12 Cool & Unique Restaurants in Toronto (Foodie Experiences)

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Toronto’s food scene is a total playground for foodies. Whether you’re exploring the bustling streets of Kensington Market or savoring a meal with a killer view of the CN Tower, this city knows how to serve up unique dining experiences. From dim sum in Chinatown to creative farm-to-table dishes in Queen West, Toronto’s flavors reflect its vibrant multicultural energy.

On my two trips here, I’ve had the chance to try out some of the city’s most talked-about restaurants, and let me tell you, they live up to the hype. Here are 12 of the coolest and most unique places to eat in Toronto—each one guaranteed to leave you wanting more!

• 👉 Pro Tip: I HIGHLY recommend doing this international food tour in Toronto. They bring you to the best spots in the city to try unique dishes like Tibetan momos, Jamaican patties, and more. This tour is an absolute must-do on a Toronto itinerary in my opinion.

Unique Restaurants in Toronto, Canada: 12 Memorable Toronto Eateries

Are you eager to explore the unique dining experiences Toronto has to offer? The beauty of Canada is definitely on full display in Toronto’s restaurant scene. Stay with us as we reveal where to eat in Toronto, Ontario.

Craving locally-sourced game or a meal that takes you on a journey through darkness? Maybe you’re in the mood for a dinner that comes with a side of live entertainment? Whatever your taste adventure, Toronto is ready to meet it. Here’s your exclusive guide to the most unique restaurants in Toronto, ON.

1. ONoir Toronto

• 📍 Location: Church-Wellesley Village
• 💲 Price range: $40 – $70 per person
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Mystery Multi-Course / Global Influences (Dining in the Dark)
• 🔥 Standout Features: Dining in pitch blackness, service by visually impaired servers, sensory focus, unique concept.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Adventurous eaters, unique dates, sensory explorers, icebreakers, and memorable dining adventures.

Ready to ditch the visuals and truly taste your food? ONoir Toronto invites you to dine in complete, absolute darkness. Located near the Village, this unique concept challenges your senses as you navigate a surprise multi-course meal.

You’ll rely solely on taste, smell, touch, and the expert assistance of their visually impaired serving staff. You might get a creamy butternut squash soup, tender braised beef with root vegetables, or a surprising chocolate avocado mousse. It’s a fascinating way to experience flavor!

2. Ten Restaurant

• 📍 Location: Brockton Village
• 💲 Price range: $80 – $150+ per person
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Canadian / Seasonal Tasting Menus
• 🔥 Standout Features: Tiny (10-seat) intimate setting, chef-driven tasting menus, Canadian ingredient focus, hard to reserve.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Foodie splurges, intimate fine dining, tasting menu lovers, seasonal eating fans, and exclusive experiences.

Good luck snagging a seat – seriously! Ten Restaurant lives up to its name with an incredibly intimate setting of just ten seats for a truly exclusive dining experience. This spot focuses on ambitious, chef-driven tasting menus showcasing Canadian ingredients.

The tiny space means service is super personal. Expect multiple courses of beautifully plated food like delicate Nova Scotia scallops with foraged greens, inventive pasta dishes with seasonal mushrooms, or perfectly cooked Ontario lamb. Getting a reservation requires planning.

3. The Sultan’s Tent & Cafe Moroc

• 📍 Location: St. Lawrence Market Area / Old Town Toronto
• 💲 Price range: $50 – $90 per person
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Moroccan / French-Moroccan
• 🔥 Standout Features: Lavish Moroccan tent decor, belly dancing shows, tagines/couscous, atmospheric setting.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Unique date nights, group celebrations, experiencing Moroccan vibes, dinner & a show, and transportive dining.

Escape to an exotic oasis at The Sultan’s Tent & Cafe Moroc. This unique restaurant transports you with its lavish, draped tent ceilings, plush seating, and rich colours – pure Arabian Nights fantasy! Captivating belly dancing performances happen most nights.

The menu features flavorful Moroccan and French-Moroccan cuisine. Dive into aromatic tagines, like the chicken with preserved lemons and olives. Fluffy couscous royale with mixed meats, or a selection of Moroccan salads and dips like zaalouk, are also fantastic.

4. Mysteriously Yours Mystery Dinner Theatre

• 📍 Location: Chelsea Hotel
• 💲 Price range: $80 – $130+ per person (Includes dinner & show)
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: American / Continental Set Menu
• 🔥 Standout Features: Interactive murder mystery show, audience participation, themed performances, dinner included with entertainment.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Fun group outings, unique celebrations, interactive theatre fans, mystery lovers, and dinner with a show.

Can you crack the case before coffee? At Mysteriously Yours Mystery Dinner Theatre, your meal comes with suspense and laughter. Located midtown, this spot mixes a multi-course dinner with a live, interactive comedic murder mystery play unfolding around your table!

The set menu usually offers options like prime rib, grilled salmon, or a vegetarian pasta dish, along with soup or salad and dessert. Guests are encouraged to follow clues and interrogate suspects. The focus is on the engaging entertainment.

5. Antler Kitchen & Bar

• 📍 Location: Little Portugal / Dundas West
• 💲 Price range: $50 – $90 per person
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Contemporary Canadian / Wild Game Focus
• 🔥 Standout Features: Canadian game meat focus (venison/bison/boar), adventurous dishes, craft cocktails, rustic-chic vibe.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Adventurous eaters, game meat fans, Canadian cuisine explorers, stylish date nights, and trying something different.

Get a taste of the Canadian wilderness at Antler Kitchen & Bar on Dundas West. This spot celebrates Canadian ingredients with a unique focus on wild game and foraged goodies. Think expertly prepared dishes featuring flavorful venison or rich bison.

Their game burger (often bison or elk) is a popular choice. Adventurous dishes like smoked duck hearts or venison tartare showcase their unique focus. The atmosphere is rustic-chic, warm, and inviting. They also shake up fantastic craft cocktails.

6. 360 The Restaurant at the CN Tower

• 📍 Location: Entertainment District (Top of CN Tower)
• 💲 Price range: $80 – $150+ per person (Prix-Fixe, includes tower access)
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Upscale Canadian / International
• 🔥 Standout Features: Revolving restaurant atop CN Tower, incredible 360° city/lake views, fine dining, world’s highest wine cellar.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Ultimate Toronto views, special occasions, tourists wanting iconic experience, romantic dinners, and impressing visitors.

Dine way up among the clouds at 360 The Restaurant, perched near the top of Toronto’s iconic CN Tower. This place revolves slowly, giving breathtaking, ever-changing 360-degree views of the city skyline and Lake Ontario. Your meal includes tower access!

The menu offers upscale Canadian cuisine via prix-fixe menus. Expect regional ingredients like Canadian beef tenderloin or Atlantic salmon. Seasonal vegetable terrines or rich chocolate desserts are also highlights. It’s a definite splurge for those unforgettable views.

7. Canoe Restaurant and Bar

• 📍 Location: Financial District (TD Bank Tower, 54th Floor)
• 💲 Price range: $80 – $150+ per person
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Contemporary Canadian / Fine Dining
• 🔥 Standout Features: Stunning panoramic city and Lake Ontario views from the 54th floor, focus on Canadian ingredients and regions, elegant and sophisticated atmosphere, impeccable service.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Special occasions, impressing clients/visitors, fine dining with a view, celebrating Canadian cuisine, and romantic dinners.

Experience Canadian fine dining at its peak at Canoe Restaurant and Bar, located on the 54th floor of the TD Bank Tower. This acclaimed restaurant offers breathtaking panoramic views of the Toronto skyline and Lake Ontario, creating a stunning backdrop for its sophisticated cuisine.

The menu celebrates Canadian ingredients from coast to coast. You might savor delicate Fogo Island cod, tender Ontario lamb, or inventive dishes featuring wild game like venison. The service is impeccable, making Canoe a top choice for special occasions.

8. Banh Mi Boys

• 📍 Location: Multiple (Queen West, Yonge St.)
• 💲 Price range: $10 – $20 per person
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Vietnamese-Inspired Sandwiches & Street Food / Fusion
• 🔥 Standout Features: Creative banh mi/bao fillings, steamed bao buns, amazing kimchi fries, fast-casual/popular.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Banh mi lovers, quick flavorful bites, fusion street food fans, budget eats, and satisfying cravings.

Get ready for a flavor party at Banh Mi Boys! This super popular spot takes Vietnamese street food and gives it a creative, seriously addictive twist. They’re famous for stuffing crusty baguettes or fluffy steamed bao buns with inventive fillings.

Ordering their legendary kimchi fries, topped with pulled pork and spicy mayo, is essential. The kalbi beef banh mi or the five-spice pork belly steamed bao are also must-tries. It’s a quick, no-frills, fast-casual setup for affordable and insanely flavorful eats.

9. Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament

• 📍 Location: Exhibition Place
• 💲 Price range: $60 – $90+ per person (Includes dinner & show)
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: American Fare (Eat with hands!) / Set Menu
• 🔥 Standout Features: Live medieval tournament (jousting/sword fights!), castle setting, eating utensil-free, themed experience.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Families/kids, unique group entertainment, themed experiences, dinner & a show fans, and releasing your inner knight.

Huzzah! Travel back to a time of knights at Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament. Located inside a castle-like structure at Exhibition Place, this dinner show features armor-clad knights on real horses battling in jousts and sword fights. You eat a medieval-style feast with no utensils!

The set meal typically includes roasted chicken, garlic bread, sweet corn on the cob, and an apple pastry. The main event is the thrilling live-action tournament. It’s pure spectacle, aimed squarely at family fun and entertainment.

10. See-Scape

• 📍 Location: The Junction
• 💲 Price range: $10 – $25 per person (Gaming/Drinks focus)
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Bar / Cafe / Sci-Fi/Fantasy Themed
• 🔥 Standout Features: Sci-fi/fantasy theme bar, board games/video games offered, themed drinks/snacks, community hub vibe.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Geeks/nerds, board game players, casual hangs, themed bar lovers, and community gatherings.

Beam aboard See-Scape, a sci-fi and fantasy themed bar and cafe that’s a true haven for geeks in The Junction. Decorated with cool nerdy art and memorabilia, this spot is a community hangout packed with tons of board games and video games.

Expect fun themed cocktails like the “Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster” or a “Romulan Ale.” Casual snacks like popcorn or grilled cheese, and cafe fare such as sandwiches or wraps, keep your gaming energy up. See-Scape offers a relaxed, nerdy atmosphere.

11. The Shameful Tiki Room Toronto

• 📍 Location: Parkdale
• 💲 Price range: $15 – $35 per person (Drinks focus)
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Tiki Bar / Polynesian Small Bites
• 🔥 Standout Features: Authentic classic tiki bar vibe, dim/exotic decor, strong rum cocktails, shareable bowls, no windows.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Tiki fanatics, potent cocktail lovers, escapist bar experiences, fun date nights, and transporting to Polynesia.

Escape to a windowless world of tropical bliss at The Shameful Tiki Room in Parkdale. This spot nails the classic mid-century tiki bar aesthetic – dim lighting, carved masks, pufferfish lamps, and surf tunes transporting you far away. It feels like a rum-fueled hideaway.

They specialize in strong, expertly crafted classic tiki cocktails. A “Zombie” or a “Painkiller” served in awesome thematic mugs are essential. The “Mystery Bowl” (a large, shareable flaming concoction) is perfect for groups. They offer Polynesian-inspired snacks.

12. Snakes & Lattes Annex

• 📍 Location: The Annex (Multiple locations exist)
• 💲 Price range: $10 – $25 per person (Gaming fee + food/drink)
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Cafe / Pub Fare / Drinks
• 🔥 Standout Features: Massive board game library (thousands!), pay-to-play gaming, cafe/bar setting, game gurus available.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Board game lovers, group game nights, casual dates, trying new games, and coffee/drinks with gaming.

Ready to roll for initiative? Snakes & Lattes is Toronto’s original board game cafe phenomenon, boasting an insane library of thousands of board games. Pay a small cover fee for unlimited access while enjoying coffee, beer, cocktails, and decent cafe/pub food.

Their friendly “game gurus” can recommend games. For food, shareable nachos are a popular choice. Classic grilled cheese sandwiches or satisfying burgers are also good fuel for your gaming session. Snakes & Lattes makes game night easy and fun.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Unique Restaurants in Toronto

Searching for more information to help you decide where to eat in Toronto? Here are some common questions (and answers) I get asked a lot about Toronto’s best restaurants.

What is a unique food in Toronto?

If you’re hunting for a bite that screams Toronto, grab a peameal bacon sandwich. This isn’t your average bacon but a juicy, tender slice rolled in peameal and cooked until golden. Head over to St. Lawrence Market tp snag one of these iconic sandwiches.

What foods are famous in Toronto, Canada?

Here are some of the famous foods that are a must-try in Toronto:

1. Peameal Bacon Sandwich: Often considered Toronto’s signature sandwich. It consists of peameal bacon—a type of back bacon rolled in cornmeal—stacked on a bun. You can enjoy this sandwich with simple condiments like mustard.
2. Butter Tart: A classic Canadian dessert, butter tart is a sweet and sticky treat. It consists of butter, sugar, syrup, and egg filling baked in a flaky pastry shell.
3. Maple Syrup: Toronto, like much of Canada, is known for its maple syrup.
4. Craft Beer: The city has a booming craft beer scene. You’ll find many local breweries offering a wide range of innovative and traditional brews.
5. Toronto Street Food: The street food scene in Toronto is bustling. It includes food trucks and stalls offering everything from Korean tacos to gourmet grilled cheese.

Is Toronto a good city for foodies?

Oh yes! For a foodie, Toronto is like hitting the jackpot. Every street and alley offers something delicious. You can hop from tasting the best food in Toronto at a pop-up vendor to dining at a top-tier restaurant in the evening. The city is a feast of flavors, with eateries that’ll satisfy those craving home-style cooking or gourmet dishes.

Are there any themed restaurants in Toronto?

You bet! Themed restaurants in Toronto add a dash of drama to dining out. Want to travel back in time? Check out Medieval Times. If you prefer a journey of the senses, ONoir will have you dining in complete darkness. For something out of this world, See-Scape’s sci-fi setting is a blast.

Where can I eat in Toronto for a special occasion?

Special occasions call for special settings. I recommend popping the cork with a view at 360 The Restaurant at the CN Tower. For something a little more down-to-earth but equally charming, Richmond Station’s cozy corners are perfect for making memories. Want a sprinkle of exotic? The Sultan’s Tent wraps up romance with its Moroccan flair.

What is the most famous restaurant in Toronto?

Alo and Barberian’s Steakhouse are among the most famous restaurants in Toronto. Alo is renowned for its exquisite multi-course tasting menus and offers a refined dining experience in the Queen West area. Barberian’s Steakhouse, with its old-school charm on Elm Street, is celebrated for its quality steaks. It’s a favorite among both locals and visiting celebrities​. These establishments are known not only for their exceptional cuisine but also for their distinctive atmospheres and the memories they help create.

Recap: Unique Restaurants in Toronto

Toronto’s dining scene is a treasure map, and each restaurant we’ve talked about is a gem waiting to be discovered. These eateries don’t just serve food. They serve experiences that linger in your memory long after the last bite, capturing the essence of Toronto’s charm. If I had to pick just one unique restaurant in Toronto that you absolutely can’t miss, The Sultan’s Tent stands out. Its enchanting atmosphere and flavors transport you straight to Morocco, inviting you to fly to Canada through your taste buds!!

From the sky-high delights of 360 The Restaurant at the CN Tower to the interactive fun at Snakes & Lattes Annex, there are plenty of incredible Toronto restaurants. Antler Kitchen & Bar brings the wild heart of Canada to your table with local, foraged ingredients, while Banh Mi Boys showcases how street food can pack a gourmet punch.

Each restaurant on this list brings its own flavor to the table. When you’re here, every meal is an opportunity to create a story you’ll be eager to share. I recommend visiting in January, my favorite month to see Toronto as a winter wonderland.