Last Updated: Feb 04, 2025.
Toronto’s culinary scene is a celebration of Canadian flavours as well as fusion flavours inspired by Toronto’s rich history of immigration. From local fusion creations like butter chicken roti to national icons like poutine, these local dishes are a testament to our rich and diverse food culture. If it’s your first time in Toronto, you’ll want to save this post so you don’t miss out on the best places to eat in Toronto! Buckle up as we explore the 11 must-try foods in Toronto that make this city a food lover’s paradise.
Table of Contents: Iconic Local Food
- Poutine – THE national dish
- Peameal Bacon – The most famous Toronto-specific food
- Jamaican Beef Patties – Toronto’s signature dish from Jamaica
- Sushi Pizza – a truly unique must-eat born in Toronto
- Butter Chicken Roti – fusion favourite from India and an essential Toronto dish
- Bannock – one of Canada’s oldest foods
- Bison and Elk – Canadian game from up north
- Halifax Donair – an Atlantic icon loved by Toronto
- Butter Tarts – Ontario’s most famous dessert
- Nanaimo Bars – iconic Toronto dessert
- Jaguar Chocolate – chocolate’s forgotten cousin
Poutine
THE national dish
201 Augusta Ave | frescosfishandchips.com
No Canadian food blog would be complete without poutine on the menu! This iconic dish, second only to maple syrup in fame, hails from Quebec and is made with just three simple ingredients: crispy french fries, squeaky cheese curds from Quebec, and a hearty gravy poured over the top. This beloved combination has been cherished by Canadians for decades and is served all across the country. For an exceptional poutine experience, head to Fresco’s Fish and Chips in Kensington Market. Fresco’s uses the fries from their signature dish and tops them with authentic cheese curds and house-made gravy sourced directly from Quebec. To ensure everyone can enjoy this national dish, they also offer options like vegetarian mushroom gravy, dairy-free cheese, or a fully vegan version with both alternatives combined. On select tours for our Kensington Market ‘Taste the World’ Food Tour, we visit Fresco’s and can offer you a bowl of this classic dish.
Peameal Bacon
The most famous Toronto-specific food
93 Front St | stlawrencemarket.com
Also known as Canadian bacon south of the border, peameal bacon is a delicious back bacon cut from pork loin, rolled in cornmeal to achieve a crispy crust. This savoury delight is a signature food of Toronto, often enjoyed in hearty deli sandwiches. One of the best places to eat this can be found at the Carousel Bakery located within St. Lawrence Market. For decades, they have been serving their World Famous Peameal Bacon Sandwich, featuring thick, juicy slices of grilled peameal bacon nestled in freshly baked bread. It’s a must-try for any food lover visiting the city!
Jamaican Beef Patties
Toronto’s signature dish from Jamaica
Toronto’s cuisine is uniquely shaped by its large immigrant population and rich multiculturalism. One of the city’s most famous signature dishes, Jamaican beef patties, actually hails from the Caribbean. These flaky pastries, seasoned with turmeric for their distinct yellow color, are filled with ground beef spiced with scotch bonnet peppers. Known as the Jamaican beef patty capital of North America, Toronto offers these delicious treats in bakeries, convenience stores, and even subway stations. If it’s your first time in Toronto, you need to stop by Golden Patty in Kensington Market, where fresh patties with a variety of fillings are made daily. If beef isn’t your preference, you can opt for goat, jerk chicken, curry shrimp, veggies, or other flavourful fillings.
Sushi Pizza
A truly unique must-eat born in Toronto
55 Adelaide St E | namirestaurant.com
Sushi pizza, a creative culinary invention that originated in Toronto, is more complex than it sounds. This unique treat features a crispy fried rice patty as the base, topped with fresh ingredients like salmon, roe, and scallions. While many sushi restaurants in the city offer this dish, the best place to try it is at Nami Japanese Restaurant. Not only is Nami the birthplace of sushi pizza, but it is also considered one of Toronto’s finest Japanese restaurants, offering a wide variety of other delectable options to savour alongside this Torontonian specialty.
Butter Chicken Roti
Fusion favourite from India and an essential Toronto dish
554 Queen St W | rotimahal.org
Butter chicken roti is a delicious fusion dish that combines the rich flavours of Indian butter chicken with the Caribbean-style roti wrap. This street food features tender pieces of chicken cooked in a spiced creamy tomato sauce, all wrapped in a flaky roti. One of the best places to get this is Roti Mahal, a restaurant run by the creator of the dish, inspired by the roti from the West Indies of the Caribbean. He took the form of this popular street food and replaced the stewed meats traditionally served inside the flatbread with his own North Indian curries. The rendition with chicken roti especially took off in popularity and spread all across the city, making it the go-to roti for many Torontonians.
Bannock
One of Canada’s oldest foods
1294 Gerrard St E | teanbannock.ca
Also known as Fry Bread, bannock is a staple bread made by the First Nations of Canada long before the introduction of European wheat, making it one of the oldest foods in Canadian history. This simple dish involves frying the dough in a skillet, resulting in a soft interior and a crisp outer crust. Bannock is still made today by Indigenous people and served in many Indigenous-owned restaurants across the city. One such place is Tea N Bannock, where you can enjoy slices of this traditional bread alongside their soups or as the bun for their signature Bison Burgers.
Bison and Elk
Canadian game from up north
Canada’s rich wildlife offers a variety of game meats, with bison and elk being two uniquely Canadian proteins from up north. These lean, flavourful alternatives to traditional farm animals are often served as burgers on smaller slider buns. However, they can also be enjoyed in various other forms at some of the best places to eat in Toronto. One notable restaurant is WVRST, a German-style sausage and beer hall located in Union Station. Known for their wide selection of domestic and imported drinks and proteins, WVRST offers bison sausages grilled with maple and blueberries for a true Canadian twist. Their elk sausages, made heartier with mushrooms and cumin, are also a must-try. WVRST also makes an appearance on our Must-Do Toronto Food Tour, where you will enjoy a sampler of sausages, including two seasonal game sausages. While it might not always be elk or bison on the sampler, the sausages are offered year round, so be sure to check them out.
Halifax Donair
An Atlantic icon loved by Toronto
450 Ossington Ave | collegefalafel.com
The Halifax donair, a lesser-known local food, is the signature snack of its namesake city in Nova Scotia. Invented by a pair of Greek brothers who moved to Halifax, this dish blends traditional Greek gyros with the flavours of Atlantic Canada. The donair features a pita wrap filled with sliced beef, onions, and tomatoes, all topped with a signature sweet and tangy donair sauce made from condensed milk, garlic, sugar, and vinegar. For an authentic taste of this Atlantic treat in Toronto, visit College Falafel. Despite the name, this Mediterranean restaurant serves the classic beef Halifax donair, but for a unique flavour you can try their vegetarian falafels with the sweet donair sauce too.
Butter Tarts
Ontario’s most famous dessert
635 Gerrard St E | gerrardstreetbakery.com
Butter tarts, Ontario’s most beloved dessert, originated in the city of Barrie, just a few hours north of Toronto. These sweet tarts feature a delectable filling made with eggs, sugar, syrup, and butter, all baked to perfection in a flaky pastry shell. As they bake, the interior becomes semi-solid while the top develops a delightful crunch. For some of the best butter tarts in the province, head to Gerrard St. Bakery. Their rendition of this classic treat is highly acclaimed, and it’s a fantastic spot to pick up tarts along with other homemade desserts and pastries.
Nanaimo Bars
Iconic Toronto dessert
95 Front St | stlawrencemarket.com
Hailing from Nanaimo, British Columbia, Nanaimo bars are one of Canada’s favourite desserts. These no-bake treats consist of three delicious layers: a chocolatey base made with coconut, nuts, and graham cracker crumbs; a rich, creamy custard filling; and a smooth, chilled chocolate square to top it off. While they are perfect for making at home and storing in the fridge or freezer to share with friends and family, you can also find some of the best Nanaimo bars at Eve’s Temptations. This local gem is touted as having some of the best desserts in all of Toronto, and their Nanaimo bars certainly live up to their reputation.
Jaguar Chocolate
Chocolate’s forgotten cousin
1131 St Clair Ave W | chocosoltraders.com
While everyone loves chocolate, not many have had the chance to experience its lesser-known cousin, Jaguar chocolate. Not to be confused with white chocolate, this is made from a bean from a sister plant to the traditional cacao tree that produces beans known as Cacao Blanco. Skilled chocolate makers refine these beans into Jaguar chocolate, offering a melt-in-your-mouth experience with a unique flavour palette. Though some chocolate makers across North America will produce limited batches of this, Toronto’s very own ChocoSol is at the forefront of bringing this forgotten plant to the world and offer it as one of their signatures. Not only do they offer a variety of unique Jaguar chocolate bars, they will also serve a special Mexican-style hot chocolate at their café made from the treat.
Book a Food Tour to taste the best of Toronto
Want to experience more culinary delights in Toronto? Join Tasty Tours’ Toronto food tours to sample the best foods Toronto has to offer. Try a Jamaican beef patty on our Kensington Market Food Tour, or sample some poutine on our Must-Do Downtown Food Tour. Whichever you choose, you will be in for a delicious afternoon!
