What's the food culture in Toronto?

Toronto's food culture is immigration made edible. The 2021 census counted residents from over 200 countries, and they brought their kitchens. You eat Hakka Chinese in Scarborough strip malls, Somali in Etobicoke, Tibetan momos on Parkdale's Queen Street West, and Jamaican oxtail on Eglinton Avenue West near Oakwood. Downtown between Union Station and Bloor has good restaurants. But the best eating happens in the inner suburbs, on TTC bus routes most visitors never ride. A 40-minute subway-and-bus trip to a Scarborough plaza will cost you $3.35 CAD and change how you think about this city. That said, nobody should skip St. Lawrence Market, which has operated on Front Street since 1803. The peameal bacon sandwich at Carousel Bakery runs about $9 CAD. Cornmeal-crusted Ontario back bacon on a kaiser roll, mustard optional. Get there before 10am on a Saturday or expect a 20-minute line.

Kensington Market sits west of Spadina Avenue between Dundas and College, and Toronto's food cultures pile on top of each other there. Portuguese chicken from the churrasqueiras on Augusta Avenue sits across the lane from Mexican grocers and Caribbean roti shops. The cheese shops on Baldwin Street still slice by hand. On Sundays from May to October, the streets close to cars and the whole neighbourhood smells like jerk smoke and pupusas on the grill. It can feel slightly chaotic. Worth it. Walk south to Chinatown on Spadina and eat dim sum at Rol San, where carts still roll between tables on weekends. Har gow runs about $6 CAD for a steamer. Mother's Dumplings on Huron Street does boiled pork-and-chive dumplings, 20 for $14 CAD, and the wrappers have that thick, slightly chewy texture that tells you they were folded that morning. Mind you, Spadina Chinatown has been shrinking as the Chinese population moves north to Markham and Richmond Hill, where the food is likely better now and the parking is free.

The Danforth, east of the Don Valley along Danforth Avenue, has been Toronto's Greek neighbourhood since the 1960s. Souvlaki plates at the 20-plus Greek restaurants between Chester and Pape stations run $18-22 CAD, and the tzatziki has enough raw garlic to keep you honest for the rest of the evening. The Taste of the Danforth festival, typically held each August, has drawn as many as 1.5 million visitors over its 3-day run. Head further east past Pape station and the strip turns South Asian and East African. Little India on Gerrard Street East between Greenwood and Coxwell still has sweet counters selling jalebi for $8 CAD a box, though the neighbourhood is smaller than it was 15 years ago. For the best Caribbean food in Canada, take Line 1 north to Eglinton West. The stretch between Dufferin and Oakwood is sometimes called Little Jamaica. Patty shops sell beef patties for $3-4 CAD. Randy's Take Out near Oakwood serves goat roti that falls apart when you look at it, $14 CAD, wrapped in a dhalpuri skin the size of a dinner plate.

Most visitors never leave downtown, which means they miss Scarborough and the northeastern suburbs entirely. The Chinese, Tamil, Afghan, and Filipino communities there cook at a level the King West restaurant scene still chases. Pacific Mall on Steeles Avenue East in Markham has a food court where pan-fried soup dumplings go for $6 CAD for 4, with bottoms crispy enough to crack when you pick them up. Kennedy Road in Scarborough south of Ellesmere is lined with Sri Lankan and South Indian restaurants where a thali costs $12-15 CAD. Toronto's late-night eating runs strong too. Banh Mi Boys on Queen Street West does Korean-Vietnamese fusion sandwiches for $10 CAD, and the kimchi fries arrive sticky, sweet, and a little funky. After midnight on a Saturday, the Bloor-Yonge intersection smells like shawarma grease and fried chicken from 4 or 5 shops that stay open until 3-4am, plates running $8-12 CAD.