Toronto Food Restaurants: 7 Dishes to Try First

Toronto food is easier to plan than it looks. You do not need a long list of restaurants. You need a few dishes, the places that make them well, and a rough idea of the cost. This guide gives you all three, and it says plainly where no official page has the answer.

1. Peameal bacon sandwich at St. Lawrence Market: the one to eat first

The peameal bacon sandwich is Toronto's best-known dish, and Carousel Bakery at St. Lawrence Market is the place most sources name for it. Destination Toronto describes peameal bacon as a wet-cured pork loin rolled in cornmeal, with a juicy, slightly sweet flavour. The bakery's stall is on the Upper Level, unit 42, and its own vendor page says it has operated for more than 50 years. The same page says then-Mayor John Tory named the sandwich Toronto's Signature Sandwich in 2016, which is the vendor's claim.

The market has set days and hours, and that is the main thing to plan around. The South Market is open Tuesday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday is a closed day. On Saturday, the farmers market runs from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the North Market. Our page on the north st lawrence market has the market in more detail, including what else to see. For Indian food rather than peameal, go to Little India on Gerrard Street, covered in section 3.

The official pages give no queue times for the bakery, so plan to wait. Eat your sandwich first and shop for the rest of the market afterward.

Pro Tip Go to Carousel Bakery on the Upper Level, unit 42, before you shop. The South Market is closed on Monday, so a Monday visit finds the stall shut.

2. Butter tarts: Canada's classic dessert, from any Toronto bakery

A butter tart is a small pastry with a sweet, gooey filling, and Toronto bakeries sell them in many forms. Destination Toronto calls it the quintessential Canadian dessert, found at many Toronto bakeries. The same article names Circles & Squares at Yonge and Davisville, which it says won the title of top butter tart in Ontario in 2023. The article also lists a butter tart cake at Gerrard Street Bakery and gooey tarts at Ba Noi in Koreatown.

You do not need to plan a trip for a butter tart. Pick one up when you pass a bakery, and treat it as a snack between meals. Prices are not published on the pages above, so check the bakery's counter.

Key Takeaway Two items cover most of what Toronto is known for in food: a peameal bacon sandwich at Carousel Bakery and a butter tart from a bakery such as Circles & Squares.

3. Kensington Market: food from many cultures on narrow streets

Kensington Market is the easiest place to taste food from many parts of the world in a short walk. Destination Toronto describes it as a multicultural mix of supermarkets, street food, hole-in-the-wall boutiques and vintage clothing stores. Parks Canada says its narrow streets are lined with small stores that sell food, spices and clothing from around the world. The area is a National Historic Site of Canada and covers about 27 hectares west of Spadina Avenue.

Try Pow Wow Cafe for tacos on Ojibwa-style fry bread and Fika Café for coffee and baked goods, both named by Destination Toronto. The same page lists food stands on Pedestrian Sundays, which it says happen on the last Sunday of the month from May through October. The 2026 season has ended, and 2027 dates were not published when this guide was written. The area is also a good fit for a food walk: Kensington Market's first food tour, run by Tasty Tours, is listed from €70 per person for about 2.5 hours, with all food included. The listing has 11 reviews and a 4.9 rating, so the sample is small. The tour meets at 30 St Andrew St, and the listing does not give a group size. Our guide to Kensington Market covers the area beyond food.

Kensington Market is not the only area for food from immigrant communities. Destination Toronto says nearly 47% of Toronto's people are immigrants, and 56% of those are from Asia. Its Asian heritage guide names downtown Chinatown on Spadina Avenue between College and Dundas. East Chinatown on Gerrard Street is known for barbecue, bakeries and bubble tea. Little India, further east on Gerrard, has chaat houses that serve Indian street food, plus Lahore Tikka House. Koreatown on Bloor Street West has Korean Village for bulgogi and galbi.

4. The Distillery District: a Caesar and a stroll on cobblestones

The Distillery District is a 13-acre walking district of old brick buildings, shops, galleries, restaurants and cafes. Its own site says it is open 364 days a year, Monday to Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Individual shops and restaurants set their own hours, so check a venue before you plan a meal there.

Pure Spirits Distillery in the district serves a Caesar with fresh horseradish, according to Destination Toronto. The Caesar is a Canadian cocktail, and Destination Toronto says it was invented in 1969 in Calgary. The district's streets are cobblestone, and the site says they are uneven in places, so wear flat shoes. Paid parking is available at the Green P lots on Distillery Lane and at 70 Distillery Lane.

5. Indigenous-inspired dishes: bannock and the 360 Restaurant menu

Indigenous-inspired cooking is a real part of the Toronto food scene, and two places stand out in Destination Toronto's list. Tea N Bannock, on Gerrard East, serves bannock three ways, plus elk, bison, salmon and wild rice dishes. The 360 Restaurant at the CN Tower has an Indigenous Menu, and the restaurant's page says it highlights regional Canadian foods.

The 360 Restaurant is a sit-down meal with a view. Its page says guests must spend at least CA$75 on food per person, or CA$40 for children aged 4 to 12. A meal there also includes access to the Main and Lower Observation Levels after your meal, so you do not buy a separate admission ticket. Our CN Tower guide has the tower's tickets and hours. The restaurant's page does not explain how to reserve, so check it directly before you go.

6. Food tours: taste several dishes in one walk

A food tour is worth it if you want several tastes in one walk and have only an afternoon. Do it on your own if you want just the peameal sandwich and a butter tart. Those need no booking, and the official pages publish no price for either. A tour starts at €43 per person and adds a guide, more stops and one price. Our wine tasting tours toronto page covers the guided tasting options in more detail.

The Best Travel Destinations' count of GetYourGuide listings for Toronto in October 2026 found 13 food tours, from €43.56 to €144.55 per person. Three of them fit the dishes in this guide, and a fourth, in Kensington Market, is listed above:

• The St. Lawrence and Distillery food tour with 6 tastings is listed from €77 per person for about 3 hours. The listing says it includes the peameal bacon sandwich, poutine, a butter tart and a Nanaimo bar, and it is run by Secret Food Tours. It starts at 27 Front St E. The guide's gratuity and hotel pick-up are not included. Guests rate it 4.7 from 268 reviews. The listing says it is not suitable for wheelchair users.
• The Food, History and St. Lawrence Market walking tour is listed from €43 per person for about 3 hours, run by Intrepid Urban Adventures - Canada. The group is limited to 12 guests. The walk starts at the Hockey Hall of Fame and includes a half peameal bacon sandwich or a vegetarian option. Tips and extra food are not included. Guests rate it 4.7 from 99 reviews.
• The Culinary Adventure Co. food walking tour is listed from €81 per person for 2.5 to 3 hours with 15 or more tastings. Small groups are available, and the meeting point depends on the option you choose. Personal purchases and extra food are not included, and the listing names Roncesvalles, Chinatown, Little India and St. Lawrence Market as areas. Guests rate it 4.9 from 13 reviews, so the sample is small.

All four listings state free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead for a full refund. Each walk is run by the operator named above, and the listings come from GetYourGuide. The Kensington Market and Culinary Adventure Co. listings have only 11 and 13 reviews, so treat their 4.9 ratings as early signs.

Food tours are the wrong choice for some visitors. The Intrepid listing says it is not suitable for vegans or for people with gluten, lactose or nut allergies, and the Culinary Adventure Co. listing says vegan, gluten-free, halal and kosher diets cannot be accommodated. If you eat that way, choose a restaurant meal instead.

7. Neighbourhood restaurants away from downtown

Restaurants outside the tourist core are where you eat if you want a quieter meal. No official source ranks them, but Destination Toronto names several by neighbourhood. They include Avling in Leslieville for buttermilk pancakes, Mildred's in Liberty Village, Barque Smokehouse in Roncesvalles Village for smoked duck tacos, House on Parliament in Cabbagetown, and Azura on the Danforth. Use the restaurant's own page to check hours and the menu, since that article lists no prices.

Our getting around Toronto guide shows how the subway, streetcar and buses reach most of these areas. If you also need a hotel base, see where to stay in Toronto.

How to choose Toronto food and restaurants

The best pick depends on what you want to eat, how much time you have and what you want to spend. This table sorts the seven options by those three things.

A mid-range sit-down meal in Toronto cost $30 to $70 per person (in Canadian dollars) in the 2026 Toronto Travel Cost Study, from published prices read in October 2026. Destination Toronto says a 15 to 20% tip on the pre-tax bill is standard when you dine out, and some restaurants add a gratuity automatically for large groups. HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) of 13% applies to most purchases in Ontario.

A market tells you more about a city's food than any ranked list of restaurants.

If you plan an evening out after dinner, see the Toronto at night guide.