Susie’s Rise & Dine: Little Italy Diner With an Asian Spin

Susie’s Rise & Dine looks like a classic diner, but it tastes like one that has traveled, with Asian flavours and technique woven into every plate, starting with the first forkful of pancakes.

Most pancakes in town settle for fluffy. These come with a little attitude: they are seared hard enough to build a deep, crisp edge, while the centre stays soft and airy underneath. Burnt honey maple syrup goes over the top and adds a smoky note to the sweetness. The rest of the menu at Susie’s Rise & Dine, on College Street in Little Italy, follows the same instinct. The tuna melt has crunchy potato chips folded in and Kewpie mayo running through the salad. Burgers sit on Chinese milk buns from a local bakery.

Someone Always Asked What You Wanted to Drink

Owner Adam Lore named the restaurant after his grandmother Susie, a woman who could not let anyone sit down without asking what they would like to eat or drink. There was always something on her table, always a new dish to try, and a welcome that came with every plate. He and his three partners wanted that energy in a dining room, paired with a fresh look at diner comfort food. The “Rise & Dine” half of the name plays on “rise and shine,” the classic morning wake-up call, while making clear the team plans to do things their own way.

In the kitchen, chef and partner Kelvin Ng arrives with a résumé that includes executive chef work for Hong Kong’s Black Sheep Restaurant Group, and time spent in kitchens in Vancouver and New York. His task was to turn a nostalgic diner idea into a working kitchen, and the menu he built draws on Asian family cooking while staying easy to approach for guests who have never met these flavours.

Everything Goes in the Middle

The menu is written for the table rather than the individual. Portions are generous, dishes are ordered together and passed around, which is how the owner grew up eating. A few plates per table, conversation between bites, and the pancakes, tuna melt and burger are the three the owner points first-timers toward.

The bun does a lot of the work on the burger. Every burger and sandwich at Susie’s sits on a Chinese milk bun, soft and slightly sweet, with enough bounce to hold a juicy patty together. The tuna melt gets its backbone from those chips, and Kewpie brings a distinctly Japanese richness that ties the filling together.

Brunch is the focus, and the lunch and dinner menu rotates through the day, with classics that change as the hours pass. Char siu breakfast sandwiches sit alongside other Asian-influenced diner riffs.

“Whatever You’re Having”

The cocktails are named after the things people say at home when they are working out what to pour you: “Anything but tequila.” “Whatever you’re having.” “Not too sweet.” It is hospitality in shorthand, and the drinks are built to sit alongside the food without competing with it.

Met at the Door, Every Time

The room runs lively, the kind where conversations carry and the energy stays up, with service that is patient and warm. The owner describes the approach simply: every guest is treated the way the team would treat someone walking into their own home, whether it is a first visit or a tenth.

Asked what he is proudest of, he skips past any single dish or accolade and points to consistency. A newcomer and a regular should both feel met, looked after and welcomed. He credits the team for that above everything else.

Written by Marie-Ève Godin
Photography by Susie's Rise & Dine

Updated on October 06, 2026

Make a suggestion