A Guide to Eating and Drinking in Toronto
- Toronto Information
- Eating & drinking in Toronto
- Night life in Toronto
- Getting around in Toronto
- Things to do in Toronto
- Where to stay in Toronto
- Toronto street map
Given that it’s so multicultural, it’s not surprising to learn that eating out in Toronto involves a wide array of cuisines. Slightly more unexpectedly for so hip and modern a city, it’s also not particularly expensive.
Despite their excellent location and views across Lake Ontario, the cafés and restaurants of the Beaches are probably best avoided by the budget traveler and, similarly, swanky Yorkville (to the north) can be pricey. But beyond that, the options are invariably pretty budget-friendly.
Chinatown – never a bad place to start – can be found to the northwest of Dundas Street West. There’s also a fair bit of ethnic crossover here, and parts of Chinatown are as much Vietnamese as Chinese.
Little Portugal (off Dundas St), meanwhile, has some of the best (and cheapest) eateries in town. The scruffy Little India district (off Coxwell Avenue, to the east) has some fantastic restaurants at with similarly low prices.
Just to the north of Little India, Greektown - a gathering of genuine Greek restaurants - spreads out from Danforth Avenue. Uptown, too, there are plenty of alternatives, with Little Italy (just along College St from the University) notable for its excellent Italian cafés.
Which leaves Toronto’s fantastic markets: the streets around Kensington Market (to the north of Dundas St and Chinatown) and St Lawrence Market are lined with food stalls, informal cafés, reasonable restaurants and a host of vibrant street scenes.
Cheaper still, though, would be a picnic out east at the Beaches or across the water on the attractive Toronto Islands. Saturdays are the best day to find ingredients, with a Farmers’ market providing a wealth of great fresh produce.
Going through Toronto’s dining options, the thing that’s most striking is the sheer number of ‘towns’ and ‘Littles’. Ethnically varied - even for a North American city - they’re not only a source of great dining, but a reflection of the city's cultural openness and diversity.
