Presented by National Bank of Canada, our partner in Tastet’s pan-Canadian expansion, this list brings together some of our favourite addresses for a business lunch in Toronto.
A business lunch comes with its own set of constraints. The table has to be booked, the room has to allow for an easy conversation, service has to move at the right pace, and the bill ideally lands before the next meeting. Within those limits, Toronto offers plenty of options.
Downtown Toronto, and the Financial District in particular, has welcomed a wave of new restaurants in recent years, while several of the city’s more established dining rooms continue to offer excellent weekday lunch service.
This list gathers the addresses our Toronto team turns to for client lunches, team celebrations and first meetings with new partners. Many are within a short walk of King and Bay, making it easy to step out at noon and be back at the office for the afternoon. A few sit slightly further out, for the days when a change of scenery is worth the extra few minutes.
The range is intentionally broad. You’ll find polished dining rooms, lively brasseries, Japanese grills, Greek seafood spots, modern steakhouses and more casual options for days when time is tight. What they all have in common is that they work well for a business lunch: attentive service, comfortable rooms, reliable pacing and food that feels worth leaving the office for.
A few practical tips before booking: weekday lunch service is less common than dinner service in Toronto, and hours can change, so it’s always worth confirming directly with the restaurant. For groups of more than four, reserve early, and ask about private or semi-private spaces when discretion matters. Several of the restaurants on this list can also accommodate larger corporate lunches, private rooms or full buyouts.
For something a little more casual, our guide to the best lunches in Toronto covers even more of the city’s best midday options.
Shinji
Shinji is organized around a central robata grill, with a long table-height bar that seats guests right in front of the cooks as they sear the beef. The menu moves between Japanese wagyu, graded A3 and A5 and sourced from several prefectures, Kobe beef included, and Canadian cuts, with a selection of nigiri filling out the table. The room was designed by the Toronto studio Odami. Lunch runs Monday to Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with quicker lunch-format dishes for a meal that has to fit between two meetings, and the dining room can be reserved for a large party or bought out entirely for a corporate event.
Toronto
The Frederick
On the ground floor of the historic Dineen Building, The Frederick serves the kind of comfort food that puts a table at ease: pull-apart molasses and milk buns with whipped butter, a shrimp Louie salad on an iceberg wedge, a grilled chicken and avocado club. Chef Cory Vitiello also brought back the burger he first served at The Harbord Room, a dry-aged chuck and brisket patty with Guinness onions and cheddar on brioche. Cherry millwork, booths and a view into the open kitchen give the room its warmth. Lunch starts at 11:30 a.m. on weekdays, a few blocks from King and Bay.
Toronto
estiatorio Milos Toronto
The Toronto address of the house founded in Montreal in 1979 fills a heritage building on Bay Street, where the 65-foot bar is carved from Pentelikon marble, the same stone used for the Parthenon. Fish and shellfish rest on crushed ice in a market display, sourced locally and flown in from the Greek islands, Spain and Portugal, and guests choose their catch before it goes onto the charcoal grill. The Greek salad and the Milos Special, a stack of fried zucchini and eggplant with saganaki cheese around a core of tzatziki, are made for sharing. Lunch runs Monday to Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the private dining room seats up to 30 guests.
Toronto
Richmond Station
A big round window at the front recalls a stop on the London Underground, and the room keeps a station’s rhythm, with travellers pulling luggage, regulars and fans grabbing a burger before the game crossing paths throughout the day. The kitchen practises whole-animal butchery, bringing in one cow and one pig from Ontario every week, and every wine poured by the glass comes from the province. At lunch, the Stn. Burger arrives with aged cheddar, pickled onions, beet chutney, garlic aioli and rosemary fries. Lunch runs from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Toronto
Brasserie Côte
The younger sibling of Côte de Boeuf on Ossington took over a corner of Bloor and Brunswick in the Annex. A custom zinc bar anchors the room. The menu sticks to the brasserie repertoire, with knife-cut steak tartare, garlic escargots, onglet with shallots and house fries, and a torched mackerel, while daily specials fill the board. Chocolate cake with crème anglaise and raspberry choux close the meal. Service runs straight from noon to 10 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday, and the room works on a walk-in basis, which makes it an easy call for a late lunch away from the downtown towers.
Toronto
Aloette Restaurant
On the ground floor of the heritage building that also houses Alo, Aloette brings the precision of a fine dining kitchen to a 38-seat room styled like a vintage dining car, with penny tile floors, an arched, padded ceiling, a long counter and retro booths. An old-school hip-hop playlist sets the mood. The burger, half brisket and half chuck with fried Beaufort cheese, shares the menu with an iceberg wedge salad, a tuna tartare and a lemon meringue pie that turns heads every time it crosses the room. The Spadina room serves lunch on Fridays from 11:30 a.m., and the second address, Aloette Bay, in CIBC Square, opens for lunch at the same time Monday to Friday. Its Michelin recommendation makes it a safe choice when a client expects a serious table without the formality.
Toronto
Sud Forno
Sourdough is the starting point at this multi-concept bakery from Gruppo Terroni, where bread baked in house ends up both on the tables and in bags heading home. On Yonge, the ground floor belongs to La Mensa, a bakery and cafeteria where hot and cold dishes are ready to go for those in a hurry, among cornetti, Italian pastries and pizza stirata. Lunch starts at 11:30 a.m. on weekdays. A quick bite downstairs suits an informal catch-up, while table service upstairs and private rooms, the largest seating up to 80 guests, take care of a semi-private lunch for a larger team.
Toronto
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Photography by Aloette
