When chef Hemant Bhagwani unveiled his latest Little Italy restaurant concept in spring 2025, it left diners with plenty of question marks. Called Oro Luxury Dining, Bhagwani described the idea in television terms: the restaurant would shapeshift by “season,” with entirely new menus rotating in as “episodes.” It was an ambitious, unusual pitch — and, […]
Some Toronto restaurants build a following through subtlety. The Fancy Induced Burger — TFIB, to regulars — has never had any interest in that approach. Perched at the southeast corner of Bloor and Bathurst, in the space that once housed FatBurger, TFIB has been impossible to miss since 2024, thanks to an electric purple sign […]
Peter Catarino has spent his career building loyal followings uptown, first with Spuntini and later EVOO on Avenue Road. His newest project, Y Not Italian Food-Bar, takes that experience and plants it squarely at the intersection of Little Italy and Little Portugal — a corner of the city with plenty of culinary heritage to live […]
Ontario’s Vietnamese food scene has had one name on everyone’s lips for the past year, and it isn’t based anywhere near downtown Toronto — until now. Banh Mi Nana, the Thornhill banh mi shop that sold through 2,000 sandwiches on its opening day alone in summer 2025, is the creation of the family behind Markham […]
Toronto’s food mashup era shows no signs of slowing down, and the latest crossover might be the most unexpected yet: burger omakase. At Friday Burger Company on the Danforth, chef Joe Friday has quietly launched a multi-course, chef-crafted tasting menu built entirely around burgers — borrowing the format of a traditional Japanese omakase (typically ten-plus […]
Sunny’s Chinese has built its reputation on punchy, regionally rooted Chinese cooking. This summer, the Kensington Market restaurant is putting that reputation to the test by handing the reins to a rotating cast of some of the city’s most respected chefs for a four-part barbecue lunch series, presented by Dillon’s Distillery. Each installment pairs Sunny’s […]
When Uncle Pete’s announced its closure back in April, it felt like the end of an era for a business that had barely had time to build one. The focaccia-based Italian sandwich shop opened in Kensington Market in August 2025 and became an instant sensation, only to hit a wall on leases and renewals less […]
Mapo Korean BBQ has quietly become something of a Blue Jays institution. The original Bloor Street West location’s cabinet of team memorabilia — autographed balls, polaroids, and signed items from players past and present — is proof of a genuine, years-long connection between the restaurant and the ballclub, with names like Kazuma Okamoto and Kevin […]
Queens Harbour’s grand opening party became the stuff of Toronto social media legend — mermaids, caviar bumps, and a chef carving sashimi straight from the belly of a whole bluefin tuna, all under the restaurant’s massive retractable roof. Now, the 23,000-square-foot waterfront restaurant is opening a version of that same experience to anyone willing to […]
Toronto has seen no shortage of unconventional restaurant collaborations lately, but a Nikkei omakase dinner paired with a bespoke suit fitting might be the most unexpected pairing yet. The private, seven-seat experience comes courtesy of Chotto Matte, the Japanese-Peruvian restaurant on Bay Street, and King & Bay, a family-run bespoke menswear studio operated by fifth-generation […]