From MICHELIN-Starred destinations to neighbourhood gems, these Toronto restaurants prove that presentation and flavour can be equally unforgettable.
In Toronto, food isn’t just made — it’s designed and plated like art, a feast for the eyes as much as the palate. Since 2022, the MICHELIN Guide has bestowed its stars and distinctions across the city, recognizing what locals have long known: Toronto’s chefs are artists, blending culture, creativity, and taste on every plate.
But beyond the accolades, the city’s culinary spirit thrives in neighbourhood kitchens, family-run spots, and hidden gems where artistry meets heart. Across the city, chefs transform ingredients into their medium—a reflection of heritage, inspiration, and innovation that makes dining in Toronto feel like stepping into an artist’s studio.
Toronto MICHELIN Dining Highlights
These MICHELIN-recognized restaurants showcase the precision, creativity, and presentation that make Toronto’s dining scene shine.
One MICHELIN Star
aKin
Chef Eric Chong (winner of the MICHELIN Guide Toronto’s 2025 Young Chef Award) brings bold precision to aKin, the only new MICHELIN Star of 2025. His tasting menu weaves Asian heritage and Canadian influence into a story told through plating. Street-food staples—banh mi, satay, gimbap—become pristine, whimsical bites, like a banh mi pâté in a tiny cone: familiar flavours reimagined as design.
Alo
Long considered Canada’s best restaurant, Chef Patrick Kriss’s Alo remains one of the city’s most coveted reservations. Its multi-course tasting menu blends European and Asian influences with the finest local ingredients, evolving with the seasons. Each plate arrives as a precise composition—delicate, layered, architectural. A perennial favourite: the mille-feuille at sister restaurant Alobar, featuring dozens of whisper-thin pastry layers stacked with obsession.
Osteria Giulia
Chef Rob Rossi’s Osteria Giulia blends modern style with traditional Italian craft. Handmade pastas are coiled, sauced, and plated like art, each dish polished yet soulful. The signature Lorighittas de Mare features delicate hand-braided rings of pasta dancing with squid, scallops, anchovy, chilli and garlic—an ode to craftsmanship and contemporary beauty in perfect balance.
Quetzal
At Quetzal, fire is both technique and philosophy. A bank of woodfire grills radiates heat, drama, and aroma, channelling Mexico’s open-flame traditions through a contemporary lens. Bone marrow canoes paired with Argentinian shrimp caramelize to deep amber, while scallops in the half shell and whole seabream emerge kissed by flame—primal, elegant, and unforgettable.
MICHELIN Recommended
Aanch
A stone’s throw from King Street West, Aanch is Chef Sudhanshu Kumar’s daring expression of modern Indian dining. He grinds his own spices and experiments constantly, turning tradition into multisensory theatre. For the Mirchi Tikka, hickory smoke billows as the cloche lifts, revealing charred, coriander-green chicken—its aroma as vivid as its colour.
Kiin
From Chef Nuit Regular’s culinary empire, Kiin is a tribute to the artistry of royal Thai cuisine. Seasonal Thai and Canadian ingredients become intricate works of colour and form—like jasmine flower dumplings so lifelike they could be mistaken for blooms. The Rainbow Glass Noodle Salad, tinted naturally with butterfly pea flower, beet, and carrot, arrives in elegant coils beside a lobster terrine, waiting to be stirred into vivid harmony.
MIMI Chinese
MIMI Chinese is all drama and delight, from its moody interior to its regionally inspired dishes delivered with flair. Under Chefs David Schwartz and Braden Chong, dining becomes performance. The Four Foot Belt Noodle steals the show—a single noodle lifted high, then clipped midair with gilded scissors before landing in a glossy pool of chilli oil. Even the cocktails arrive in cheeky glasses.
Prime Seafood Palace
At Prime Seafood Palace, Matty Matheson channels his signature intensity into refined luxury. The blond-wood space feels serene yet bold, every detail crafted from the ground up. Beluga caviar service arrives on custom trays that mirror the room’s design, while a prime rib roast glistens beside meticulously layered “Palace Potatoes.” Dessert? A towering chocolate cake worthy of a standing ovation.
Puerto Bravo
Inspired by the flavours of Tampico on Mexico’s Gulf Coast, Puerto Bravo is a Little India gem where seafood is the star of the show. Ceviches and tostadas gleam with jewel-like fish and bright citrus. The Slow-Cooked Seafood Birria tacos arrive crisp and golden, filled with shrimp, octopus, and the catch of the day, resting in a moat of avocado salsa and Leche de Tigre, crowned with hot-pink pickled onions.
Taline
In Summerhill, Chef-Owner Seb Yacoubian and his brothers bring Armenian heritage to life at Taline, one of the first Armenian restaurants in Canada to be recognized by the MICHELIN Guide. Their signature Mante—handmade beef dumplings folded with precision and fanned out like petals—arrives dressed with sumac, chickpeas, and a pour of tomato consommé tableside, turning comfort into performance.
Beautiful dishes beyond MICHELIN
Beyond MICHELIN’s spotlight, these neighbourhood favourites prove that artistry and flavour thrive in every corner of Toronto’s food scene.
Affinity Fish
Part fishmonger, part lunch spot, Affinity Fish is dedicated to serving sustainable Canadian seafood and traditional Japanese techniques. Every dish, whether enjoyed in-house or to-go, reflects a mindful lake-to-plate philosophy. Monthly tasting menus and precise lunch sets follow a minimalist visual language—Ontario fish plated with symmetry beside pickles, rice, and vegetables, each element placed with quiet purpose.
Allwyn’s
Feeding generations of Torontonians since 1994, Allwyn’s is a family-run institution celebrating Caribbean comfort with soul. While jerk chicken and pork plates remain classics, the Stuffed Sandwich steals the show: a beef patty layered with jerk meat and coleslaw, tucked into soft coco bread. It’s a handheld tower of flaky crust, juicy spice, and pure nostalgia.
DaiLo
Chef Nick Liu’s modern Asian bistro has been a Little Italy staple since 2014, blending French technique with pan-Asian imagination. Every plate is playful and polished, from the Whole Fried Giggi Trout—served with nahm jim, green curry aioli, soy glaze, and its crispy head—to the cult-favourite Big Mac Bao, a cheeky remix of fast food turned haute cuisine.
Lake Inez
Lake Inez defies easy classification. Its ever-changing menu blends global influences with local ingredients, each dish bursting with colour, seasonality, and personality. Plates arrive like abstract paintings, paired with a wine list as offbeat as the food. With its handmade mosaic walls and indie spirit, this Eastside gem feels more art project than restaurant.
Momoghar
With locations in Cabbagetown and Bloor West, Momoghar has become a go-to for those chasing bold, unapologetic spice. Known for hand-folded Nepalese momos, it blends home-cooked comfort with modern vibrancy. The Jhol Momos arrive in a fiery red-orange sauce scattered with sesame and cilantro, while the Tibetan Laphing adds contrast—rolled noodles in garlic-chilli oil crowned with crispy potatoes and sprouts.
Oroshi Fish Co.
Takeout-only but executed with omakase-level precision, Oroshi brings restaurant artistry to the to-go experience. Each piece of dry-aged, hand-sliced sushi gleams with polish and care. The 11-piece Omakase—complete with nigiri, tamago, a hand roll, and soy in a tiny fish-shaped bottle—is arranged with exacting symmetry, every bite as fresh and considered as dining in-house.
Porzia
Chef Basilio Pesce’s Porzia is a Westside gem where Italian red-sauce tradition meets contemporary finesse. The menu channels nostalgia through precision, every detail rooted in craft. The lasagna is a masterclass in minimalism—countless layers of delicate pasta, rich ragu, and béchamel baked into golden, caramelized squares. Simple in presentation, striking in structure.
Roselle Desserts
This micro bakery turns seasonal inspiration into some of Toronto’s most beloved desserts. Husband-and-wife duo Stephanie Duong and Bruce Lee craft creations that are delicate, imaginative, and obsessively followed. Fans line up for the Earl Grey soft serve crowned with chocolate pearls and the rotating pavlovas—like a recent version topped with organic cantaloupe and orange blossom vanilla cream, a dreamscape of colour and sweetness.
Tinuno
Tinuno’s Kamayan feast is dining as celebration—served over banana leaves and meant to be eaten with your hands. The experience is joyful, immersive, and best shared with a crowd. Each colourful spread features milkfish, shrimp, squid, mussels, pork belly, mango salad, and garlic rice in a vibrant collage of textures and tradition. Snap your photo, then dive in.
Wok and Roast
Rows of glistening ducks and barbecued meats hang in the window at Wok and Roast—a visual promise of what’s to come. This is comfort food presented with care and tradition. Whether you’re dining in on Peking duck or taking out a two-meat combo, expect glossy char siu and crisp-skinned duck plated with quiet precision and pride.
100% Flavour: The Art of Dining in Toronto
Toronto is a place that ignites all the senses. You might first be drawn in by a saturated hue, a glossy char, or a hand-thrown ceramic plate—but that’s only the beginning. This city is a feast for both the eyes and the palate, where every dish, whether plated with precision or served by hand, tells a story worth savouring.
