New restaurants in Toronto managed to both open in and survive 2020 in order to bring us delicious eats. Unlike previous years, saw Toronto flooded with more hot and new concepts than once can count, there were far fewer arrivals in 2020: a global pandemic makes for less than ideal temperatures.
Here are my picks for the top new restaurants in Toronto by neighbourhood.
Annex
Aunty Lucy's is the exciting summertime arrival comes from Chieff Bosompra and Adrian Forte of Dirty Bird and the pop-up Yawd. A lean menu of fast food essentials include smash burgers and fried chicken combos out of the Annex Hotel.
Baldwin Village
Fitting in nicely with the Baldwin Street is Yuugi Izakaya, which offers a leaner menu than similar counterparts. A tonkatsu sando uses bread from Black Bird Baking Co. and ham from Sanagan's, giving it a more local touch.
Bayview and Leaside
Bombay Snack Bar has landed on Bayview Avenue with a menu that gathers inspiration from both Iran and India. Expect chaat, vada pau, keema, and cakes all together on one menu.
Bloorcourt
Cassava steps up with dishes from Nigeria and the Congo that include grilled meats like suya, plaintain, and a mandatory order of cassava bread. Head to Lansdowne Avenue to try their eba or fufu as sides.
Bloordale Village
The team behind Sugo opened up a pizzeria right next door called Conzo's. Slightly more spacious, the spot uses flour from Manitoba and draws inspo from pizzerias in New York and L.A.
Casamiento has moved its El Salvadorean pupusas from Kensington Market to Dupont Street. Photo by Hector Vasquez.
Bloor West Village
Just steps from Jane station is Noodle Me, a lowkey spot for bowls of northern Chinese noodles. Pulled and cut to order, the standout style here is definitely noodles made using the knife shaving technique.
Cabbagetown
The Italian restaurant Dova comes from the same people behind Ardo. It's an ode to the historic Don Vale, or present day Cabbagetown, serving up Sicilian and Mediterranean seafood dishes.
Castlefield Design District
Located on Caledonia Road is the more casual sibling to Mercado Negro, Casa Portuguesa. The hot table here is complete with all the Portuguese staples from codfish to stews, chicken, potatoes and rice.
Chinatown
The hunt for laksa downtown is over. Chinatown finally has a spot for Indo-Malay cuisine thanks to KL Kitchen, which has an expansive menu of dishes like nasi goreng and curry chicken noodles.
Corktown
The much-anticipated Italian restaurant Gusto 501 opened this year as a multi-level destination on King East. Come here for a coffee pit stop, a wood-fire pizza straight from the oven, or theatrical cocktails.
Come for the rotisserie chicken, stay for the gravy boats at Bernhardt's. Photo by Fareen Karim.
Danforth
Indian and Nepalese come hot and fresh at Spice 505. Tandoori-style dishes are popular, as are their plentiful vegetarian options like aloo gobi or paneer tikka.
Distillery District
A number of Distillery businesses have joined forced to create the aptly named District Pizza, serving up pies with toppings like organic tomatoes and romesco sauce.
Dovercourt Village
Kensington Market's spot for El Salvadorean pupusas, Casamiento, moved to its own standalone on Dupont Street, with its menu of bean and cheese fillings and tasty guac.
Dundas West
Now sitting atop Patois is its sister spot, Bar Mignonette, with a curated list of wines and menu of small bites. The raw bar includes oysters, lobster, plus a tantalizing selection of cocktails.
East Chinatown
Completo, the Leslieville spot for decked out Chilean-style hot dogs, now has a second location on Broadview Avenue. They've come a distance from their original stall in Kensington Market.
Entertainment District
The newest concept from the folks behind Aburi have launched a King Street West endeavour called Minami serving high end oshi, maki, sushi platters and small Japanese plates.
Etobicoke
Revolver Pizza joins the main drag of Mimico with its pies, described as somewhere between a New York-style slice and a Neopolitan pie. There's no freezer at Revolver, meaning everything is made fresh daily.
Financial District
The vegan brand Planta has expanded to include Planta Cucina. This new outpost on Temperance Street is all about plant-based, Mexican-inspired meals.
Dova draws its name from the historic name of Cabbagetown: Don Vale. Photo by Fareen Karim.
Junction
Brothers Ben and Jack Wilkinson pay hommage to their grandmother with their old-style restaurant Bothams. The menu includes delicious short ribs and a rotating list of desserts.
Junction Triangle
Century Park Tavern does brunch for the weekenders, plus a comforting menu of burgers and flatbreads. Beer and cocktails make up the drink essentials.
Kensington Market
It's all about creamy, chickpea goodness at Abu Hummus. Organic chickpeas imported from Turkey are blended to make bowls of this Middle Eastern staple, with killer pita that's best eaten piping hot.
King West
Tut's Egyptian Street Food is the first of its kind. Bringing sandwiches styled after the street food of Cairo, these soft, handheld buns make for one of the best late night eats in the city right now.
Leslieville
Queen near Coxwell has a Caribbean spot by way of Jaclyn's, which is doing Caribbean fusion with roti and veggie options.
Liberty Village
Drop Shop by Burger Drops is the newest cheap eats in Liberty Village. This mobile pop-up turned brick and mortar is all about the smash burgers.
Little Italy
French cuisine by way of a seasonal menu is the offering at Pompette, a lovely corner reprieve on College Street. It also offers a list of almost 300 different wines.
Casa Portugeusa is the Portuguese hot table of your dreams. Photo by Fareen Karim.
Little Tokyo
Mung bean crepes aren't very common in Toronto, but Maizuo Noodle and Crepe does them well. They're incredibly filling, as are their convenient bowls of hand-pulled noodles.
Mount Pleasant
Local ingredients make up the menu at Wild Chicory, where nearly everything is made in-house, from the pasta to the burgers.
North York
It may be new but the Katrina Canedo's recipes at Smoke n' Roti are old and tested by time. Jerk chicken dinner served with "chunkies" and their fresh roti are recommended.
Parkdale
Queen Street West has a stylish new destination for Hong Kong-style noodles. Maggie Chu's is brought to us in partnership with entertainment company AMPM.
Queen West
People lined up to say goodbye to Gandhi Roti after 25 years, but were rewarded with its replacement: Roti Mahal. Owned by the staff who ran Gandhi's kitchen for 20 years, you'll find all the essentials intact, including their top notch roti.
Roncesvalles
Don't be fooled by its rinky dinky name, Ding-a-Wing is frying up some mean chicken. They serve wings, sandwiches, and all the usual fry joint sides.
Scarborough
Art of BBQ opened at the top of 2020 but it feels like it's been around forever. Otis Redding makes for the perfect vibe to chow down on Trevor David's slow-smoked brisket, with some unconventional ingredients in the recipe.
South Core
A meal at The Butcher Chef will easily be one of the bougiest you can get in the city. The same restauranter behind Michael's on Simcoe has opened this steakhouse specializing in luxurious cuts of beef.
Noodle Me does fresh hand-pulled noodles by Jane Station. Photo by Hector Vasquez.
Upper Beaches
Feast of platters of fritay and plantain cooked in a multitude of ways at Boukan, the Haitian street food spot run by Chef Marc-elie Lissade. This subtle location in the Upper Beaches belies the vibrant energy inside.
West Queen West
Replacing the beloved bistro Julie's Cuban is Bernhardt's, which is shaping up to be a pretty decent replacement for date night. Come for the rotisserie birds, stay for the gravy boats.
Yonge and Bloor
French brunch spot La Societe has been replaced by Amal, a restaurant serving Lebanese cuisine from Beirut-born chef Rony Ghaleb and nightclub king Charles Khabouth.
Yonge and College
The izakaya Naru puts a slight twist on the usual Japanese pub eats menu with a more eclectic variety including Taiwanese Fried Chicken. They also serve ramen.
Yonge and Dundas
As far as breakfast sandwiches go, it doesn't get much better than the shokupan egg affairs at Egg Club. Their hashbrowns are to die for, so best to get a combo.
Yorkville
The elegant restaurant Aburi Hana is something to look forward to when dine-in resumes, with its 15-course menus using Japanese ingredients plus local produce.
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