The Best Lunches in Toronto: Where to Find Them
The best lunches in Toronto — where to find them? Toronto is a city that eats well, and often it’s at lunchtime that it reveals itself at its finest. Far from sandwiches eaten in front of a screen, Toronto’s culinary scene offers a wealth of spots where you sit down, take your time, and eat really well. From the hushed dining rooms of the great downtown steakhouses to the grilled chicken counters with lineups out the door, and the relaxed, creative tables of Ossington Avenue, there’s something for every taste and every occasion.
Looking for a business lunch in an elegant setting? Toronto is home to some of the best steakhouse addresses in Canada, with dining rooms that know how to receive guests at noon just as well as in the evening. Impeccably prepared cuts of beef, carefully selected wines by the glass, attentive service — all in spaces designed for a genuine break, far from the urban hustle. Whether you’re closing a deal or simply treating yourself to something exceptional, these are rooms worth dressing up for.
Prefer something more laid-back, but without sacrificing quality? Toronto’s west end neighbourhoods — Ossington, Dundas West, Roncesvalles, Little Portugal — are packed with lunch restaurants that combine generous cooking and neighbourhood atmosphere. These are tables where every dish is thoughtfully prepared, local produce is front and centre, and you find yourself coming back week after week. The kind of places where the server already knows your order by your third visit.
This list of the best lunches in Toronto features places where you sit down, where the cooking delivers, and where every midday meal becomes a real moment to savour something delicious. Tested, curated and spread across the city — from Liberty Village to Chinatown, from Little Italy to the Annex — these are the addresses that make Toronto one of the most exciting cities in North America to eat lunch in. Whether you’re a local, visiting the city, or simply looking for your next favourite spot, you’ll find here everything you need to explore Toronto one forkful at a time.
Bar Raval
Bar Raval is a Spanish tapas bar tucked into Toronto’s Little Italy neighbourhood, founded by celebrated restaurateur Grant Van Gameren. At lunchtime, you settle in, standing, leaning against the bar, or on the patio in season — to graze on conservas, pintxos and boquerones laid over stracciatella and other delights that take you somewhere else entirely. The spectacular interior is entirely clad in South African mahogany carved in a Spanish Art Nouveau style, making every meal as much a visual experience as a gustatory one. No reservations, open from 1pm daily. The cocktails, while not strictly necessary at lunch, are exceptional too.
Toronto
Manita
This unpretentious little corner restaurant on Ossington serves very good food. The word manita evokes both the manual skill of its cooks and the warmth of a neighbourhood spot you come back to every week. The menu, freely inspired by the Mediterranean, moves between croque madame, burgers, salads and tahini falafel, all served in a room with marble tables and rattan chairs that invite you to linger. You come here to enjoy a very good meal in a relaxed atmosphere. No reservations.
Toronto
Côte de Bœuf
Inspired by the neighbourhoods of Paris, Côte de Bœuf is Ossington Street’s bistro-wine bar and artisan butcher shop. At noon, you settle in for an impeccable steak-frites, a hand-cut tartare or escargots, paired with a glass of Burgundy or Languedoc. The beef is locally sourced and butchered the old-fashioned way, by hand saw, by artisan butchers, and you can taste it in every plate. Walk-ins only. One of the best carnivore lunches in Toronto.
Toronto
Brasserie Côte
A newcomer to The Annex, Brasserie Côte is a French bistro offering classic cuisine, a carefully curated wine list and a warm brasserie atmosphere for a relaxed neighbourhood meal. Open Wednesday through Saturday from noon, walk-ins only. A new favourite for a French-style lunch in a neighbourhood that needed one.
Toronto
Som Tum Jinda Gerrard St.
Somtum Jinda serves authentic Isaan cuisine in Toronto: som tum (green papaya salad), larb, grilled meats and much more. This is the food of northeastern Thailand in all its directness: spicy, bold, uncompromising. A lunch that wakes you up and stays with you. One of the best Thai tables in the city for those seeking genuinely authentic Thai cuisine at midday.
Toronto
Sud Forno Queen
Sud Forno was born from a passion for bread: fascinated by the art of baking, Cosimo Mammoliti brought a master baker from Italy to develop artisan sourdough loaves served at the table and available to take home. Today it’s a fully Italian way of life: morning cappuccino, warm bread, a midday meal to go or savoured at the long communal table, and a glass of wine in the late afternoon, a lunch that feels like Italy in the middle of a very business-oriented neighbourhood.
Toronto
Sugo
Sugo is a full-service restaurant serving authentic Italian-American cuisine in Bloordale Village, near Bloor and Lansdowne. Generous pasta, decadent sandwiches, unapologetic neighbourhood vibe: it’s the kind of place you keep coming back to, a true Italian comfort food restaurant with personality and hearty plates. Open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:30am, no reservations.
Toronto
Famiglia Baldassarre
Famiglia Baldassarre produces and supplies some of the finest handmade fresh pasta in the city: they’re also the ones supplying Toronto’s best restaurants. Since 2017, they’ve opened their doors to the public on Geary Avenue: a retail shop, a wholesale operation, and a few days a week, a dining room inside the factory itself. The lunch counter is rustic and seats are limited, but you can stop in Tuesday through Friday from noon to 2pm. If it’s too busy, takeout is always an option. The pasta of the day, eaten on the spot, is among the best in the country.
Toronto
Rol San Restaurant
Since 1994, the Li family has been serving authentic Cantonese dim sum in Toronto’s Chinatown, with one rare distinction: dim sum is available all day and well into the night. The clear plastic tablecloths haven’t moved, and the weekend lineups continue to snake along Spadina, proof that some institutions don’t need to reinvent themselves. For a dim sum lunch in Toronto, Rol San remains an essential reference.
Toronto
Mozy's
Mozy’s Charcoal is a Toronto chicken counter with a fine-dining pedigree: its founder Barbode Soudi, former chef de cuisine at Alo, brings years of high-end experience to a deliberately accessible concept. Every morning, charcoal chimneys are lit to cook spatchcocked chickens marinated for three days, served alongside smoked labneh, chicken salt fries and house-made sauces inspired by multiple culinary traditions. Open Wednesday through Saturday in Liberty Village. One of the most exciting new counters in Toronto in 2026.
Toronto
Burger Drops
Burger Drops is a small family-run counter serving some of the best smash burgers in the city, made with fresh-ground AAA beef, daily, alongside curly fries, crispy onion rings and house-made sauces. Small space, big reputation: this is the address that brings Toronto burger lovers to unanimous agreement. Open daily from 11:30am on Atlantic Avenue. The burgers are simply incredible. Worth noting: Burger Drops is right next door to Mozy’s, making the area a destination in its own right for lunch in Liberty Village.
Toronto
White Lily Diner
White Lily Diner is a Riverdale neighbourhood restaurant known for its all-day diner dishes and daily rotating doughnut flavours. Vibrant green salads, sandwiches on house-made bread, a remarkably light hash brown: lunch here is an ode to getting the details right. The restaurant holds a Michelin Green Star and a Bib Gourmand, awards recognising a menu built around organic ingredients grown at White Lily Farm in Ontario. An address that reconciles comfort food with environmental conscience.
Toronto
Barberian’s
Barberian’s has been serving legendary charcoal-grilled steaks and great wines since 1959, making it one of Toronto’s oldest and most respected steakhouses. Lunch, served Wednesday through Friday from noon to 2:30pm, is a rare chance to experience the full treatment at midday: a classic dining room, impeccable service, and flawless cuts of beef. Rooted in Canadian history, the restaurant offers a timeless dining experience surrounded by art and tradition. For one of the most prestigious business lunches in Toronto, Barberian’s remains the absolute reference.
Toronto
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