12 Best Places to Eat in Toronto (Canada) for First Timers!

Toronto is a city in Canada known for its vibrant arts scene, great shopping, and world-famous attractions such as the majestic Niagara Falls and the CN Tower (one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World). And of course, there are plenty of awesome eateries too! Below is a list of 12 best places to eat in Toronto if you are a tourist visiting for the first time. They have been neatly categorised into the respective areas of Toronto: Entertainment District, Fashion District, Chinatown, Kensington Market, Downtown Yonge, and the Distillery District.

Entertainment District

1. Khao San Road

Pad Gra Prao

Red Curry with Chicken

Khao San Road is a popular Thai food bistro that offers delicious and authentic Thai Food in a cozy space. We LOVED the Pad Gra Prao ($16), which comprised stir fried minced pork with holy basil and chilli, served with hot jasmine rice and and a pretty fried egg. The savoury stir fried pork was delicious and tasted great with the fragrant rice! This was one satisfying dish. We enjoyed the Red Curry with Chicken ($16) and Thai Iced Tea ($4.50) as well. Check out our full review of Khao San Road.

Khao San Road
Address: 11 Charlotte St, Toronto, ON M5V 2H5, Canada
Opening Hours: | Mon to Sat: Lunch 11.30pm – 2.30pm | Mon to Sun: Dinner 5pm – 10pm |
Full Menu: http://www.khaosanroad.ca/main
Phone: +1 647 352 5773 (KSRd), press 1 for khao san road (takeout)

2. PAI

Tom Yum Soup

Pad Gra Prow

PAI is another popular Thai restaurant in Toronto. Helmed by Jeff and Chef Nuit (the couple met in Thailand when Jeff was on holiday), the bistro is famous for bringing authentic Northern Thai cuisine to Toronto. Our favourite dish was the Starter bowl of Tom Yum Soup ($6.50), a classic Thai staple cooked with shrimp, lemongrass, long leaf coriander, shallots, mushrooms, tomatoes and green onions. We loved this feisty soup! It had the perfect combination of savoury, spicy and sour flavours. We ordered the Pad Gra Prow ($15.50) too, which was chicken stir fried with basil and served on jasmine rice, and topped with a fried egg. It was delicious!

PAI
Address: 18 Duncan St, Toronto, ON M5H 3G8, Canada
Opening Hours: | Mon to Thur: 11.30am – 10pm | Fri & Sat: 11.30am – 10.30pm | Sun: 5pm – 10pm |
Full Menu: http://www.paitoronto.com/menu
Phone: +1 416 901 4724

3. Steam Whistle Brewing

Steam Whistle Brewing is a super popular beer brewery located in the heart of Toronto’s entertainment district. It is famous for its self-brewed Pilsner, a type of pale lager. The beer is brewed using pure spring water from Caledon Ontario, malted barley, hops from Czech Republic and Germany and yeast. There are no corn syrup, foam enhancers and artificial preservatives added at all! The brewery also serves delicious food such as pies and sandwiches. The brewery’s outdoor seatings offer great views of the CN Tower.

We came here after visiting the CN Tower, which is just beside the brewery. Upon entry, I was pleasantly surprised to get a free sample of the Pilsner. It was served cold direct from the tap, and had a really crisp and smooth texture. It was delicious and I enjoyed it very much! The staff was not pushy and did not change their friendly attitude at all, even when it became obvious we were just tourists coming in to take a quick look around. This is definitely a great place to stop for some beer and snacks if you are in the area.

Steam Whistle Brewing
Address: 255 Bremner Blvd, Toronto, ON M5V 3M9, Canada
Opening Hours:
– Mon to Sat: 11am – 6pm, Tours start at 11.30am and run every 30 minutes with the last tour at 5pm.
– Sun: 11am to 5pm, Tours start at 11.30am and run every 30 minutes with the last tour at 4pm.
Website: https://steamwhistle.ca
Phone: +1 416 362 2337 (ext. 246)

4. Sweet Jesus

Sweet Jesus is a popular ice-cream chain in Toronto. We visited the branch at John Street in the evening after dinner, and were a little shocked to see the long snaking queue outside the shop. After waiting for about 20 minutes, we got our hands on the Rocky Road Rage ($4.95), which is chocolate soft serve with marshmallows, walnuts, cashew, and Oreo cookie crumble toppings. We enjoyed the sweet flavour of the luscious soft serve, punctuated by the crunch of lightly musky walnuts and cashew nuts. Even though there are some negative online reviews of this ice cream chain, I feel that it is still worth a try if you are visiting Toronto for the first time.

Sweet Jesus
Address: 106 John St, Toronto, ON M5H 1X9, Canada
Opening Hours: | Sun to Mon: 11am – 10pm | Tue to Sat: 11am – 11pm |
Other locations: http://www.sweetjesus4life.com/locations
Phone: +1 647 348 2266

5. Sunset Grill

Sunset Grill is a greasy spoon that serves classic American breakfast dishes (pancakes, bacon, eggs, waffles, etc) and other comfort food. There are several branches in Toronto and we visited the one along Wellington Street West for breakfast. We ordered the Sunset Super which consisted of three eggs, two pancakes and fries. We added Bacon too. The total price was just $10.99! The food tasted good (it’s hard to go wrong with pancakes and bacon) and it was quite a satisfying breakfast. Service was quick and friendly too. This American-style diner is definitely not a Michelin-star restaurant, but it was a great place to have an affordable breakfast in an otherwise expensive neighbourhood.

Sunset Grill
Address: 205 Wellington St W, Toronto, ON M5V 3G7, Canada
Opening Hours: | Mon to Fri: 6.30am – 3pm | Sat & Sun: 7am – 4pm |
Other locations: https://sunsetgrill.ca/locations
Phone: +1 416 340 2755

Fashion District

6. Wilbur Mexicana

Wilbur Mexicana is a very popular Mexican restaurant located along King Street West. It serves a variety of classic Mexican food such as tacos, burritos, fajitas, etc. The restaurant has a glass front which allows for plenty of natural light to flood the space and give it a bright cheery vibe. There is even a counter with a large variety of salsa so you can pick your favourite sauce to go along with your tortilla chips. We ordered the Chicken Tinga ($4.25), which comprised chicken, guacamole and cotija (cheese) served with crispy corn tortilla. The tacos even came with a handful of free tortilla chips. This simple chicken tacos tasted great! The tender chicken, luscious guacamole and corn tortilla tasted so good together in my mouth. After finishing the tacos, we dipped our crispy tortilla chips in four different types of salsas, and they were all delicious. (Do take note that some of the sauces are quite spicy.) This was a great place for us to take a quick bite and rest a bit before going on to explore downtown Toronto.

Wilbur Mexicana
Address: 552 King St W, Toronto, ON M5V 1M3, Canada
Opening Hours: | Mon to Sat: 11.30am – 10pm | Sun: 12pm – 9pm |
Full Menu: http://wilburmexicana.com/pdf/wilbur-nov-menu-2017.pdf

7. Porchetta & Co.

Porchetta & Co. is a local bistro that specialises in porchetta (roast pork) and fried chicken sandwiches. The menu also offers fries, salads, and poutine. It has several branches and we visited the one at King Street West. We ordered the O.G. Fried Chicken Sandwich ($9.95), which consisted of fried chicken, hot sauce, lettuce, pickles, and ranch dressing. The chicken was fried to perfection and I could taste the savoury juices as I bit into the sandwich. Together with the gutsy hot sauce and tangy ranch dressing, this was a wonderful combination of all around delicious flavours.

Porchetta & Co.
Address: 545 King St W, Toronto, ON M5V 1M1, Canada
Opening Hours: Daily 11.30am to 10pm
Full Menu: http://porchettaco.com/king-st-west-menus
Phone: +1 647 351 8844

Chinatown

8. The Dumpling House

The Dumpling House is a Chinese restaurant famous for their, yup you guessed it, delicious dumplings. It offers a variety of steamed and fried dumplings, as well as noodles, fried rice, soups, and other Chinese side dishes. The restaurant exudes an oriental vibe with its Chinese lanterns and bright red tables, complete with Chinese opera masks lining the walls. We ordered a simple Fried Pork & Chive Dumpling ($7.99) to share because the portion was pretty big with 12 pieces. They tasted delicious! The fried dumpling skin was crispy and savoury, and the pork was juicy and tender. This was a great place for us to take a quick break and enjoy some fried dumplings before continuing our day in Toronto.

The Dumpling House
Address: 328 Spadina Ave, Toronto, ON M5T 2E7, Canada
Opening Hours: | Daily 11am to 11pm, Closed on Tuesdays |
Full Menu: The Dumpling House Menu
Phone: +1 416 596 8898

Kensington Market

9. Hibiscus

Hibiscus is a cozy vegetarian cafe that is famous for its organic and gluten-free crepes, salads, soups and desserts. The menu even has homemade dairy-free vegan ice cream! We ordered the Homemade Chocolate Hazelnut Spread Banana ($13.50), a sweet crepe made with vegan buckwheat batter and served with icing sugar and maple syrup. The warm and sweet crepe was out of this world! The crepe tasted perfect with the sweet nutella and maple syrup, and the juicy chunks of banana completed the experience. Now who says healthy can’t be delicious.

Downtown Yonge

10. Eggspectation

Eggspectation is a restaurant chain that offers a variety of comfort food such as fried chicken waffles, poutines, pancakes, egg benedicts, burgers, salads, desserts and others. There are several branches in Toronto, and we visited the one at Bell Trinity Square.

The restaurant is flanked by an end-to-end glass wall, which allows for an abundance of sunlight to brighten up the space. We ordered the signature Eggstravaganza ($13.95), which consisted of two eggs, brioche french toast with maple syrup, sausages, and potatoes. This was a sumptuous dish and the portion was huge! Our sunny-side up eggs were delicious, and the french toast tasted great with the maple syrup. Our favourite was the savoury potatoes, which were really tender and had great texture. Read our full review of Eggspectation.

Eggspectation
Address: South Tower, Bell Trinity 483 Bay Street, Toronto, ON M5G 2C9, Canada
Opening Hours: | Mon to Fri: 7am – 4pm | Sat to Sun: 7am – 5pm |
Full Menu: Eggspectation Bell Trinity Square Full Menu
Phone Number: +1 416 979 3447

The Distillery District

11. SOMA Chocolatemaker

SOMA Chocolatemaker is a famous chocolate factory / shop in the Distillery District that sells delicious chocolate products like cookies, truffles, gelato, drinking chocolate, etc. We ordered a small Classic Chocolate with Milk ($4.43) and the freshly-produced hot chocolate was delicious! It had a wonderfully rich fragrance along with a really smooth texture. It was a nice experience to sit in the shop and sip on our hot chocolate while watching the factory machines grind cacao beans.

SOMA Chocolatemaker
Address: 32 Tank House Lane, Toronto, ON M5A 3C4, Canada
Opening Hours: | Mon to Sat: 10am – 8pm | Sun: 11am – 6pm |
Other Locations: Click here
Phone: +1 416 815 7662

12. Cacao 70

Next, we walked to the nearby Cacao 70, a pretty cafe in the Distillery District that serves a variety of chocolate desserts and drinks. We really liked the atmosphere here, as it was spacious and bright with plenty of natural light coming in through the glass windows. We had the quarter-inch Chocolate Marshmallow Pizza ($13.95), an interesting dessert that consisted of warm pizza crust topped with melted milk chocolate and roasted marshmallows. It was served with fresh strawberries, bananas, and melted chocolate. It tugged at our heartstrings to eat this pretty dessert! The pizza crust with marshmallow and chocolate was warm, sweet and delicious. And of course, we had to pour more of the luscious melted chocolate over the pizza. For the fruits, we dipped them in the chocolate sauce and it was a wonderful treat too.

Cacao 70
Address: 28 Gristmill Lane, Toronto, ON M5A 3C4, Canada
Opening Hours: | Sun to Thurs: 10am -11pm | Fri & Sat: 10am – 12am |
Other Locations: https://cacao70.com/en/our-locations
Phone: +1 416 216 8686

This article is part of our completely free and fantastic Ultimate Toronto Travel Guide for First Timers. Why spend days researching when all your holiday information is simply a click away?

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