Toronto - Where to eat?
I'm heading to Toronto on a random weekend trip with some friends. Recommendations for eats/nightspots are appreciated. We'll be looking for more of cheap eats than fancy eats.
Thanks!
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11 Comments:
oh boy. you've come to the right place.
cheap delicious eats.
burrito boyz. two locations in central downtown. amazing burritos the size of your head for less than 10$ with a drink.
pho hung. amazing vietnamese pho and bun. again, dinner and a drink is usually around 10$.
spring rolls or salad king. amazing thai food. dinner for two including tax and tip is usually around $30.
phil's original bbq. the best bbq in toronto. you can get unbelievable brisket or pulled pork sandwiches with a side and a drink for under $10. rib , pork, or brisket platters range from 14 - 20.
duff's wings. the best chicken wings on earth.
all of these have websites except for pho hung which has two locations one in chinatown and one on bloor street across from the museum.
if you go to the pho hung near the museum there is greg's ice cream within walking distance which is well worth a visit.
if i missed something don't hesitate to ask.
lexophile at 11:56AM on 10/16/07
It's a big city. What neighbourhood will you be in?
I disagree with Spring Rolls. I refer to it as "The McDonald's of Thai food". It isn't that good. It's also a franchise. Salad King isn't what it used to be. Cheap, yes, but the service isn't very good and the quality is inconsistent.
I like Just Thai on Church Street. There are other good ones, of course. I like the mom and pop-type restaurants.
I do agree about Greg's ice cream. A kiddie cone is cheap and big.
CanadianFoodieGirl at 6:13PM on 10/16/07
Also, check out Now magazine's guide to eating cheap. All listings are rated. The guide that's online is outdated but you can pick up the free weekly magazine when you're here (it's really a newspaper, available in news boxes and some stores and restaurants) for their weekly reviews. You might be able to find more help on their website too.
CanadianFoodieGirl at 8:09AM on 10/17/07
If you're into thai I always loved Green Mango when I worked downtown (near Bloor and Yonge)
psychsarah at 12:39PM on 10/19/07
For a delicious coffee/latte visit Mercury Organic Espresso Bar at Queen St. W and Carlaw (http://mercuryorganic.blogspot.com/ )
Utopia (www.utopia.ca) in Little Italy (College St.) has delicious burgers and most everything else too!
Aunties & Uncles (74 Lippincott Street - near Kensington Market/Little Italy)- great hip little breakfast/brunch spot - the breakfast pocket is my personal favourite.
Swan on Queen West (892 Queen Street West) is consistently my favourite "upscale" affordable diner - the club sandwich is one of my favourites in the city.
One of my 'go-to' brunches is by far 'Easy' which is at Queen W & Roncesvalles. Delicious smoothies, great bacon & eggs ... you can even get toast soldiers, a hard boiled egg with toast strips and your very own toy soldier to take home. It's affordable and casual and I haven't yet had a bad experience.
Rebel House, a "Canadian" pub - (http://www.rebelhouse.ca/home.htm) at 1068 Yonge St. - go for lunch and have a buffalo burger. yum!
I would also recommend Greg's Ice Cream - the roasted marshmallow or the coffee toffee!
Soma chocolate in the distillery district (www.thedistillerydistrict.com)- $2 a truffle - but an amazing truffle - one is enough. I adore the bergamot truffle, the balsamic truffle and the olive oil truffle.
lesslyn at 2:51PM on 10/19/07
Good advice so far! I also agree that Spring Rolls is crap, funnily enough I also refer to it as the "fast food of thai food". Otherwise, i agree with all the suggestions above, including the one for Now's guide. I specifically second the reco's for 'Aunties and Uncles' and Easy for brunch.
You should also try Chinatown (Dundas and Spadina) in general, anywhere you walk into will likely be delicious and cheap. The Pomegranate is a fantastic and cheap persian restaurant on College St near Bathurst. Torito in Kensington market seems pretty cheap (it's a tapas restaurant), but it can unexpectedly really add up when you pick a bunch of 'small things' - but it's really delicious. And not horribly priced depending on your standards of what 'cheap' means. It's on Augusta south of College, in Kensington. Tabule (middle eastern food) on Yonge St between Eglinton and Davisville is also really good.
kololo at 3:02PM on 10/19/07
i'm surprised so many people here hate spring rolls. i've never met anyone who didn't like it. do you call it the fast food of thai because it has more than one location or do you actually dislike the taste and quality of the food?
lexophile at 7:09PM on 10/19/07
I actually dislike the taste and quality of the food. Everything is beautifully presented, but everything tastes exactly the same (they use the same 3 or 4 sauces for all their dishes) and very little of it actually has any relationship with actual asian food. Its homogenized 'asian food'.
I know several people who like it and more people who hate it. The food doesn't actual taste that bad but it certainly doesn't taste as good as any of the hundred thai/vietnamese restaurants scattered around the city. If i was visiting Toronto and was focused on trying good food, it's certainly not the place I'd want to try on my trip to the city. It's a bit like recommending the Olive Garden.
kololo at 5:23PM on 10/20/07
I like Lolo on Mt. Pleasant. We just happened upon it, and it was very well prepared food, moderately priced 3-course meal, with excellent service, great wine and Belgian beer selection, and charming surroundings.
flootsmith at 12:13PM on 10/21/07
Hiro Sushi is divine.
astarteny at 9:54AM on 10/24/07
I hate Spring Rolls too! Everything is overcooked and there are gobs of sauce. There are a million other Thai places that are far better.
Toronto is a fantastic place for food. I live here and trust the Now Toronto Cheap Eats Guide. Just get out of the downtown business core and go a little west on Queen or College and you'll be fine.
Also I like the reviews on Blogto.com, they have lower standards than me but they show pictures.
ayngelina at 8:53PM on 10/25/07