Canadian National Exhibition food is known for its fun, fearless flavours. This year is no different! Here are 10 treats that belong on your CNE 2025 food list.
No Toronto summer is complete without a visit to the iconic Canadian National Exhibition (CNE). With its fair, midway and ridiculously delicious carnival foods, attendance is a local ritual. In fact, many see it as summer’s unofficial closeout. (But don’t worry, there’s still plenty of patio season left.)
This year’s CNE (August 15–September 1, 2025) promises the usual plethora of fun, with midway rides and games, live concerts (including Shawn Desman, Dear Rouge, and July Talk), Classic Championship Wrestling, SuperDogs, the Gaming Garage, casino—plus more excitingly over-the-top Toronto fair food.
You’ll find the CNE’s cornucopia of food spread across the fair, with the highest concentration located in booths within the iconic Food Building. The Midway also boasts an array of food stands and licensed bars. Also returning this year is the Food Truck Frenzy and Craft Beerfest, a must-visit for foodies and craft beer hounds alike.
Here’s everything you need to try at this year’s CNE, from outrageous and wacky eats to returning fan favourites!
6 new & outrageous Toronto fair foods for 2025
Not your typical breakfast: Fruity Pebble Corn Dog
You’ve probably seen Korean corn dogs coated in crispy potatoes and doused with all kinds of sauces, but have you ever seen it covered in crunchy Fruity Pebble cereal?
Try this Korean-inspired, cheese-stuffed delight from Korean Dogs. It’s the perfect mix of sweet and savoury. The beef sausage is also Certified Halal!
Where to find it: Korean Dogs, Midway
A Biscoff lover’s dream: Biscoff Fried Chicken Crunch Ice Cream Sandwich
Biscoff in a savoury dish? You heard that right. Los Vietnamita is dishing up an epic fried chicken sandwich of your Biscoff dreams.
Picture this: juicy fried chicken dipped in Biscoff butter before being rolled in Biscoff breadcrumbs, then topped with maple hot honey, vanilla ice cream, and of course, a Lotus Biscoff cookie to finish it off.
And if you haven’t had Biscoff before, it’s a spiced, caramelized shortbread cookie. So good!
Where to find it: Los Vietnamita, Food Truck Frenzy and Craft Beerfest
Cotton candy with a kick: The BACONE, with Spicy Habanero Bacon Cotton Candy
The BACONE may be one of the most outrageous creations I’ve ever seen—not only is it a savoury bacon-flavoured cotton candy, it’s a spicy savoury bacon-flavoured cotton candy. In fact, it may also be the spiciest dish at the CNE this year, so it ain’t for the faint of heart.
Lucky for you, the spice is well-balanced with the sweet Canadian Passion Flakie cream filling, maple Timbit glaze, and gooey butter tart all atop a flaky puff pastry cone. This boundary-pusher comes courtesy of Greekery Bakeshop.
Where to find it: Greekery Bakeshop, Midway
Totally untraditional: Ice “Kreamchi” Dumplings
Here’s another unexpected combo you might never have pictured together: sour kimchi (spicy fermented napa cabbage) and sweet ice cream.
Juicy Korean pork dumplings are paired with bulgogi bacon glaze, kimchi, and ice cream for the lovers of sweet and savoury to enjoy. Find this mind-boggling mashup at K-Dee’s Twisted Gourmet & Co!
Where to find it: K-Dee’s Twisted Gourmet & Co, Food Truck Frenzy and Craft Beerfest
Surf n’ swirl: Lobster Ice Cream
Get a taste of the East Coast with this interesting seafood-turned-dessert from Blue Claw Lobster Shack.
Sweet and creamy vanilla gelato is churned with generous and real chunks of East Coast lobster, and every cup of this unique gelato is topped with lobster claw meat. It’s not your everyday cup of gelato, that’s for sure!
Where to find it: Blue Claw Lobster Shack, Food Truck Frenzy and Craft Beerfest
Cookies gone wild: Chicken Nugget Cookies
Who would’ve thought there’d be a day when chicken nuggets and cookies would be a thing? Well, Craig’s Cookies is serving up their signature cookie, now stuffed with a crispy chicken nugget, presented warm with a smoky BBQ sauce dip.
Wild combination, but surprisingly, it works. I’d recommend only dipping the chicken nugget in the BBQ sauce, not the cookie on its own…
Where to find it: Craig’s Cookies, Food Truck Frenzy and Craft Beerfest
3 local-legend CNE fair foods
Hot, cinnamon-sugar perfection: Tiny Tom Donuts
There’s just something so nostalgic about Tiny Toms’ piping hot, cinnamony donuts—a staple of the CNE since the 1960s. From the scent of deep-fried donuts in the air, to watching the miniature donuts coming down the assembly line, to popping a fresh and hot bite of fluffy and sweet goodness in your mouth.
It’s no wonder Tiny Tom is an absolute must every year, and it’s even been inducted into the CNE Food Hall of Fame!
Where to find it: Tiny Tom Donuts, Food Building
Hot n’ cold: The Original CNE Ice Cream Waffle
For decades, the glorious ice cream waffle sandwich has been a beloved must-eat treat at the CNE, and it’s another CNE Food Hall of Famer.
Hot, freshly-made waffles sandwich a thick slab of vanilla ice cream in this unforgettable treat. Find the OG from the two cow-patterned booths, where they’re serving the same recipe they’ve been using for over 80 years.
Where to find it: The Original CNE Ice Cream Waffle, Food Building and Midway
A saucy classic: Primo Spaghetti
Primo Spaghetti’s fan-favourite spaghetti has been synonymous with a visit to the CNE for over four decades. It’s a simple yet classic cup of al dente spaghetti noodles topped with tomato sauce.
While this famous CNE dish used to be 99¢, it’s still a great budget-friendly treat at $1.99. It’s another recent inductee in the CNE Food Hall of Fame!
Where to find it: Primo Spaghetti, Food Building
More fun food events at The Ex
Food Truck Frenzy and Craft Beerfest
Serving up some of 2025’s wackiest fair foods, the CNE’s annual Food Truck Frenzy and Craft Beerfest is on for most of the fair (August 16–September 1, 2025). Stroll along Princes’ Boulevard and take your pick from more than 20 food trucks and craft breweries lining the street with tasty treats and cold brews.
Location: On Princes’ Boulevard just inside the historic Princes’ Gates
Dinner in the Sky
Dinner In The Sky is a brand new addition to this year’s CNE lineup and a first for Canadian fair fare.
Picture this: you’re suspended 150-feet in the air, sipping and dining your way through a multi-course menu prepared right in front of you, all while enjoying 360-views of the Midway and beyond.
This high-flying dining experience takes place daily (August 16–September 1, 2025) and includes sunset-hour dinners and cocktails. Menu and flight packages start from $110 per person.
Location: Stanley Barracks near Hotel X
CNE Drag Brunch EXtravaganza
Don’t miss the inaugural CNE Drag Brunch EXtravaganza! Five fabulous queens bring all the glam to the CNE with dazzling costumes, lip syncs, food and more, in this rare reunion of the OG’s from Canada’s Drag Race Season 1.
This ticketed event ($100 per person) includes CNE admission, unlimited mimosas and coffee, and a plated brunch entree from Bacon Nation.
A percentage of proceeds will be donated to a charitable organization that supports the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
Location: Annabel’s, next to Queen Elizabeth Theatre
With its more-is-more lineup of fair foods, this year’s CNE offers ample opportunity to feed your belly and your social media reels. #SeeTorontoNow to share your OTT eats.
Grab your friends and family and join in on all the fun at the CNE from August 15 to September 1, 2025!
