Bay Street towers north, St Lawrence Market and the Old Town south. Carousel Bakery's peameal bacon at 93 Front Street East, Canoe on the 54th floor of the TD Bank Tower, Bymark at 66 Wellington.
Canoe on the 54th floor of the TD Bank Tower runs a Canadian-ingredient tasting menu since 1995, the city's reference business-lunch and skyline dinner.
Signature: Canadian regional tasting, Wood-fired bison
Order: The full Canadian tasting menu with the wine pairing.
Tip: Closed weekends and statutory holidays. Lunch at 11:30 is the cheapest way into the room; full dinner runs $200+ per head.
Bymark on Wellington in the TD Towers atrium is Mark McEwan's downtown chophouse since 2002, floor-to-ceiling wine cellar and the city's reference business.
Signature: Dry-aged steak, Bymark burger
Order: The dry-aged ribeye, or the Bymark burger with truffle and brie at lunch.
Tip: Lunch service the easiest reservation. Sunday closed; Saturday dinner only. The McEwan Group runs three other rooms in town.
Don Alfonso 1890 atop the Westin Harbour Castle is the North American outpost of the Iaccarino family's Amalfi restaurant, Michelin one-star since 2022.
Canoe on the 54th floor of the TD Bank Tower runs a Canadian-ingredient tasting menu since 1995, the city's reference business-lunch and skyline dinner.
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.
Pizzeria Libretto University on University Avenue is the downtown business-lunch branch of the AVPN-certified Neapolitan chain, vegan and gluten-free pizzas.
Signature: Margherita, Vegan and gluten-free pies
Order: The Margherita or the Diavola with hot calabrese salami.
Tip: Lunch the easier walk-in. The downtown crowd thins after 14:00.
Dineen Coffee on Yonge at Temperance occupies the 1897 Dineen heritage building, the city's reference financial-district espresso bar with restored Edwardian.
Signature drink: Cappuccino
Order: A cappuccino at the marble counter with a kouign-amann.
Tip: Two entries, one on Yonge and one on Temperance. Weekday breakfast service heaviest 08:00-10:00.
Fahrenheit on Lombard is owner Vahe Tcheulian's tiny espresso counter in the financial district since 2010, a six-stool room with the Toronto-roasted Manic.
Signature drink: Macchiato, La Marzocco espresso
Order: A traditional macchiato pulled tight.
Tip: Closed weekends. The room seats six; most regulars order to go and stand on the sidewalk.
Carousel Bakery in St Lawrence Market Upper Level 42 has run the city's reference peameal bacon sandwich since 1977, the Biancolin family the operators.
Order: The peameal bacon sandwich on a kaiser, choose mustard at the counter.
Tip: Closed Mondays with the market. The kaiser is soft; the bacon stack mountains. Featured on Bourdain, Food and Wine and the NYT four times.
Worth the queue: Peameal bacon sandwich
Fahrenheit Coffee on Lombard is Vahe Tcheulian's espresso bar and roaster since 2010, La Marzocco machines and a small-batch Toronto-roasted house line.
Order: A traditional macchiato pulled tight at the counter.
Tip: Closed weekends. Six-stool room; most regulars order takeaway. The roastery is at a separate Toronto location.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Costa Rica, Brazil
How they serve: Espresso, Filter
Carousel Bakery in St Lawrence Market is the home of Toronto's signature peameal bacon sandwich, the Biancolin family-run counter since the 1970s.
Try: Peameal bacon sandwich
Order: The peameal bacon sandwich on a kaiser, mustards available at the counter.
Tip: Closed Mondays with the market. The kaiser is soft; load on the mustards before the bacon stack.
Buster's Sea Cove on St Lawrence Market's lower level has run fish and chips, lobster rolls and oyster po'boys since 1995, the market's seafood counter.
Try: Fish and chips, lobster rolls
Order: The cod fish and chips with house tartar.
Tip: Lineup runs longest 12:00-14:00 weekends. Standing room only; eat on the market benches.
Steam Whistle in the 1929 John Street Roundhouse heritage building south of CN Tower has brewed a single Czech-style pilsner since 2000, the city's reference.
Order: A pint of the pilsner on the Roundhouse patio facing CN Tower.
Tip: Tours run hourly. The Roundhouse Park location runs concerts and food trucks in summer.
St Lawrence Market on Front Street East has been Toronto's main food market since 1803, the South Building daily and the rebuilt North Building Saturday.
Order: Carousel Bakery peameal sandwich plus a wheel from Olympic Cheese.
Tip: Closed Mondays. The rebuilt North Building reopened April 2025 and hosts the Saturday farmers' market from 05:00; busy by 09:00. South Building runs daily.
Tasty Tours' Chocolate Railway tour boards a vintage train car at the Toronto Railway Museum, a curated craft-chocolate flight under a chocolate expert.
Culinary Adventure Co's St Lawrence Market tour visits Carousel Bakery peameal, Olympic Cheese, Buster's Sea Cove and the North Market Saturday farmers stalls.
Winterlicious is a city-run prix-fixe dining festival; over 240 Toronto restaurants offer three-course menus at $20-$55 lunch and $25-$75 dinner across two.
Summerlicious is the city-run summer counterpart to Winterlicious, three-course prix fixe at over 200 Toronto restaurants across the first three weeks of July.
T.O. Food and Drink Fest at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre runs over 200 food and beverage exhibitors, MasterChef demos, mixology classes and a wine.
George Brown College's Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts on King East runs the city's longest-running professional cooking program plus open-public.
Carousel Bakery in St Lawrence Market runs the city's reference peameal bacon sandwich for $9 since 1977, the Biancolin family's counter Key to the City.
Try: Peameal bacon sandwich, $9
Order: The peameal bacon sandwich on a kaiser with whatever mustards you choose.
Tip: Closed Mondays with the market. Cash and card; the line moves quickly.