A Guide to the Danforth’s Most Essential Greek Institutions
Toronto’s Greektown didn’t earn its reputation overnight, and along the Danforth strip that’s hosted Taste of the Danforth for decades, a handful of restaurants have been quietly doing the real work — feeding the same families for generations, well before the festival turned the neighbourhood into a citywide draw. Here are five of the strip’s longest-running institutions, the kind of places worth building an actual Greektown crawl around.
Athens Restaurant — 707 Danforth Avenue
Open since 1977, Athens Restaurant leans into seasonal, local ingredients wherever possible, pairing traditional dishes like Greek mussels with feta and phyllo-wrapped meats alongside a rotating lineup of salads, spreads and sandwiches. It typically closes for summer holidays around the time Taste of the Danforth rolls through, so timing a visit takes a bit of planning — but nearly 50 years in the neighbourhood earns it a spot on any serious list regardless.
Messini — 445 Danforth Avenue
Since opening in 2003, Messini has built a citywide reputation almost entirely on its gyros — thin-cut meat straight off the spit, wrapped up with the kind of simple, no-frills execution that’s kept both the lunch crowd and the late-night crowd coming back for over two decades. The menu extends into souvlaki, salads and sandwiches, but the gyro plates remain the draw, helped along by a price point that’s stayed genuinely affordable.
Mezes — 440 Danforth Avenue
True to its name, Mezes built its following on shareable dips and small plates, all rooted in the family recipes of George “Zinni” Zindros, the restaurant’s original owner. His daughter, Vasha Zindros, now runs the spot as co-owner and manager, keeping those original recipes intact even as the restaurant has become one of the strip’s more recognizable names.
Pantheon — 407 Danforth Avenue
Nick and Olga Parussis have run Pantheon since 1977, and their daughter Crystalia now works alongside them. The restaurant is known for oversized portions at a genuinely wallet-friendly price point, with small fish plates — sea bass and other varieties flown in from Greece — standing out as a signature order.
Soulas Modern Greek Cuisine — 500A Danforth Avenue
Opened in 1978 by Soulas and Christos, this spot puts a contemporary spin on family recipes passed down through generations. The menu covers the expected range of Greek staples — moussaka, Santorini chicken, lamb dishes, souvlaki plates — alongside an extensive seafood selection, all plated with a more modern presentation than some of its old-school neighbours.
Between these five alone, there’s decades of continuous history on one stretch of the Danforth — proof that in a neighbourhood that’s absorbed plenty of newer competition over the years, the restaurants that got there first are often still the ones worth prioritizing.