The Best Restaurants in Toronto in 2026: Where the City Eats Right Now Published: June 2026 | Category: Local Living | Reading Time: ~7 minutes

Toronto's food scene is genuinely world-class. With 23 local restaurants on Canada's 100 Best list, multiple Michelin-starred establishments, and a multicultural dining landscape that spans virtually every culinary tradition on earth, eating well in this city is one of its great pleasures. Here's where to start — from tasting menus that will reset your expectations to neighbourhood icons that have been feeding the city for decades.

A City That Eats Well

Toronto's food scene has a simple foundation: extraordinary diversity. A city where over 200 languages are spoken produces a culinary culture where genuine regional Chinese cooking, Palestinian heritage cuisine, Michelin-recognized Thai food, and century-old Italian trattorias can all coexist and thrive within a few postal codes of each other.

In 2026, that culture is showing up in Canada's most prestigious restaurant rankings. Toronto placed 23 restaurants on Canada's 100 Best list this year — nearly a quarter of the entire national ranking. Whatever you're in the mood for, this city delivers it at a high level.

Here's where to eat.

Alo Restaurant

For: The finest tasting menu experience in Canada.

Alo is, by nearly every measure, the benchmark for fine dining in this country. Chef Patrick Kriss has held the Michelin star and anchored the top of Canada's 100 Best list for years, and after a major renovation completed in early 2026, the restaurant has returned with a reimagined dining room and two new tasting formats: a six-course menu and a sweeping ten-course progression.

The kitchen blends classical French technique with Japanese sensibility — a combination that produces food of extraordinary precision and personality. Perched on the third floor of a Victorian heritage building at Queen and Spadina, the room is as considered as the food. Reservations are released monthly and are typically gone within hours. Plan far ahead.

Quetzal

For: Michelin-recognized Mexican cuisine around a wood-fire hearth.

On College Street, Quetzal makes a case for Mexican cuisine as one of the world's great culinary traditions — and it does so through the alchemy of fire. The restaurant's wood-fire hearths are the centrepiece of both the kitchen and the dining room, and the smoke and char they impart run through everything on the menu in the best possible way.

Quetzal holds a Michelin recognition and jumped to fourth place nationally on Canada's 100 Best in 2026 — the highest-ranked Toronto restaurant on this year's list. The mezcal program is exceptional, and the shared-plate format encourages the kind of exploratory, communal eating that the space was designed for.

Edulis

For: Intimate, world-class tasting menu in a converted cottage.

Hidden inside a converted worker's cottage on Niagara Street, Edulis is one of Toronto's most singular dining experiences. Chef-owners Tobey Nemeth and Michael Caballo seat just 24 to 30 guests per evening, serving a single seating with a seasonal tasting menu built entirely around what's available from small local farms, Canadian waters, and wild mushroom foragers.

The cooking draws on Spanish traditions and European finesse, applied to the very best Canadian ingredients. Edulis has appeared in the top tier of Canada's 100 Best for 11 consecutive years and received the Michelin Service Award for its front-of-house warmth. Reservations run on a pre-paid system through Tock and sell out in under a minute each month — the waitlist is your friend.

Byblos Downtown

For: Eastern Mediterranean cuisine that turns sharing into a celebration.

Set inside a century-old building on Duncan Street near the Entertainment District, Byblos is a love letter to the flavours of Lebanon, Turkey, Israel, and the broader eastern Mediterranean. The menu is built for sharing: lamb ribs with raz el hanout, Turkish manti dumplings, Persian-spiced hummus topped with beef tenderloin and pomegranate, and a branzino that has received more superlatives than perhaps any other fish in the city.

The spirit-infused cold tea service is a theatrical signature that perfectly captures the restaurant's approach: inventive, hospitable, and joyful. After the uptown location closed in late 2025, Duncan Street is now the sole Toronto address — and it remains as energetic as ever.

Pai Northern Thai Kitchen

For: Michelin-starred Thai cuisine with lineups that tell the whole story.

Pai is the rare restaurant where the lineup outside the door at 6pm tells you everything you need to know. Chef Nuit Regular's Northern Thai kitchen holds a Michelin star and produces what many consider the definitive pad thai and khao soi in Canada.

The atmosphere leans into the energy of a night market — colourful, loud, lively — and the cooking matches that spirit with dishes that are genuinely complex and deeply satisfying. Pai has two Toronto locations, and both are consistently packed. Come hungry and come early.

Terroni

For: The Italian institution that helped build Toronto's food culture.

Some restaurants earn their place on a list like this through longevity and consistency rather than novelty. Terroni is one of them. Since opening on Queen Street in 1992, this Italian empire has expanded — Sud Forno, La Bettola, Spaccio — while somehow retaining the same core identity: excellent pizza, exceptional pasta, and a commitment to the kind of Italian cooking that doesn't chase trends.

If you're in Toronto, the ritual is one full Terroni dinner and one quick Sud Forno lunch. Between the two, you'll understand why this place has been feeding the city for more than 30 years.

DaNico

For: A grand-scale Italian fine dining experience unlike anything else in Toronto.

DaNico is a statement. Hidden inside a converted space on Bathurst and College, the towering ceilings, reclaimed doors from an Italian palazzo, and cathedral-scale windows make an immediate impression. Chef Daniele Corona's à la carte and tasting menus match the room — handmade tagliatelle, wagyu preparations, and the kind of classical technique that feels both timeless and alive.

Foodism named it among the best restaurants in Toronto for 2026, and the white-tablecloth setting — which might seem dated in lesser hands — feels here like a deliberate, confident act of hospitality.

Canoe

For: Contemporary Canadian cuisine 54 floors above the city.

For a meal that pairs extraordinary food with an equally extraordinary view, Canoe remains one of Toronto's most iconic dining experiences. Located on the 54th floor of the TD Bank Tower, the restaurant offers sweeping views of the city and lake while serving a seasonal menu focused on the finest Canadian ingredients — from Pacific seafood to Quebec foie gras to Ontario produce.

It's ideal for business dining, special occasions, or simply an evening where you want to feel the full scale of what this city is.

Living in or moving to Toronto and want to know what else makes this city exceptional? I'd love to be your guide — both to the city and to navigating its real estate market. Let's connect.

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