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Places to Eat

maryland
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450 posts
38 reviews
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Places to Eat
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We are going to Toronto on May 18th for four days. Its with my hubby and two kids, ages 4 and 8. Any recommendations on where to have good breakfast, lunch and dinner. We like to hang out where locals eat, not typical chain restaurants and were wondering if you have any suggestions.

Thanks

saq

London, Canada
Destination Expert
for Cartagena
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137 reviews
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1. Re: Places to Eat
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Before anyone can give you info, you will need to provide a bit more. What part of Toronto will you staying in or what part will you be spending time in? It would be almost impossible to give you recommendations without a better idea of where you will be.

Toronto, Canada
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2. Re: Places to Eat
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Most locals tend to eat in the neighbourhoods, not in the tourist area (Front St near the CN Tower, where most restaurants are chains.

Check out the active Toronto board at Chowhound, and do a search, using "family" or "kids", and plenty of non-chain restaurants will come up. http://chowhound.chow.com/boards/23

What types of food does your family like, and how much are you willing to pay per person?

Off the top of my head, most Greek restaurants on the Danforth (traditionally the Greek neighbourhood) are family friendly (Megas, Mezes, Pantheon, Kalyvia, and many more), and there's a greasy spoon named Detroit Eatery that serves a decent breakfast.

Most Italian restaurants are family friendly, and quite a few are popular with locals. Terroni has several locations, and serves decent pizza and pasta. Queen Margherita serves flatcrust Neapolitan pizza in Leslieville, a popular neighbourhood with lots of young families, on Queen East. Marcello's is a family friendly Italian resto on the Corso Italia on St Clair West (an Italian neighbourhood), and La Paloma gelato is a short walk away.

Most Chinatown restaurants are family friendly (Spadina and Dundas)- Rol San is popular for dim sum, and Swatow and Lee Garden are popular for dinner. If you want to drive north, even better food can be found near Hwy 7. In particular, I like Northern Dumpling Kitchen and John's BBQ Restaurant.

Tabule and Jerusalem are good for middleeastern food.

Khao San Road on Adelaide is good for Thai food, and at lunch (Mon-Sat), there's less likely to be a wait. They also take reservations.

The Patrician Grill (King St East downtown) and Goodbite (Yonge and Eglinton) are popular for bacon & egg type breakfasts. I like their Greek (feta & tomato) omelettes.

Let us know what kind of food you want to eat, and how much you're prepared to spend, and definitely do a search on this forum and Chowhound! ;-)

Edited: 12 years ago
London, Canada
Destination Expert
for Cartagena
Level Contributor
4,445 posts
137 reviews
138 helpful votes
3. Re: Places to Eat
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Again, I think advice is better given if an area of Toronto could be narrowed down, i.e, you could be in North York and not interested in travelling to Scarborough for a meal. There are thousands of options.

Toronto, Canada
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1,203 posts
151 reviews
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4. Re: Places to Eat
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While I agree there are lots of options in any given area of Toronto, and setting parameters with regards to which areas a visitor wants to visit, and which areas a visitor does not want to visit are certainly helpful, locals often travel to other parts of Toronto when dining out. Most of the best restaurants are located in neighbourhoods that are not near the big hotels where many visitors stay, so I certainly encourage any visitors to Toronto to try some restaurants outside the immediate area where their hotel happens to be located.

Shazqazi asked where locals like to eat, so I answered the question.

When my friends and family visit, we often travel 30-45 minutes for restaurants (to the Danforth for Greek, to Markham for Chinese, Starfish for seafood downtown, to W Queen W for huevos divorciados at Easy Restaurant, to Kensington Market for empanadas or tacos, to Cafe Polonez for Polish, etc. ) . We rarely eat in my neighbourhood which is filled with Italian and Continental restaurants.

Shazqazi, if your family likes custard, try a Portuguese custard tart at a Portuguese bakery while you're in TO. There are some bakeries on College W (Nova Era and others) and Dundas W.

Caplansky's is also popular for a Toronto take on smoked meat.

Edited: 12 years ago
maryland
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450 posts
38 reviews
88 helpful votes
5. Re: Places to Eat
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We are planning to stay at Ramada Plaza Downtown Toronto. So, now it's easy to give recommendations.

maryland
Level Contributor
450 posts
38 reviews
88 helpful votes
6. Re: Places to Eat
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Another thing, we don't eat Pork. What is a good breakfast place. A local hangout that we can go to? We love trying different foods. Expensive and non expensive options are both welcome.

Thanks so much

Shaz

maryland
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450 posts
38 reviews
88 helpful votes
7. Re: Places to Eat
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How far is Scarbourough from the Ramada? Any restaurants?

Toronto, Canada
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1,203 posts
151 reviews
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8. Re: Places to Eat
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Scarborough is a large part of Toronto, which is a 20-35 minute drive east of downtown. Scarborough has many restaurants because so many people live in the large area that makes up Scarborough, but Scarborough is not exactly known for good restaurants, although there are some good Asian restaurants located out there. It's mostly a residential area.

You've got a better selection of more types of food downtown. Plenty of non-pork dishes are available on most menus in Toronto. If you're interested in places that don't serve ANY pork (because you have concerns about cross-contamination with pork products), there are also halal, kosher and vegan restaurants in different parts of the city.

Toronto, Canada
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1,203 posts
151 reviews
119 helpful votes
9. Re: Places to Eat
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These are good breakfast places:

Detroit Eatery on the Danforth (Greektown)

Patrician Grill on King St E (downtown)

Le Petit Dejeuner on King St E (downtown)

Senator Diner on Victoria (downtown)

Prague Deli (Queen St W downtown)

Easy Restaurant (W Queen St W, west of downtown)

If you're visiting on a weekend, many other restaurants serve nice brunches starting around 10:30 or 11 on Saturdays and Sundays.

Most breakfast places serve bacon and sausage, but all the breakfast places I've mentioned serve plenty of breakfasts that do not contain any pork (such as Greek omelettes, pancakes, etc.)

Here are some more ideas for places to eat breakfast in Toronto:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/345480

Edited: 12 years ago
Toronto, Canada
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1,203 posts
151 reviews
119 helpful votes
10. Re: Places to Eat
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PS Lola's Commissary also serves a good breakfast downtown. Short walk from the intersection of Yonge & Bloor.

http://www.lolascommissary.com/

Edited: 12 years ago
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