Chef Taro Akiyama’s shop more closely mirrors the reserved fish markets of Osaka than the frantic ones of Tokyo. Offering serenity while you shop, Taro’s sells Japanese groceries to make your own sashimi, maki, uramaki, and nigiri at home.
Offers ready-to-eat meals each week; customizable meal plans; free delivery; no prep or cooking needed
Outfitted with enough fake trees and string lights to make you feel like you’re in an adorable courtyard, Bar Poet takes the cake as our favourite cheap date spot.
Whether you forgot to make your lunch, didn’t have time or just hate doing it altogether, these are some places you can head for lunch that are both yummy and easy on the wallet.
Starbucks: You get one free beverage or food item if you’re a Starbucks Rewards member. You’ll need to have been signed up at least seven days before your birthday and made a star-earning purchase within the last year.
Start with perfectly portioned farm fresh ingredients and recipes everyone will love, delivered to your door.
Copy Link For nearly 20 years, this Iranian restaurant has been a humble darling of Queen Street West. Co-owned by executive chef Amir Mohyeddin and his sisters, Salome and Samira, Banu — a term of endearment for their mother, loosely translated to “lady” or “dame” — offers a considerate take on the home cooking of Tehran. The food speaks volumes about the power of slow cookery. Roasted eggplant emerges creamy, a touch pungent, and nutty thanks to several stages of peeling, frying, and low-and-slow cooking to extract every ounce of flavor.
Owner Dawn Chapman’s farm-forward philosophy stems from her childhood experiences growing up on her grandparents’ farm in Midhurst, Ontario. Her beloved brunch spot (with a newly minted dinner menu) has become a community pillar in here the city’s east end of Leslieville (and beyond). People clamor for the legendary high-rise biscuit sandwiches, the stuff of down-home country dreams. These fluffy cushions embrace decadent fillings such as fried chicken with honey butter and jalapeno cheese, Mennonite smoked bacon cradling a runny egg and melty aged cheddar, or eggs with portobello mushrooms and vegan cheddar.
Church Wellesley A variety of around a dozen veggie rotis at Indian Roti House go for around $10, including favourites like saag paneer.
Copy Link Rachel Adjei is a Ghanaian Canadian chef and food justice advocate who celebrates much of the underrepresented African diaspora in Toronto. She founded the Abibiman Project to support Black food sovereignty initiatives via a range of pantry products, pop-up dinners, and catering — all in the hopes of challenging people’s perceptions of African foods and the narratives surrounding them. At her staple pop-up location at the Grapefruit Moon in the Annex, her ever-evolving dinner menus offer deep-dives into specific African regions, which Adjei contextualizes with information about the corresponding culture.
Dundas West A host of great cheap options can be found at Market 707, a series of shipping containers converted into stalls selling poutine, meat pies, and grilled cheese.
From the trendiest spots to the coziest diners, including hidden gems on Dundas West, we’ve compiled a list that combines fancy restaurants with mid-range options.
Copy Link Gandhi Roti in Toronto's Queen West neighborhood offers some of the spiciest, cheapest, most filling meals in the city. Here roti are tossed on the flat-top before being filled with various ingredients, from butter chicken to vegetable korma or West Indian curries.
How much does the average restaurant meal cost in Toronto? The cost of a restaurant meal in Toronto varies widely based on factors such as location, type of cuisine, and quality of ingredients.