Portuguese food and drinks in [Toronto]

Regional Dining Discussions Ontario
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What are your favourite spots?

I was really happy with the chicken and Piri Piri shrimp at Piri Piri Grill on Dupont a few weeks ago.

Today, I picked up some cod pasteis, shrimp pasteis, tuna pasteis, pasteis se Nata and milk tart at Gaspar Café south of Dupont not far from Dundas W .

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I often buy pasteis de nata at Venezia on Ossington.

https://veneziabakery.ca/phone/index.html

Today, I picked up olive oil and tisanes at Saudade, a gift shop that sells a few gourmet imports.

My purchases today, from Saudade and Gaspar Café, as well as non Portuguese coffee and BBQ sauce from Cafe con Leche in the Junction.

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Haven’t had much chance to eat Portuguese in a while. I used to live near Venezia decades ago and would get the bread and custard tarts regularly. We also like the chicken sandwiches at Churrasco of St. Lawrence in the St. Lawrence Market, and obviously the regular chicken itself is also good. For higher end seafood, we had good meals at Chiado, but the last time was pre-pandemic. Adega was good when it opened but seemed to become more ho-hum over time.

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I’ve been to Chiodo and Aden’s maybe 3 times, but not recently.

I have also enjoyed meals at Via Norte, but it has been a long time.

I want to try Mercado on Caledonia this spring . https://mercadotoronto.com

I might also try Flor De Sal. https://flordesalrestaurant.ca/menu

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Chiado is clearly the class of Toronto for Portuguese, but it’s not an everyday joint. For mid-level Portuguese, within the past couple of years, I’ve liked Bairrada Churrasqueira, especially the back patio in summer. Tasty, easy to take prices (at least, as easy to take as you can get nowadays). And Piri Piri Grill, on Dupont St., with a front patio somewhat shielded from annoying traffic. Strong on fish. Both have been around forever, and continue to deliver the goods with a certain flair.

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I got hives the last time I ate at Chiado, so I haven’t been back in quite a while! It’s a nice place and I should revisit at some point but I think I will avoid their seafood next visit.

(For upscale seafood, I have been happier at Croatian Joso’s)

I liked my recent chicken and Piri Piri shrimp at Piri Piri Grill more than a less recent chicken dinner at Bairrada, but I will give Bairrada another try.

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I haven’t been to Flor de Ave yet, nice menu.

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I stopped Brockton Bakery today, and I was at Nova Era in London yesterday.

I was happy with the pasteis de natas, a jelly roll -type eggy sponge cake and a Portuguese milhojas with coconut from Nova Era. The Bolos Levedos (a Portuguese cousin to the English muffin, but bigger, and sweeter) were very fresh but a little underbaked in the centre.

Today , I tried the Bolos Levedos and salt cod and potato cake ( pastéis de bacalhau) at Brockton Bakery.

The pastéis de bacalhau was fine.

The Bolos Levedos looked more baked, but they tasted like they were a few days old.

The Nova Era Bolos Levedos were a day old when I bought them, and 2 days old this morning, and they were fresher tasting that the Bolos at Brockton tonight.

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Maybe I accidentally bought Day Olds? Not sure.

Brockton Bakery pasteis de natas are $1.75 each, which seems a little cheaper than other places. I will try them tomorrow.

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Your Nova Era must be considerably better than my local in Ajax. It’s terrible. Just bland, production line I’d hate to call it baking.

Luckily, in Whitby Caldense Bakery and the adjoining Tina’s Portuguese Cuisine fills the need for custard tarts and bifanas quite handily.

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The Nova Era in London has been good in my experience.

Some items are made in London, others are trucked in from headquarters in Toronto.

Despite a fairly significant Portuguese population, London only has 2 Portuguese bakeries, and the other one only bakes bread, no pastries.

There is a decent independent Portugese bakery in Strathroy, which has a significant Portuguese population.

I haven’t tried the Nova Era locations in Toronto in ages.

When I’m in Toronto, I am within a 30 minute walk of Brockton Bakery on Dundas West and Bom Dia on Queen W, so those are my go-tos, unless I’m on Dovercourt, in which case I like Santana’s Bakehouse. I also like Gaspar Café.

I don’t like the vibe inside the Caldense Bakeries I’ve visited in Toronto. It’s been a long time since I visited one.

I don’t think Golden Wheat on College is as good as Bom Dia, at least not for the puddings. Golden Wheat cuts corners.

I used to like Doce Minho on Dufferin a lot. It’s been at least a decade since my last visit.

You’re the person who introduced me to the Bifana, via Chowhound!

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I love Portuguese wines (which might be apparent from my ‘name’; if you don’t get it – that’s OK: it’s obscure).

So, an update:

Doce Minho’s Pasteis de Nata are excellent. Last time I was in Lisbon, I trekked out to Belem and endured the line-up for “the world’s best” – they were good but (IMO) not better than the local ones here!

Chiado is mixed for me – I DO like the newer style dishes, but the traditional ones seem a bit heavy. Their grilled tiger shrimp is sensational – but pricy!

Piri Piri Grill is ‘comfortable’ rather than exciting. Solid and I enjoy the ambiance – mixture of families and high-school dates (they’re probably older, but as my age advances, everybody seems younger).

Flor de Sal has closed (it was good but pricy).

A newer addition to my rotation is Luna Junction (Dundas West and Keele) – serves pretty good food from a tiny kitchen at reasonable prices. Features food from the Azores.

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Have you tried Mercado? The food and space look nice online. It looks a little more upscale. I have not tried it yet.

I will check out Luna Junction.

Salt Wine Bar on Ossington, associated with Chiado, also serves some Portuguese dishes, as well as more Spanish-style dishes, tapas or raciones. I enjoyed what I ordered last September.

I like Piri Piri on Dupont. I think I visited after you recommended it, @Estufarian. I pick up take-out chicken and Piri Piri shrimp from Piri Piri occasionally. It’s popular with Portuguese families on the weekends, which I always take as a good sign.

I haven’t tried any other Portuguese chicken recently.

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For reference, Francesinhas are on the menu at Mercado Negro and O Espeta.

It looks like Kapital at 1500 St Clair W has been cleared away to make way for a condo.

https://www.reddit.com/r/FoodToronto/comments/12qammf/comment/jh129uq/

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Haven’t been - sticker shock!
mains $45-50 with extra $15 for side - so $60+.
I need a reccomendation from someone I trust before shelling out that much!
Plus they don’t even mention their wine list - and that’s equally important for me.

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I will try it for the food at some point, and hopefully I will remember to take a photo of the wine list.

There is a spot on Mercado’s Instagram profile which shows some posts under Vinho. Screenshots:

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I’ll have to try Doce Minho. After having the pasteis in Belem, nothing on this side of the pond comes close. Actually, every single one here, so far, has been horrible (no, not exaggerating and they were from Portuguese establishments).

@Phoenikia Francesinhas are overrated. Too much going on. Probably good hangover food, but not a patch on a good bifana.

As far as Portuguese wines, the ones I’ve had there were stellar, even the inexpensive ones, while the ones from the LCBO have been mediocre, at best. Ontario import laws/duties rules make it super expensive to have wines imported. The Portuguese winery owners rolled their eyes and looked sympathetic when they found out that the group I was with was from Ontario.

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At Doce Minho, I liked the ‘charred edge’ - gave it something to counteract the sweetness. I found the Belem a little sweet for my taste.

As for the wines, I generally agree on the whites (although the Loureiro from Avelada at $13.95 is great value - oops, the 2021 is now $14.95 - I bought a case of the 2020). The reds need aging - the good news is that I started buying them 20 years ago. But the prices have tripled since then.

The Stockyards store occasionally has stuff not available elsewhere (e.g. they have some ‘premium’ Avelada Alvarinhos at $24.95 grown on different soils).

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I like Francesinhas more than Bifanas.

I have been on a Croque Monsieur / Madame / spinach Croque streak the past 3 years, and I like hot turkey/ chicken / beef sandwiches, as well as Monte Cristos, which I consider in the same family as Francesinhas.

I ordered my Francesinha at the Scarlett brasserie, inside the historic Infante Sagres hotel, in Porto in 2009.

I tried a Bifana at the place in St Lawrence Market that Googs recommended. It would have been around 2007, when a dozen Chowhounds met up in SLM, when a NYC Chowhound came to visit. The sandwich was fine. I haven’t ordered another one.

I haven’t tried any Portuguese sandwiches other than the one Francesinha and the one Bifana yet.

I am going to try some of the Tostas available at Bom Dia. They look great.

I am happy with the custard tarts in Toronto, though, so it’s quite possible we aren’t on the same page when it comes to Portuguese food.

I visited one winery in the Douro Region, where we had a lovely lunch. I wasn’t part of a larger tour group. I was traveling work relatives and we hired a driver to take us on a tour of the Douro Region for the day. The driver/ tour guide chose the winery and restaurant. The owner of the winery was very happy to let us know his wines were available exclusively at Ferreira Café on Peel St in Montreal. We have been dining at Ferreira Café for 25 years, so it felt like a small world moment that our favourite place for Portuguese seafood in Montreal would carry his wine.

The custard tarts at Ferreira Café in Montreal are made to order, and served warm. They are a little smaller than standard Toronto tarts, and I think they taste a little more like the versions I had in Lisbon and Porto. I did not visit Belem.

I didn’t notice any eye rolling in Portugal. :rofl: I found everyone so kind, gracious and genuinely friendly. I have experienced some attitude problems and rude behaviour in Spain, and I’ve been ripped off in Spain, France, Italy and Greece.

I have this memory of the Portuguese people in the hospitality business being genuinely welcoming during my short visit. Not judging the tourists, and no snark. :rofl:

Of course, it probably helps that I can’t speak Portuguese and I wouldn’t pick up on the cultural subtleties. I pick up on the snark when I visit Greece, Germany, Austria or France, perhaps because I have family that live there and I can speak the language (basic level, not fluently, unfortunately).

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Oh, there was a lot of eye rolling happening, but it was from all parties at the Ontario government’s import laws. I found Portugal to a very safe, friendly, and welcoming place.

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Eyes rolling (or just disdain) not only in Portugal but other parts of Europe as well. In Australia, wineries there even express hatred at the arrogance of LCBO and their demands and some swear they would never deal with them. LCBO definitely has a bad reputation all over the world.

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Flor 2 is a Portuguese forward tapas bar at 722 College St. I plan to visit soon.

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