Restaurants Open on Mondays in Toronto
On Mondays, many Toronto restaurants let their teams rest. It is the day off for plenty of spots that run at full tilt the rest of the week, and looking for a restaurant open on Monday in Toronto can quickly turn into a string of closed doors. Yet very good tables stay open early in the week, and some make it a real occasion.
This list brings together Toronto spots where you can truly eat well on a Monday. The occasions are many: a dinner after a day of work, a catch-up when the weekend schedule was too packed, a client or visitor to host, or simply the wish not to cook. The selection follows those cravings, from the burger counter to the steak table, from the standing tapas bar to the neighbourhood Polish kitchen, by way of pizza and cocktails.
The selection follows those cravings, from the burger counter to the steak table, from the standing tapas bar to the neighbourhood Polish kitchen, by way of pizza, cocktails and Galician cuisine cooked over a wood fire. Some spots serve from noon, which helps if you need a lunch on a Monday, while others open only for dinner. They are spread across Little Italy, Queen West, Yorkville, Kensington Market, Liberty Village, Roncesvalles and downtown, so there is usually something close to wherever your week begins.
To answer the question “where to eat on Monday in Toronto?”, we picked spots that have all been the subject of an article on Tastet. Some serve from noon, others only in the evening, and hours can shift with the seasons and holidays. For a tasting-menu room, a wine bar or a neighbourhood spot, it is best to check the hours before heading out, especially if you are looking for the best restaurants open on Monday in Toronto for a specific occasion. Booking when you can is still a good idea.
Here are our favourite addresses to start the week well, whether you want a restaurant open on Monday in Toronto for a quick meal, an evening with friends or a more polished dinner. And if you need recommendations for Restaurants Open on Sundays in Toronto, here’s our list!
Mimi Chinese
Mimi Chinese, in Yorkville, serves regional Chinese cuisine with a strong Cantonese base, reflecting the traditions its chefs grew up with. David Schwartz and Brandon Marek, of Big Hug Hospitality, are the co-owners, with executive chef Braden Chong, a third-generation Canadian-Cantonese, and Yi Yang, chef de cuisine raised in Guangdong Province. The menu includes smashed cucumber, shrimp toast, stir-fried rice rolls, house-made tatsu and a new charcoal grill programme with Canadian beef and Chinese condiments. The wines are taken seriously and the cocktail list evolves with the cuisine. The renovated room by Jack Lipson (Ipso Studio), brighter and softer, welcomes an early dinner as well as a late service.
Toronto
Casa Rubia
Casa Rubia takes its name from the Rubia Gallega, a blonde cattle breed from Galicia, and its mezzanine room of about 50 seats is decorated with a blonde mermaid. It occupies the former Martine’s Wine Bar space, right next to Bar Raval, and offers cuisine from northern Spain cooked mainly in a wood-fired oven. You can have Galician bone-in beef ribs, a whole roasted turbot, langoustine, a fideo with clams or a wood-fired suckling pig. Lexi Wolkowski, wine director, signs an Iberian and Atlantic list, with vermouths, sherries, aperitifs and digestifs, and cocktails that respect the classics. Among exposed brick, leather and candles, Monday dinner, from 5 p.m., has an air of old European charm.
Toronto
Cafe Polonez
Roncesvalles was long the heart of Toronto’s Polish community, and Café Polonez is one of the few Polish spots in the area to have held on. Irena Zychla, who had first worked in an existing Polish café, founded it with her husband, and three generations of the family have followed. Regulars, some of them loyal for thirty years, come with their children for the soups of the day (and those of Christmas and Easter), the fresh pierogi and the Hungarian-style potato pancake with goulash, the most ordered dish. There is no design built for photos: here, people are seated, fed well and left to stay a long time. On Mondays, the kitchen opens at 11 a.m., handy for a midday meal as well as a hearty dinner.
Toronto
Bar Allegro
Bar Allegro occupies the former Vinoteca Pompette space, turned into an aperitivo bar after a few weeks of renovation. Jonathan Bauer-Monneret, named Best Sommelier of France, put together a list of about 100 bottles, four to five wines by the glass, Guinness on tap and cocktails like the Bergamot Fizz or the passion fruit and Calabrian chili spritz. Three variations on the negroni and three on the martini make the menu easy to explore. At the table, the mussels with ‘nduja, the deviled eggs and the passion fruit and jalapeño tuna carpaccio are all good for sharing, from local suppliers. It is a Monday to enjoy as an aperitivo, in a relaxed room its founders designed themselves.
Toronto
Danny's Pizza Tavern
On the edge of Little Italy, Danny’s Pizza Tavern was built to evoke the neighbourhood tavern of the American Midwest. The walls hold family photos and art pieces from the childhood homes of the owners, who wanted the room to feel lived in from the start. The Chicago-style tavern pizza, thin, crisp at the edges and cut into squares, comes with clams, with pepperoni or in other combinations, and the menu also lists vinegar chicken, a burger and a steak. The Aperol spritz arrives in a fishbowl glass and the martini is very dirty, with spicy olives. The room starts the evening with families and soft jazz and ends it as a busy bar, so a Monday dinner from 5 p.m. can go either way.
Toronto
Sunnys Chinese
In the heart of Kensington Market, Sunny’s Chinese grills Chinese cuisine over charcoal in the spirit of Hong Kong’s cha chaan tengs. The charcoal-roasted cut, the seasonal vegetables and the husband-and-wife beef meet the silver needle noodles, then a Hong Kong toast and a seasonal soft serve close the meal. Guests can also opt for the Chef’s Choice menu, where the team chooses for the table. The three-shot ritual of the Gunpowder Slap, which mixes beer, baijiu and a cocktail, adds to the festive side of the room. On Mondays, dinner is served from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., in an electric atmosphere.
Toronto
Burger Drops
The first customers of Burger Drops were chefs, bartenders and servers from Toronto’s big kitchens, who came to eat Greg Bourolias’s burgers before word reached the general public. After twenty years in the industry, including a stint as executive sous-chef at Aloette, he built a short menu around the Oklahoma-style smash burger. The original cheeseburger comes with American cheese, house pickles, grilled onions and Drop Sauce, on a grilled potato roll from a local bakery. The meat, a blend of chuck and Canadian AAA beef cuts, is ground every day. The Liberty Village spot serves from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, including Monday, and the team is already considering opening elsewhere in the country.
Toronto
Bar Eugenie
In Harbord Village, Bar Eugenie occupies the former home of the Harbord Room and then Piccolo Piano, and the small wood-and-leather room is designed for late evenings. Founder Ronnie Fishman, chef Rebekah Bruce and bartender Lee Bonds, all Alo alumni, recruited a team first for its personality, with women playing a central role. The short menu changes with the chef’s inspiration, with dishes to share that you order generously, and the wood-burning oven inherited from the previous tenant shaped the menu. Cocktails and cuisine answer each other, as in the Sadatay, a spicy passion fruit margarita. On Monday evenings, it is a good table to book through Resy, in an atmosphere reminiscent of a home.
Toronto
Bar Isabel
At Bar Isabel, consistency is part of the appeal: the general manager has been there since 2015 and the sommelier for about ten years. The founder of Bar Raval imagined the place after Barcelona’s Bar Marsella, with frank tapas like grilled octopus, sobrasada and foie gras, bone marrow, pinchos and Basque cheesecake. Chef Megan Gnurlandino leads the kitchen, and the wine list gives pride of place to Iberian grapes and low-intervention bottles. The ornate wooden façade announces a 60-seat room with mosaic tiles and curved arches. On Monday evenings, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., booking is strongly recommended.
Toronto
Linny’s
Linny’s, on Ossington, reinvents the Jewish deli as a steakhouse with a house-made approach: 12-hour smoked pastrami, house-aged and smoked fish, fresh pasta, hand-rolled knishes. Co-chef Ethan Rogers works with farmers and farms across Canada, and the menu offers less expected cuts like roast lamb neck. The name pays tribute to the owner’s late mother. The mid-century modern setting was designed to feel timeless. On Mondays, dinner is served from 5 p.m., a few steps from the neighbouring counter, which is closed that day.
Toronto
Pizzeria Badiali
Pizzeria Badiali bets on simplicity: a small room with a wood counter at the window, an open kitchen, exposed brick and stained-glass panels. The Margherita with fior di latte and basil, the Pepperoni and the Cacio e Pepe, topped with pecorino sauce and black pepper, form the trio you order. The Dovercourt space came free just as the partners were looking for a spot, and they judged it right away to be ideal for a neighbourhood pizza corner. Chef Ryan Baddeley applies the experience gained at restaurants like Nota Bene, Bar Isabel and Bar Raval, and the result appears on the Best Chef Pizza world ranking. On Mondays, it is a quick and very satisfying solution, a stone’s throw from Trinity Bellwoods Park.
Toronto
Contrada
A former College Street gastropub, Contrada was transformed in six weeks into a wood-and-leather room, its mid-century furniture made mostly in southern Ontario in the 1970s. Co-founder Patrick Groves started working at 13, then went through places like Bent, Aloette, Brothers Food and Wine and Giulietta before running this Little Italy room. Founding chef Michael Vieira, for his part, trained with Susur Lee and at Au Pied de Cochon in Montréal. You eat house-made pasta, seasonal vegetables and seafood, in a modern Italian cuisine where Latin American, French and Asian influences can be felt. The bar, run by Kevin Nitcheu, pours “aperitiki” cocktails and neoclassical wines, for a start to the week that feels like a party.
Toronto
Bar Raval
Bar Raval takes its spirit from Barcelona’s Raval neighbourhood: you mostly eat standing, with small plates to share, in a heritage building with sculptural woodwork designed by the firm Partisans. Hailey Burke, managing partner, handles operations, drinks and wine, while her partner Grant van Gameren, also tied to Bar Isabel, Quetzal and El Rey, oversees the culinary direction, with executive chef Zach Smith. Croquettes, shrimp and anchovies are house classics, joined by salchichón pinchos, a tuna tartare, fried squid or a truffle Bocdan cheese. Low-intervention Spanish wines mingle with Ontario producers such as Pearl Morissette and Rosewood. On Mondays, the doors open at 1 p.m. and stay open until 1 a.m., which suits a late lunch as well as a late-night drink.
Toronto
Barberian's Steak House
Toronto chefs know the way to Barberian’s Steak House on Monday nights, according to the article we devoted to it. The Elm Street address comes from Harry Barberian, who got into the restaurant business because of his older brother’s gambling debt, after a few years at the Baron Steakhouse. You will find the hardwood charcoal grill, a straightforward rib steak, house-made ice creams and an apple fritter served since the early days. One server has worked there for 42 years and several colleagues are approaching 40 years with the house, an uncommon stability for a team. In 1964, after Elizabeth Taylor’s visit, an admirer even walked off with the ladies’ room toilet seat.
Toronto
Richmond Station
Richmond Station is a downtown spot that welcomes every moment, from a burger with a beer to a multi-course tasting menu. The meats come from whole animals from Ontario farms, worked into house-made salamis and charcuterie, and the vegetables follow the seasons. Head bartender Atharva Bhilare makes cocktails inspired by Indian heritage, and all wines by the glass are Ontarian. The no-tipping service, with stable salaries and benefits, has kept several employees for six to nine years. On Mondays, the dining room serves both lunch and dinner, an asset for a business lunch as well as a quiet supper.
Toronto
