venues

menus

What's Hot

The Best of Toronto 2012

Dine.TO users vote on who they thought was the best in Toronto across 36 popular categories. With an overwhelming response from our users it was a tight race this year, especially in the most popular categories - Wings, Sushi and Brunch. The results are in and Dine.TO would like to congratulate all of the winners for the 2012 Best Of Awards!

Best Ambiance

Insomnia Restaurant Bar Lounge

Type: Bar

Neighbourhood: Annex

Soak up the scene at this well-loved Annex joint known for its consistently tasty food (Mediterranean, French and international flavours preside), wide-ranging cocktail selection (there are more than 50 martinis on tap here) and reliable soundtrack. Nighttime guests congregate over grilled calamari and mussel tapas plates and weekend visitors decompress with waffle-laden brunches.

Last year's winner: The Sultan's Tent & Café Moroc

2010 year's winner: 180 Panorama

Best Bar & Pub

Stout Irish Pub

Type: Canadian Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Cabbagetown

Go all Celtic on your next bar run at this rustic, two level tribute to the auld country. Every night at Stout is GAMES NIGHT, enjoy 2 1 on-tap craft beers and imports and over 60 bottles, almost all exclusively Ontario and North American Craft Beer. With a focus on supporting local, we went back to basics of great food and drink. We promote Ontario produce and meats on our menu, and on tap we feature the old-fashioned way of making beer by the Craft Brewers of Ontario.

Last year's winner: Stout Irish Pub

2010 year's winner: Spacco Restaurant and Bar

Best Bistro

Brownstone Bistro & Grille

Type: Mediterranean Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Yonge Downtown

Tributes pour in for this family-run charmer for its prompt service, $5 Caesars and upscale weekend brunch that promises marathon runs for returnees. An ideal spot if you're a fan of old industrial buildings reinvented as trendy urbanite hangouts whose restored dark wood interiors are set off with high ceilings, dangling chandeliers and wine bottle-perched candles. Salads and veggies are celebrated for their freshness and the patio's a favourite in summer months for people-watching, peach lemonade and homemade mushroom ravioli. A live jazz ensemble plays you out from the upstairs balcony.

Last year's winner: Table 17

2010 year's winner: Le Select Bistro

Best Brunch

Type:

Neighbourhood:

Full of charm any day of the week, there's something about the Boiler House on a late Sunday morning that almost lets a person forget that the next day is Monday - again. This industrial chic sweetheart in the Distillery District is tops for the hybrid miracle meal that launches with waffles, omelettes and farmer's sausage, makes an elegant pass through peel-and-eat shrimp, smoked salmon and roast beef, and culminates with mini creme brulees, chocolate mousse tarts and apple crisp. Fans rave about the service, and how the whole thing is so enchantingly set to music (a live jazz ensemble plays on the upstairs balcony).

Last year's winner: Lady Marmalade

2010 year's winner: Niche Coffee & Tea Company

Best Burgers

Burger Stomper

Type: Comfort Food Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Danforth / Greektown

Guests who make the trek to this Riverdale eatery come for two things: the burgers and the milkshakes. Named after an invention developed by the owner that stomps out uniform six-ounce patties (look for it on this season's Dragon's Den), Burger Stomper doesn't disappoint on the what-do-you-expect meter. The cheese ooze that sneaks out of the cheese please burger leaves no doubt about what recommends this dish. And the shakes are a slap in the face to lactose intolerants everywhere. As for the home fries, they're twice fried and hand cut daily - distinctions that are equally mysterious and rewarding.

Last year's winner: Allen's

2010 year's winner: Big Smoke Burger - King St. W.

Best Chinese

Wah Sing Seafood Restaurant

Type: Chinese Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Baldwin Village

This Baldwin Village treasure is a love letter to all the little fishies in the sea. And one oceangoer in particular gets the treatment here: the double lobster special, loaded up with ginger and onion, oversized and sumptuous, whether steamed or deep fried. Clams in black bean sauce, Shanghai noodles, fish maw soup with crab meat and coconut sorbet also get special mentions at this venerable Cantonese cantina that's held its post as a purveyor of authentic Chinese goodies for more than 30 years.

Last year's winner: Pearl Harbourfront Restaurant

Best Family Restaurant

Olde Yorke Fish & Chips

Type: Fish & Chip Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Leaside

Grab the crew and head for Olde Yorke Fish & Chips, a homey Leaside haunt whose casual environs (the heated patio's a marvel on coolish autumn days), attentive service and delicately battered sea treats are a draw for all ages. Dishes are a bit on the pricey side, and lineups can snake at dinnertime, but portions are generous and the requisite "chips" are worthy companions to the featured player.

Last year's winner: Olde Yorke Fish & Chips

2010 year's winner: Olde Yorke Fish & Chips

Best Fine Dining

Canoe Restaurant & Bar

Type: Fusion Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Entertainment District

Paddle on up to the 54th floor of the TD Bank Tower, where the critically acclaimed Canoe is consistent in its delivery of taste and style. The design is clean and simple, and the food, all of it kissed by Canada, sublime. Service unfolds impeccably inside the retro mossy green and brown seventies decor. Table #38 is celebrated for playing host to a slew of marriage proposals. The mushroom soup and bittersweet chocolate terrine with vanilla marshmallow and strawberries are particular standouts. And if you don't fill up on the food, you will on the view.

Last year's winner: Carisma

2010 year's winner: One Restaurant (Hazelton Hotel)

Best First Date

Kalendar Restaurant & Bistro

Type: International / Global Restaurant

Neighbourhood: College Street / Little Italy

Couples-in-training can get snuggly at this mouth-of-Little-Italy charmer, over bottomless coffee and dishes of smoked trout, warm apple walnut salad and signature scrolls, which are rolled flatbread stuffed with such inspiration as sugar snap peas and Italian fennel sausage. All told, the menu is a fancy-not-fussy mix of Indian-inspired foods that don't get too caught up in their ethnic status. The interior feels like the kind of spot Parisiens might flock to chez eux for reasonably priced, candlelit character.

Last year's winner: Insomnia Restaurant Bar Lounge

2010 year's winner: Pravda Vodka House

Best French (Classic)

Le Papillon on Front

Type: French Restaurant

Neighbourhood: St. Lawrence Market / Old Town

This brasserie-reminiscent mainstay is a standout among Toronto's more than 100 French restaurants, its 37-year service record notwithstanding. French cuisine with an infusion of Quebecois flavours is doled out within a cozy atmosphere overseen by on-the-ball staffers. High ceilings and exposed brick provide the perfect backdrop for Toronto's original crÃÂªperie, recently reopened in a historic Front St. building. Try the camembert frits and the filet mignon - both as delicate and complex as their namesake.

Last year's winner: Marcel's Bistro & Lounge

2010 year's winner: Le Paradis Brasserie Bistro

Best Greek

Estiatorio VOLOS

Type: Greek Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Financial District

That its (currently debt-ravaged) homeland is built on the sea isn't lost on this hip Hellenic standout, where diners rave about packed-to-the gills seafood stew, flaky grilled halibut and Chilean seabass with roasted veg. Well-heeled regulars swarm to burn their lips on flaming cheese and savour crispy-skinned roast chicken. A broad selection of Greek wines, the secrets of which are well known by charismatic serving staff, does sterling service as liquid accompaniment. It would be criminal to leave this place without allowing the dark chocolate mousse to grace your tongue.

Last year's winner: Colossus Greek Taverna (Port Credit)

2010 year's winner: Colossus Greek Taverna (Port Credit)

Best Group Functions

Marché Restaurant

Type: International / Global Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Financial District

The best thing about hauling a crowd out to a function at Marche is that the coordinator needn't give a hoot for the individual tastes of his party. It's every man for himself at this , where the seats are comfy, the lighting is pleasant and the bathrooms are to die for. Indeed, the Marche experience awaits customization from each of its diners, with stations devoted to pasta, pizza, vegetables, crepes and juicy cuts of meat. A variety of different physical spaces, including the 65-seat brasserie, 80-seat patio and 50-seat Toro Room, can accommodate every group.

2010 year's winner: La Castile Steak House

Best Indian

309 Dhaba Indian Excellence

Type: Indian Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Entertainment District

A pukka Dark Continent experience awaits Indiaphiles at this downtown superstar, where the service is discreetly attentive and the eats are as tasty as they are various. The lunch buffet offers a selection of cold salads and hot entrees, a crÃÂªpe and omelette station, a whack of dessert options and a half dozen ice creams for $13. The restaurant and bathrooms are tidy.

Last year's winner: 309 Dhaba Indian Excellence

2010 year's winner: Maroli Restaurant

Best Italian

Ascari Enoteca

Type: Italian Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Beaches

A warm and friendly ambiance hits your senses before anything else at this terrific Leslieville pit stop named in honour of a legendary Italian racecar driver. The small room and large bar draw from a simple menu that relies on fresh innovation, touched off by dishes that are variously adorned with the inventive likes of Swiss chard, currants, pine nuts and truffle scents. The bread is served alongside little dipping bowls of oil. For further lubrication, consult a smart wine list where bottles go half price on Mondays.

Last year's winner: La Vecchia Ristorante

2010 year's winner: Noce Restaurant

Best Japanese

Guu Izakaya - Bloor St. W.

Type: Japanese Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Annex

From the moment you enter Guu Izakaya, and the staff hollers loud (if unintelligible) greetings in your direction, you know you're hanging with some seriously authentic izakaya cats. The name combines "i" (to stay) and "sakaya" (sake shop) to describe a Japanese drinking establishment where customers can also score food. Black cod, grilled squid, seared salmon and deep-fried octopus balls are served tapas style as foils to chu-high (vodka and Japanese soda) cocktails. Seal the deal with black sesame ice cream.

Last year's winner: Benihana - The Fairmont Royal York

2010 year's winner: Guu Izakaya - Church St.

Best Jazz / Blues

N'awlins Jazz Bar & Dining

Type: Cajun / Creole Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Entertainment District

Any doubt that this quaint hangout is anything but a quintessential jazzy/bluesy cocktail bar is discarded once you settle into your intimate table and take stock of the multiple photos of classic musicians and the giant painting of Billie Holiday setting off the dark interior woodwork. And then the tunes hit you. A decent selection of scotch and premium liquors washes the live music down real nice. Don't swim past the French Quarter fairy dust-sprinkled alligator kabobs.

Last year's winner: Whistler's Grille and The McNeil Room

2010 year's winner: The Rex Jazz and Blues Bar

Best Late Munchies

The Lakeview Restaurant

Type: Comfort Food Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Portugual Village

This never-closed phenom is a balm to late-night appetites craving greasy solids to sop up the evening's liquid loads. You can get cheeseburgers and an entire pie here - and most everything in between. Try peameal sandwiches, disco fries, or deep-fried mac and cheese balls, or abandon the effort of wading through the menu altogether and just opt for the reliable standby that is the Lakeview 24-hour breakfast.

Last year's winner: The Markham Station

2010 year's winner: 7 West Cafe

Best Live Entertainment

Rodeo Brazilian Steakhouse Rodizio

Type: Brazilian Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Danforth / Greektown

Bypass one more ho-hum dinner out in favour of a spectacle at this unique South American restaurant. A fixed price here buys you all you can eat from the vast meat-heavy buffet of salads, seafood and barbecue (the meat-on-sword-wielding servers advise on how to eat the stuff in traditional Brazilian style). But the Danforth Ave. eatery - formerly Red Violin - is special for its lively Friday and Saturday night Brazilian shows.

Last year's winner: Rodeo Brazilian Steakhouse Rodizio

2010 year's winner: Embrujo Flamenco Tapas Restaurant

Best Lunches

Fresh (Multiple Locations)

Type: Health Food Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Annex

Everybody feels just-out-of-the-gym unimpeachable after a visit to one of Toronto's trio of Fresh stores (Queen W., Bloor W. and Spadina), where the food amounts to a boastful array of good-for-you offerings including spinach, alfafa and sunflower sprouts. A build-your-own concept has diners playing into their lunchtime creations, an always satisfying adventure made more so from the knowledge that coconut milk, grilled tempe, tofu cubes and flax aren't items you'd see on a burger joint's menu.

2010 year's winner: Gallery Grill at Hart House

Best Martinis

BarChef

Type: Bar

Neighbourhood: Queen West

Diners take their cocktail passion to new levels with a visit to this esoteric martini bar where innovation is the name of the game and every human sense is engaged in its ultimate consumption. A candle-filled room provides the backdrop for an adventure in how fresh herbs, spices and caramelized fruits have an integral role to play in your martini exploits, to say nothing of tobacco-infused bourbon, lavender foam, and gin and tonic "air." It's no surprise that this place is so often included on lists of the world's most innovative bars.

Last year's winner: Pravda Vodka House

2010 year's winner: BarChef

Best Mediterranean

Pan on the Danforth

Type: Greek Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Danforth / Greektown

Give Greektown a run for its money at this sensuous, cozy, dark-hued Mediterranean charmer where all the usual suspects make an appearance, including mussels, lamb shanks and honey cakes. Portions are generous and service is mindful. Catch a night when belly dancers and live Greek music are making the rounds and you'll feel like you've been delivered across the Aegean.

Last year's winner: 7 Numbers

2010 year's winner: Politica Resto Bar

Best Mexican

Playa Cabana Mexican Restaurant & Tequila Bar

Type: Mexican Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Annex

This tiny hothouse, whose sizzling kitchen is cheek by jowl with its bar, is a kind of victory for Torontonians for whom identifying the city's best Mexican is a life's work. Its tucked-away residential location makes you feel even more like it's your own personal discovery. The serving sizes are great, the wait staff is paying attention and the food - from the baja-style fish tacos and ceviche through the huevos rancheros and hamburguesas - is muy buena. And it doesn't matter how full you are at the end of the meal: the rich, whipped-cream-topped trÃÂ¨s leche cake is non-negotiable.

Last year's winner: El Rincon Mexicano Restaurant

Best Middle Eastern

Tabülè Middle Eastern Cuisine

Type: Middle Eastern Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Yonge and Eglinton

The savoury and hearty menu options at this always-packed midtown eatery offer a unique interpretation of Middle Eastern cuisine. Diners rave about the lamb chops and stuffed vine leaves, all of it copiously presented. The usual supporting player rice gets a special mention here for its tasty Lebanese twist. Service is as warm as a pita and prices are fair. Go on the weekend and take in a Lebanese belly dance. And lest the wet stuff be overlooked, TabÃÂ¼lÃÂ¨'s drink menu boasts a sandstorm-busting selection of wine, exotic martinis, fresh juices and loose-leaf mint teas.

Last year's winner: Jerusalem Restaurant - Eglinton

2010 year's winner: Tabülè Middle Eastern Cuisine

Best Nachos

Betty's Restaurant

Type: Grill Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Yonge Downtown

The hunt for Toronto's finest nachos is not for the faint of heart, but surveyors can sit tight at Betty's, where the corn tortilla chips are always cut and fried in-house and the spicy pico de gallo'll kick you in the teeth before you've even had a chance to utter an opinion. The shabby-cool interior and great selection of beers (both on tap and in bottles) provide the perfect antidote to the sweating cheese and purple-onion-infused homemade guac that top this standout.

Last year's winner: Sneaky Dee's

2010 year's winner: Sneaky Dee's

Best Newly Opened

Farmhouse Tavern

Type: Canadian Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Wallace Emerson

The food is locally sourced and the atmosphere - highlighted by mismatched water glasses, comfy bench pillows and a mess of kitschy curios - is cozy and rustic. The Farmhouse menu is an ephemeral spectacle on chalkboards whose details it falls to servers to explain - and they rise to the occasion impressively. Eggs Benedict and bread pudding rule the Farmhouse roost.

Last year's winner: TOCA

2010 year's winner: Ruby Watchco.

Best Patio

Whistler's Grille and The McNeil Room

Type: International / Global Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Danforth / Greektown

This newly remodeled casual east-end eatery spills its wonders onto a massive patio during the summertime months, when dining is sweetly enhanced by outdoor environs and the opportunity to accompany your meal with live jazz and blues four nights a week. The restaurant's main level serves up pints and chicken wings alongside interactive sports and weekend in-house DJs. Its proximity to Greektown means Mediterranean fare is easy to find, and so are burgers, pastas and sandwiches.

Last year's winner: 180 Panorama

2010 year's winner: Woo Buffet Restaurant & Lounge (Closed)

Best Pizza

North of Brooklyn Pizzeria

Type: Pizza Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Queen West

Tucked behind Hero Burgers, North of Brooklyn's lit-up signage has proved a beacon to more than one wandering Queen Wester in pursuit of the perfect pizza by the slice. This Trinity-Bellwoods sweetheart seals the deal with baked-to-perfection crust, seasonal veggies (including spicy and lemony arugula) and a margarita that'd drive Barney Rubble into the icebox. The garlic knots will unravel you. And sauce-hating pizza lovers are well treated with a white pie whose fresh ingredients find happy accommodation on a thin, perfectly crispy tomato-sauce-free crust.

Last year's winner: Vesuvio's Pizzeria & Spaghetti House

2010 year's winner: Caroline's

Best Private Dining

Modus Ristorante

Type: Italian Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Financial District

This contemporary Italian power restaurant, its high ceilings and opulence tucked into a swanky downtown Toronto corner, is a class act whose lamb shanks and homemade duck, buffalo-milk ricotta-stuffed ravioli and truffle squash agnolotti are swooned over by Bay Street lawyers and tourists alike. Bypass the olive oil cake with lemon custard lemon-scented olive oil ice cream at your peril.

Last year's winner: Rosewater

Best Ribs

Baton Rouge Restaurant (Multiple Locations)

Type: American Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Yonge Downtown

The tried-and-true concept that made BÃÂ¢ton Rouge's name with the opening of its first restaurant in Laval, QC, endures, thanks to a long-term commitment to high quality and tasty food. Famous for its signature, slow-cooked back ribs, the place throws visitors all manner of bones, the lot of them basted with the restaurant's famous BBQ sauce. The menu also offers fish, pasta and the usual parade of salads for the less carnivorous among your group.

Last year's winner: Baton Rouge Restaurant (Eaton Centre)

2010 year's winner: Baton Rouge Restaurant (Eaton Centre)

Best Seafood

Zee Grill Seafood Restaurant

Type: Seafood Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Leaside

This slice of exposed-brick Manhattan finds sweet lodging in a North Toronto haven of tuna tartar and sea bass. Local-area fish markets regularly give up their watery treasures to this seafood-loving eatery where fresh fish, lobster, crab, oysters, mussels and shrimp are the catch of every day. Wine recommendations made by expert serving staff are right on the money. The entire experience is a fish-lover's fantasy.

Last year's winner: Joso's Restaurant

2010 year's winner: Joso's Restaurant

Best See n' Be Seen

Scarpetta

Type: Italian Restaurant

Neighbourhood: King West

Dress for dinner at this soulful and sophisticated Italian ristorante, where lighting is kind and the backdrop is bucolic refinement. Tuned-in guests dine on celebrity chef Scott Conant's creamy polenta with fricasse of truffled mushrooms, and yellowtail with ginger oil and sea salt, all the while keeping a kohl-lined eye out for opportunity in this upscale franchise in the ultra-chic Thompson Hotel.

Last year's winner: Sassafraz Restaurant

2010 year's winner: The Drake Hotel

Best Spanish and Tapas

Torito Restaurant

Type: Spanish Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Kensington Market

It's all about communion at this Kensington Market tapas bar, where diners share flavourful mounds of avocado fries and roasted tomato salsa, and Andalusian spinach and chickpea stew with dining pals, new and old. The food is tasty, fresh and uncluttered and the challenge for guests here, ultimately, becomes one of discretion. Torito is loaded with personality and specialty boozy drinks like Barcelona Manhattans and a red wine and ginger ale mixer. Lamb meatballs, gazpacho, ceviche and the backyard patio all get high marks.

Last year's winner: Embrujo Flamenco Tapas Restaurant

2010 year's winner: Cava Restaurant

Best Steak

La Castile Steak House

Type: Steaks / Steakhouse Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Dixie

Grateful carnivores make numerous return trips to this steakhouse steadfast, where cheapskates need not abide. The decor is cathedral-like, with carved highbacks inviting decadent lingering and stained glass windows casting lightplay onto plush scarlet carpeting. The featured act doesn't disappoint: the rib steak is perfect and the 24-ounce chateaubriand for two is carved at your table, for heaven's sake. Dress smartly when you visit and bring your pocketbook.

Last year's winner: Jacobs & Co. Steakhouse

2010 year's winner: 1800 Degrees

Best Sushi

Fune Japanese Restaurant

Type: Japanese Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Entertainment District

Half the fun of visiting this Entertainment District novelty is in plonking yourself in its traditional-decor midst, ordering from a member of the kimono-draped serving staff and choosing from among the most appetizing floating boats rounding the sushi bar for consumptive consideration. On these circling watercrafts sail a representative assortment of sushi roll pieces and sashimi. The interactive-dinner experience is ripe for date night, but there's also lots of ÃÂ -la-carte options.

Last year's winner: Koko! Share Bar

2010 year's winner: Benihana - The Fairmont Royal York

Best Thai

Khao San Road Restaurant

Type: Thai Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Entertainment District

Imaginative dishes come to springy life here courtesy of conscientious extras like tamarind, squash fritters, kaffir lime leaves and homemade chicken sausage. There's a regular and vegan menu, both populated with dishes that are as filled with flavour as they are hard to pronounce. Fresh, zingy meals taste home cooked, and a laid-back vibe is perpetuated by funky servers. There are no reservations taken at this tiny outpost, so plan your night carefully.

Last year's winner: Real Thailand Restaurant

2010 year's winner: Lemongrass - Bayview

Best Vegetarian

Hibiscus Restaurant

Type: Vegetarian Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Kensington Market

Banish forever any lingering notion that vegetarian fare is a bland substitute for the real thing with a visit to this quirky Kensington Market sweetheart. Staff is friendly and food, including signature smoothies, buckwheat crÃÂªpes and big-bowl salads, is hearty and top notch. Snag an in-short-supply seat and settle in over something sesame-infused to watch fellow diners delight at the healthy quotient of their lunch choice. Who knew dishes whose featured players are quinoa and tofu could sing at such volume?

Last year's winner: Vegetarian Haven

2010 year's winner: Vegetarian Haven

Best Wings

AllStar Wings and Ribs (Multiple Locations)

Type: American Restaurant

Neighbourhood: Richmond Hill

Wings are all the rage in Toronto right now, so the best-of honour for this Markham strip-mall standard really flies. Order a double so you can test two flavours, because, as one enthusiastic on-line reviewer raved, "They have the most interesting varieties of wings that you will most likely never ever see anywhere else and I've yet to have one that hasn't been amazingly good." All told, more than 150 flavours, categorized by level of spiciness, vie for consideration. Torn between Armageddon and Pandora's Box? Just ask. Waitstaff are quick with recommendations.

Last year's winner: AllStar Wings & Ribs - Vaughan

2010 year's winner: AllStar Wings & Ribs - Vaughan