clair West
810 St. Clair Ave. W.
Photos: Giovanni Capriotti/For the Toronto Star
Photos: Giovanni Capriotti/For the Toronto Star
Since Rachel Pellett and Heather Mee opened their brunch spot a decade ago on St. Clair West, the place has only gotten busier (they don’t take reservations). Two items are mandatory: the flaky, cloudlike buttermilk biscuits that come warm and are good enough to eat plain, and their thick buttermilk pancakes. The biscuits sub for English muffins in the eggs Benedict, served with sausage gravy, and in a breakfast sandwich (the Breakwich, with thick-cut house-cured bacon and spicy pimento cheese, was worth the hour-long trip for me).
While the pancakes might be deceptively simple, the fall menu’s pumpkin pancakes contain pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice, toffee bits and crushed walnuts, and are topped with a scoop of butter that’s been browned and re-chilled into a solid so that it can slowly melt. It’s these extra touches (that I will never attempt at home) that make it worth it for me to go out for brunch. Recently, the restaurant was recognized for being a Living Wage employer, meaning staffers are paid a wage necessary to live in the city (they also get health benefits), giving me even more reason to go.
Photo: Richard Lautens/Toronto Star
This family-run roti shop dates to the early ’70s when it first opened in the Dufferin Mall food court. It has since become something of a local institution, especially during the annual Toronto Caribbean Carnival, when its hefty, brick-sized rotis fuel revellers all night. The downtown locations have since closed but the North York spot has been here since 2006 (and a Markham location opened last year).
The curry chicken roti is one of the most popular, but the vegetable-centric rotis are also worth checking out (half the rotis happen to be vegan). My favourite is the eggplant roti. Silky slices of slow-cooked eggplant and pillowy curried potato are almost like a stew, and it’s all wrapped in a roti made from ground yellow split peas, which gives the stretchy flatbread an extra absorbency to prevent it from getting messy (don’t skip the hot sauce).
Photo: Rene Johnston/Toronto Star
Since opening in 1999, before moving to its larger current location next door in 2012, Rexdale’s 24-hour Istar has been a busy hub feeding students, cab drivers working the nearby Pearson Airport, parents with babies in tow or just anyone looking for excellent Somali cooking.
Most opt for takeout, in particular the chapati wraps filled with beef, chicken or salmon. But for a more sit-down meal, opt for the traditional tender cubes of lightly spiced seared beef suqaar with onions and sweet peppers, which pair well with a big bowl of pasta lightly tossed in tomato sauce with a hint of cilantro to give it a bright herbal finish. For a dessert that’s not too sweet, check out the small bakery case next to the register for a fluffy bur-yoosh, a sort of spiced brioche with a sweet cheese filling and flakes of coconut on top.
Jerusalem
Middle Eastern/Buffet
Don Valley Village
4777 Leslie St.
Photo: Giovanni Capriotti/For the Toronto Star
Photo: Giovanni Capriotti/For the Toronto Star
Buffets often get overlooked on fancy best-of lists, but Jerusalem is a spot my partner and I adore, mostly because it’s where we can eat a lot but not feel sluggish afterwards – thanks to the offerings (much of it vegetarian-friendly) being mostly roasted, stewed or grilled, rather than fried.
An antidote to the usual sad buffet salad bar, the mezze station features creamy hummus, baba ganoush and tahini; tabbouleh; grilled zucchini; pickled peppers; red cabbage slaw, sundried tomatoes and chickpea salad. Hot tables of slow-cooked okra and tomatoes, rice-stuffed zucchini, creamy lentil soup, roasted lamb, crunchy green beans and crispy whole grilled fish make it feel like a lighter meal, even though it’s all you can eat.
The buffet size is also perfect: big enough to satisfy a large group (there’s always a birthday in the large dining room), but not so big that you’re overwhelmed by choice and have to agonize over what to skip.
Johnny's Hamburgers
Burgers/Greek
Tam O'Shanter-Sullivan
2595 Victoria Park Ave.
Photo: Karon Liu/Toronto Star
Photo: Karon Liu/Toronto Star
The slight bitterness and crispness of a burger cooked over a flame will always triumph over a patty that’s smashed and cooked on a flat top. (I find the flame-kissed flavour better balances out the tangy condiments.) It’s why Johnny’s Hamburgers continues to draw in the lunch and late-night crowds since opening in 1967. Places like this are part of Toronto’s culinary history, hearkening back to a time when Greek and Macedonian immigrants took over many diners and burger spots and put their own touches on the menu — which is why souvlaki on a bun is a staple at some burger spots, including Johnny’s. The cube-shaped free-standing restaurant painted in safety orange remains a fixture among all the new office buildings that have sprouted around it.
A banquet burger (bacon cheeseburger), poutine and a chocolate shake all served on a cardboard tray and consumed either in the parking lot or at the picnic bench behind the building is one of my favourite Saturday night pastimes and a right of passage for many Scarborough teens (as is finding out that Johnny’s doesn’t do lettuce or is cash-only).
Photos: Giovanni Capriotti/For the Toronto Star
Just steps north of Rosedale subway station, Mineral is a small bistro best suited for date nights or a solo treat at the bar. Thanks to the large windows and minimalist, mid-century-style booth seating, it doesn’t feel cramped. Chef Danny Cancino first caught the attention of diners when he brought kamayan dinners to Queen West at the now-closed Filipino restaurant Lamesa almost a decade ago. His cooking at Mineral is hard to categorize in one word. Cancino, who has a Filipino background, picked up European cooking techniques in culinary school and then worked in different kitchens in town before running his own. When asked to describe his food, Cancino simply says, “Canadian.”
This natural mishmash shows up on the menu, such as his take on the Filipino brioche, the ensamayda, to which he adds truffle butter and hojicha honey (for an extra fee you can add foie gras or soppressata). The house-made mushroom pasta changes with the season. In the spring, the noodles were infused with pea shoots. For the fall, it’s a heartier egg noodle cooked in a dried shiitake broth before being tossed in a combination of oyster, fish, soy and Maggi sauces, garlic and ginger, thus marrying Italian and Southeast Asian flavours.
Photo: Steve Russell/Toronto Star
A dumpling-centric offshoot of the Tibet Kitchen restaurant in Little Tibet, the Momo House is centrally located beside the Bay subway station entrance.
There are the traditional steamed and fried dumplings with a choice of vegetable, beef, pork or chicken fillings, but what sets this Tibetan spot apart are the more unique momos that come with, say, a butter chicken sauce or a sweet curry. My hands-down favourites are the chaat momos: plump pleated dumplings doused in a sweet-and-sour tamarind sauce and topped with diced red onion, tomatoes, cilantro and crispy bits of sev. It’s tart with a zip of bright acidity from the tomatoes and onion, and the cilantro gives a pop of colour and a peppery, grassy punch to the fried or steamed dumplings. You can choose your filling as well as the way they’re prepared. There are two other Momo House locations (in Parkdale and on Queen West), proving that the mighty dumpling can compete with the global fast food chains in the city.
Northern Smokes
American Barbecue
Port Union
371 Old Kingston Rd. Unit 12
Photo: Richard Lautens/Toronto Star
Photo: Richard Lautens/Toronto Star
Good barbecue requires ample space, not just for the giant smokers but also for the stacks of oak, maple, cherry and apple wood. It’s why my favourite barbecue place is on the eastern edge of Scarborough in a quiet plaza just off Kingston Road, where you can see smoke billowing out from one of the giant custom-made smokers in the parking lot. After smoking brisket for fun in his backyard for friends and neighbours, pitmaster Imran Ali got the confidence to open his own restaurant in fall 2019, slowly earning a following through word of mouth on the east end.
Brisket can make or break a BBQ joint. Some places undercook it, rendering it tough, or don’t season it enough. At Northern Smokes, the brisket is seasoned simply with salt and pepper before it’s smoked and glistening with jiggly fat and melts with each bite. Aside from the classics, the place also does beef bacon (it’s a halal restaurant): two-week cured belly meat smoked and turned into thin, crispy bulgogi-like slices; and the jalapeno corn has a touch of masala heat, putting a Scarborough spin on American barbecue.
Photo: Nick Kozak/For the Toronto Star
It’s my list and if I want to recommend an entire food court rather than a single stall, it shall be done. The wonderful thing about this nearly 30-year-old Latin complex just west of the Jane-Finch neighbourhood is that you can order something different every day for a month at each of the stalls and still not get through all the menus (bookmark this spot for the winter months for an indoor food crawl). It’s the place for regional cooking that goes beyond tacos.
La Cubanita is one of the few Cuban places in the city, and the fork-tender roast pork on a big bed of rice and beans with fried plantains is comfort food at its finest. Papusas at the upstairs restaurant El Sazon de Metapan are filled with hot, melted, stretchy cheese ideal for a snack-to-go. The jalea, mixed fried seafood with marinated onions and peppers and fried yucca, from Peruvian spot El Sabroson, is platter-sized and best eaten with a friend.
Very Fair Seafood Cuisine
Dim Sum/Cantonese
Agincourt
17 Milliken Blvd.
Photos: Giovanni Capriotti/For the Toronto Star
Photos: Giovanni Capriotti/For the Toronto Star
The palatial facade of this dim sum restaurant is a remnant of the era when Agincourt was the city’s hub for Chinese food 30 years ago. Second-generation owner Alex Cho has kept the retro vibe of the giant dining room (carpeted floors and a centre stage meant for bridal parties), making Very Fair fit somewhere between the tiny Chinatown dim sum parlours and the newer, ultra-luxurious and brightly lit dim sum restaurants further north in the suburbs.
The dim sum staples here are solid, from the fat har gow and siu mai to the warm mini pineapple buns filled with barbecue pork (the latter is a wonderful combination of flaky crust with the tender char siu inside). My father points out that Very Fair’s fried taro dumplings still have the wispy batter like a bird’s nest, the result of a technique he says is no longer favoured by dim sum spots because of the labour involved.