9 Best Restaurants in Toronto, Ontario

Although it's a good drive away from Toronto's two Chinatowns on the edge of Yorkville, you'll have a memorable dining experience built on regional dishes from the Guangdong, Sichuan, and Hunan regions of China. The upscale yet unpretentious dining room has a dark red-and-black aesthetic, with waiters in black bow ties and one-way kitchen mirrors that give you a full view of bustling chefs plating dishes and slicing up glistening barbecue pork char siu (relax, they can't see you). The sharing-style menu, which had a cult following before the restaurant even opened, is split into sections including Raw & Cooling, Savoury & Warming, and Noodles & Rice, all meant to play off each other. The best bet is the Chef's Choice menu, but either way, you won't want to miss the social-media-famous Four Foot Belt Noodle, sliced up tableside with scissors. A playful drink list includes tea-inspired cocktails, and an extensive collection of sakes. 

Follow the simple hand-written sandwich board arrow through the garish Kensington "mall" to find this low-key Hong Kong–style dining room with big wok energy. The menu is inspired by kitchens across China, featuring elevated dishes that show off the best of different provinces like tongue-tingling Sichuan pepper-spiced soft mapo tofu with dry-aged beef, and thick bone marrow; and smoky, stir-fried gnocchi-like, hand-rolled silver needle noodles. You'll also find a simple but highly satisfying orange chicken, an ode to Chinese food courts across North America.

Fried dumplings stuffed with juicy shrimp and pork (or the more health-conscious steamed spinach and black mushroom wrappers) are the stars of the show, but ordering from the selection of northern Chinese staples is highly recommended, too. Top crowd-pleasing picks are the ultra-thinly sliced, semi-cooked potato threads cooked in a jolting spicy vinegar, and noodley tofu strips boiled and lightly stir-fried with pork and veggies.

Watch tasty, filling Chinese noodles get stretched, folded, and beaten by hand to order at this busy and tiny shop, which specializes in Lanzhou-style lamian. Choose from seven types of noodle thickness in a beef broth; most people choose thicker noodles, which allows you to experience their full chewy texture and the soup flavor to cling to them more. The portion size of noodle soups is generous; ordering a small will easily satisfy people with modest appetites, but if you eat a lot dare to get a large or extra-large portion.

For two generations, this family-run Chinese restaurant has served flavorful dishes inspired by China’s diverse regional cuisines. Hong Shing has deep community roots—locals say it offers the city’s best crispy beef and General Tso’s chicken, and hometown celebrities Drake and Simu Liu are regulars. It also features Toronto’s first baijiu-focused bar, pouring creative cocktails made with China’s potent national spirit. In 2024, Hong Shing opened Yan Dining Room, a 26-seat private space offering Chef Eva Chin’s seasonal, eight-course neo-Chinese tasting menu—advance reservations are essential.

An elegant dining room and formal service with silver serving dishes set the scene for upscale Asian food. The 100-dish inventory features excellent dishes like wok-fried shredded beef tenderloin with sundried chili peppers alongside delicacies dotted with truffle and foie gras.

Mott 32 is the perfect pairing to its host, the luxurious Shangri-La hotel, and Peking-style duck is king at this highly decorated Cantonese eatery. The sought-after birds are sliced and diced tableside, served with smoked applewood skin that you can dip into brown sugar for a unique experience. Fire-engine red hot-and-sour soup dumplings and decadent wild mushroom lettuce cups make for satisfying starters, while adventurous eaters might go for braised whole fish maw or bird's nest soup. 

Ride the Queens Quay Terminal escalator to one of the city's hidden fine dim sum experiences. The view overlooking Lake Ontario is nearly as delicious as the restaurant's menu of traditional Cantonese classics like har gao shrimp dumplings, broad snow pea leaves decorated with chunks of king mushroom, and various fresh seafoods from the tank prepared with homemade sauces.

If there is an equivalent to a fast-paced, casual Hong Kong–style diner in Chinatown, this would be it: the food is inexpensive and honest, and the setting is bright and spare. Diners enjoy heaping bowls of congee and customized noodle soups, including the best fish ball and shrimp dumpling bowls in town.