Toronto Must Eats

[MegS]

Hi All,

I'm traveling to Toronto for a couple days in two weeks and am wondering about any must-sees or must-eats. We aren't fussy (doesn't need to be fancy) but it does need to be terrific — with only a few meals in town, we'll want to be picky.

Many thanks!

[MegS]

@PrachyM I starred Wren and the places you visited on your photo walk — any other tips for a first-timer?  🙂

[PrachyM]

@MegS I recommend the following:

• Thai: Pai, Khao San Road
• Japanese: Manpuku, Kaiju (this one is in an empty mall but the people and Japanese curry are soo good!)
• Mexican: Fonda Lola, La Carnita, Seven Lives
• Vietnamese: Bahn Mi Boyz, Pho Tien Thanh
• La Cubana, Sneaky Deas, Old School, Caplansky’s Delicatessen (very Toronto thing...Beyonce went here lol), Momofuku, Merry Berry, 
• Vegan: Bloomers (try the jackfruit burger here), Planta
• Lots of places in Kensington (this is a nice place to hangout as well)

I can keep going 🙂 there's also a big desert movement right now so I recommend Bang Bang Ice Cream, Uncle Tetsu Angel Hat Cafe (they do J-pop on Sundays which is fun), Millie Creperie.

Where will you guys be staying? Would be happy to show you around as well 🙂

[PrachyM]

In terms of tips, nothing too much because the city is extremely safe and I highly recommend using the public transit if you are going to be staying in the downtown core (FYI you only need to pay once for a trip so make sure you take a transfer if you'll be switching to streetcars etc.). I have a feeling that when you come it will get cold so make sure you bring jackets 🙂 there is also an underground pathway which connects a lot of places in downtown so you can use that for warmth but can be hard to navigate.

The only thing to see as tourist in Toronto is CN Tower I would say and now they have long lines so buy your ticket online first (and don't buy the option to go to the sky deck...not really worth it and lines are even longer). Other than that, it's really about exploring the different neighbourhoods and enjoying the multicultural city :). I recommend walking west on Queen Street and King Street, not going to Dundas Square (nothing much to do there), and checking out Kensington.

Oh and if you can go to Niagara Falls I highly recommend it because the view from Toronto is amazing!

Let me know if you have any other questions 🙂

[MegS]

Thanks Prachy! I'm not really into touristy stuff so will prob skip CN Tower. Niagara Falls is high on my list but since it's our first visit it may take a backseat — though if we skip this trip I'll def have to swing by when we're up for the event next year.

Thanks for the food recs! A few of the ones you recommended were suggested by others too. Can't wait to eat my way through Toronto!  😄

[TiffanyCariaga]

Hi MegS,

There are a ton of great restaurants /foodie joints in Toronto to explore i would definitely suggest the following Restaurants below:

Italian: Buca, Pizza Libretto, Terroni's (Any location is fabulous), Enoteca Sociale, Gusto 101, Sotto Sotto

Burger Joints: The Burger Priest, Holy Chucks,Bare burger

Mexican: Playa Cabana (any location is amazing), Grand Electric, La Carnita

American/Comfort Food: Home of the Brave, The Gabardine

Cocktail Bars/Dive Bars: Rhum Corner, Cocktail Bar (yes that is the name of the bar!), Montauk, Cold Tea

BBQ: Barque, Electric Mudd, Big Crow

Vegetarian: Fresh, Doomies, Urban Herbivore, Kupfert & KimTapas: People's Eatery, 416 Snack Bar, Bar Fancy

All resto's above are amazing in it's own right and i can definitely vouch for all i've been to all!  

Have a great time exploring the six!

T

[Anonymous]

This list would not be complete with some favorites from each category

Canadiana Canoe
High End Contemporary from The Chase
Classic Chinese made by Sswatow
Fried Chicken Waffles at The Dirty Bird
Holy Chuck burgers (the saganaki burger is amazing)
Toronto is proud of a lot of it's smaller places too like Glory Hole Donuts... don't miss those.

libretto i agree is top of the pizza food chain, but if you really want to live, have the duck conffi it's otherworldly

[Warjat]

I'll stay within the downtown core, as typically that's where most tourists spend their time.
As for food, some of my favourites are echoed from previous replies:

• Thai - Khao San Road, Nana. They're sister restaurants, and last I saw KSR was under construction or moving, so Nana was the only one open, but they have the exact same menu. Must have: Pad Sew!
• Mexican - La Cantina, Milagro, WIlbur Burrito. Burrito Boyz is a Toronto staple also.
• Vietnamese - Bahn Mi Boyz. Also, I haven't had bad Pho in Toronto yet, so any Pho place.
• Breakfast - What a Bagel
• Deli - Caplansky’s (another Toronto staple)
• Vegan - Bloomies
• Steak - Jacob's. This place isn't cheap, but the steaks are outstanding.
• Pizza/Panzarotti - Frank's Pizza House

I would also recommend the 360 restaurant atop the CN Tower. Seemingly very touristy thing to do, but out of the 3 times I've been there, the food, drink and staff have been great. Dinner includes admission to the tower itself too.

[RichardTrus]

Hey Meg,

In the moderators hang out they mentioned you are organizing the event in Toronto for the 2016 Google Local Guides Challenge

after the event if you could please publicize the Toronto Local Guides community with links to the photos and video we would really appreciate so that more local guides in Toronto get involved in our meet-ups and more people in Toronto get involved in the Local Guides community.

Our Google+ community

Also it would help if we could get indexed in the search engine so more people can find us.  

Thanks,

Rick Trus

Google Local Guides Toronto - Moderator

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@MegS wrote:

Hi All,

I'm traveling to Toronto for a couple days in two weeks and am wondering about any must-sees or must-eats. We aren't fussy (doesn't need to be fancy) but it does need to be terrific — with only a few meals in town, we'll want to be picky.

Many thanks!

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