14 Best Restaurants in Side Trips from Toronto, Ontario

The unassuming basement dining room holds a true culinary gem for farm-to-table fanatics. The menu changes frequently, but expect innovative cocktails like a refreshing ice wine martini with vanilla vodka, subtle white grape juice, and a maple sugar rim; and apps like Caesar-inspired asparagus salad sprinkled with salted duck yolk to mimic Parmesan. Main courses may incorporate local game meat like venison bolognese and grilled quail sauced with a fig marmalade. The prix-fixe "date night" specials are a steal.

A meal at this breathtaking hexagonal restaurant in the heart of Algonquin Provincial Park is the highlight of many visits. A view of the lake is a great accompaniment to the food, as is the towering stone fireplace in the center of the log-walled dining room. Menus change daily, but you can expect hearty Canadian dishes with local and seasonal ingredients. Bring your own wine for no corkage fee.

The dozen or so petite tables are set with blue-willow-pattern china in this quaint teahouse serving traditional English fare on the Muskoka Wharf. High tea—a three-tier platter of shortbread, scones with Devonshire cream, petit fours, and classic (crustless) cucumber sandwiches (with gluten-free options), plus a pot of tea per person—is served every afternoon.

Thankfully for pet owners, rabbit rarely makes an appearance on the menu at this buzzed-about butcher shop-meets-high-end grill house, where AAA cuts of meat are sold and seared by the ounce. The kitchen typically relies on whatever happens to come through the door that day, so one specialty is local cheeses and charcuterie plates filled with lamb summer sausage and venison chorizo, but you might also find a plate of hot buttered turnips. Stunning weekly specials might include a dry-aged grilled picanha steak with a tangy rhubarb gastrique, paired best with a bold glass of Barbera red. For breakfast and lunch, choose from an array of sandwiches and other plates, as well as fresh baked goods on the weekend.

The huge windows framing the Twenty Valley conservation area are reason enough to dine at this restaurant, regarded as one of the best around Toronto, on Jordan's boutique-lined Main Street. Regional specialties and local and organic produce are emphasized on a seasonal menu that has included Wellington County boneless rib-eye steak served with mushroom-and-onion fricassee and blue cheese butter. The dining room, reminiscent of the French and Italian countryside, is lovely, with a soaring ceiling, whitewashed beams, and a view of the gardens. Cave Spring Cellars, which has a shop next door, provides many of the wines.

Frequently cited as the best restaurant in Niagara-on-the-Lake—an impressive feat in a town with so many excellent restaurants—Peller Estates manages refinement without arrogance. The stately colonial revival dining room is anchored by a huge fireplace at one end and has windows running the length of the room overlooking a large patio and the estate vineyards. A menu of ever-changing expertly prepared entrées often weaves the Peller Estates wine into modern Canadian cuisine.

Exquisite progressive Canadian food and venerable wines are served by an enthusiastic staff on this bucolic property with three 19th-century Mennonite stone buildings. Sit on the large outdoor patio overlooking vineyards and Lake Ontario beyond or in the glassed-in restaurant, where many of the tables have a similar panoramic view. The menu is locally sourced and seasonal: think venison haunch with heirloom beets, torchon, smoked cauliflower purée, and blackberry reduction. Desserts, like spiced pumpkin cheesecake served with mascarpone gelato, are the perfect demonstration of simplicity and innovation.

Niagara-on-the-Lake's first winery restaurant is still one of its best. After a complimentary winery tour and tasting, you can indulge in the spacious, light-filled dining room with big double doors framing vineyards almost as far as the eye can see. The menu of locally inspired cuisine changes every six weeks. Tasting menus are available with culinary symphonies like Angus beef prepared three ways accompanied by decadent fixings like duck fat rösti and horseradish goat cheese. 

The best fine-dining-with-a-view in town, 21 Club plays up its casino locale without being kitschy. The high-ceiling modern space is inspired by roulette, in a profusion of red, black, and gold, and juxtaposes the traditional steak-house menu. More secluded seating areas wind around the perimeter next to huge windows overlooking the falls, on a raised, illuminated floor on a patio. Because 21 Club is only accessible via the casino floor, all diners must be at least 19.

In the original 1917 lodge building, this small lakeside pine dining room offers an ever-changing prix-fixe menu of contemporary Canadian cuisine, which might kick off with fennel and mustard-rubbed pork belly and move on to pistachio and cherry-crusted Australian rack of lamb or the house specialty, beef tenderloin. Fish and vegetarian options, such as sweet-potato gnocchi with shaved Gruyère, are always available. Desserts, included with the meal, always include some variation of crème brûlée (perhaps a chocolate-chili version), and homemade pie.

The big draw here is the revolving 360-degree view perched 520 feet above the Horseshoe Falls---it's simply breathtaking. The atmosphere puts it above those serving similar cuisine in the area, drawing an eclectic crowd of couples in cocktail attire and families in casual clothes. The menu revolves as well; tomahawk pork chops and chicken cordon bleu have made appearances. Reservations include free admission to the observation deck.

White tablecloth service and an up-close-and-personal view of the rushing Horseshoe Falls rapids amount to a stunning dining experience. Prix-fixe dinners are recommended to take advantage of the hearty seasonal menus.

Niagara-on-the-Lake's only waterfront restaurant, the regal Tiara sits beside a marina with a view of the Niagara River beyond the sailboat masts. The elegant, amber-hue Georgian-meets-contemporary dining room is buttoned up but accented by a pretty stained-glass ceiling and near-panoramic windows that give nearly every table a water view. The outdoor tables next to the marina, however, are the ones to request to go with the exquisite French-influenced menu. Round out the meal with homemade ice cream topped with seasonal berries.

For alfresco dining, it's hard to beat Zees Grill for its huge wraparound patio with heat lamps across from the Shaw Festival Theatre. More informal than most similarly priced restaurants in town, its seasonal menu brings panache to homegrown comfort foods such as grilled swordfish with purple potato hash and buttered baby bok choy or beef ribs with shallot, garlic, and fingerling potato hash. Appetizers follow a similarly elegant, yet whimsical, philosophy.