Centre Street Deli is a jewish deli restaurant in Yorkville, Toronto.
Centre Street Deli on Bay Street is the 2024 downtown outpost of the Thornhill original since 1988, Montreal-style smoked meat hand-sliced over light rye.
Must order: The classic smoked meat sandwich on rye with mustard and a pickle.
Tip: Order the lean-and-medium mix; pure lean dries out fast. The Thornhill original is at 1136 Centre Street.
Address: 995 Bay Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3C4
United Bakers at Lawrence Plaza is the city's reference kosher-style dairy restaurant since 1912, no-meat menu with blintzes, smoked fish and split-pea soup.
Try: Kosher-style dairy: blintzes, split-pea soup, smoked fish
Order: The split pea soup with a potato latke and applesauce.
Tip: Kosher-style, not certified kosher. Closed Saturday and most Jewish holidays. The Ladovsky family has run it since 1912.
United Bakers at Lawrence Plaza is the city's reference kosher-style dairy restaurant since 1912, no-meat menu with blintzes, smoked fish and split-pea soup.
Try: Kosher-style dairy: blintzes, split-pea soup, smoked fish
Order: The split pea soup with a potato latke and applesauce.
Tip: Kosher-style, not certified kosher. Closed Saturday and most Jewish holidays. The Ladovsky family has run it since 1912.
Pai on Duncan is chef Nuit Regular's northern Thai kitchen since 2014, the khao soi from Chiang Mai that set Toronto's modern Thai standard.
Signature: Khao soi, Pad see ew
Order: The khao soi, northern Thai egg noodles in coconut curry with crispy noodles on top.
Tip: No reservations; expect 45 minutes at 19:00. Lunch 11:30 and 14:30 the easier window; uptown sister at 2335 Yonge.
Khao San Road on Charlotte Street has run Bangkok-style street food downtown since 2011, the boat noodles and crispy pad see ew the city standard.
Signature: Boat noodles, Pad see ew
Order: The boat noodles with beef and the pad see ew with extra char.
Tip: Reservations the only way in for dinner; lunch walks in. Closed Sunday lunch.
Mother's Dumplings on Spadina has run northern Chinese comfort food in Chinatown since 2005, Shenyang-born Zhen Feng pressing dumplings by hand.
Signature: Pork and chive dumplings, Green onion pancake
Order: The pan-fried pork and chive dumplings and a green onion pancake.
Tip: Walk-in only; frozen dumpling fridge by the door for takeaway. Cash and card accepted, but cash moves the line faster.
Rol San on Spadina has run Cantonese dim sum since 1994, founded by Paul and Paulie Li, reopened at 388 Spadina in 2024 after redevelopment.
Signature: Dim sum, BBQ pork rice
Order: The har gow, siu mai and BBQ pork buns from the order-sheet menu.
Tip: No carts; tick boxes on the paper menu. Late-night kitchen until 02:00 weeknights and 05:00 weekends serves the city's late-shift staff.
Pearl Harbourfront on Queens Quay runs Cantonese dim sum overlooking Lake Ontario from the Queen's Quay Terminal, the city's waterfront dim sum room.
Signature: Dim sum, Peking duck
Order: The shrimp dumplings, BBQ pork buns and a half Peking duck.
Tip: Lunch dim sum runs 11:00-16:00; the window tables fill first. Tower views and the wharf below justify the slight premium over Spadina.
