Hello,
We’re going to be at the University of Toronto (right by Queen’s Park). Where do we want to eat that’s within walking distance? (Long walks are ok.) I’m looking for something that can accommodate a vegetarian. Ideally nothing super fancy or formal, but any type of cuisine is fine.
Thanks very much.
Within a decent walking distance of Queen’s Park , there’s the excellent " Grey Garden " near Kensington Market. Also, a top notch Chinese ( Cantonese ) place " Wok Theory " is also close by. For something even more exotic, you can try the Japanese place " Yuugi Izakaya "…again, fairly close by!
There are some nice places on Baldwin Street.
Chinatown at Dundas and Spadina, and the Baldwin Village[Toronto]
I found Wok Theory to be hit or miss. I am not saying more.
If you’re okay with walking 45 minutes or so, or taking the Dundas W streetcar to Ossington, I like Union on Ossington, which keeps a couple nice veterinarian mains on the brunch menu and dinner menu.
Carolina at Dundas and Bathurst, Bar Vendetta on Dundas W, and Fourth Man in the Fire pizzeria, also on Dundas W, might work as well.
Mercatto in the Mars building near College and University does have some veg dishes and it’s pretty good if you need to eat closer to the St George Campus. Pizzeria Via Mercanti also has a location near the hospitals on University.
There’s also Piano Piano on Harbord.
These are “everyday” type restaurants:
Veggie D’Light vegan Caribbean and very tasty to boot. 160 Baldwin (right in Kensington Market) but depends how early you eat dinner. I think they close at 6.
Saigon Lotus vegan Vietnamese is pretty challenging to do well and this place does it well with mock meats. 6 St. Andrew St (also Kensington Market). But given the choice of vegan vs non, I’ll choose non to a place like Pho Ngoc Yen’s new downtown location at 350 Adelaide St W. But you’ll have to check their menu for vegetarian options as they’re menu varies by location and I haven’t been to the downtown one.
I wasn’t clear on which side of Queen’s Park you meant. North of Queen’s Park is the neighbourhood of Yorkville, which is more affluent and the restaurants reflect this kind of price point. Amal is an upscale Lebanese restaurant with lots of vegetarian-friendly options. Planta Yorkville is entirely plant-based. Although a little hit or miss, it’s an option to consider. You can read my report on it here. There’s also an Eataly just northeast of campus that has several casual restaurants with vegetarian-friendly options. Just south of there is Okonomi House for Japanese comfort food, assuming your vegetarian is OK with eggs.
East of campus and Queen’s Park are mainly chains and cheap eateries. However, Darvish is a quiet, unassuming Persian restaurant on Yonge St. that has quite a few vegetarian options on the menu. Ethiopia House has a decent vegetarian platter, with an assorted of different stews.
South and a little west of Queen’s Park and campus is the strip along Baldwin St., between Beverly St. and McCaul St., which others have mentioned above. I’ll add that it is worth going to Hattendo for their Japanese cream buns. There is also the original outlet of Kinton Ramen, which has a few vegetarian options.
Others above have made some good suggestions about west and southwest of campus.
I’ve only visited for dim sum as it’s one of the few restaurants my “old school” Chinese dad doesn’t mind eating at. I was thinking of it for a family dinner in near future. I understand if you really prefer not to say but I am curious which dishes were hit and miss.
So many great options here. Thanks, everyone! We’ll be on the west side of the park fwiw.
I still like Rol San for dim sum for an old school restaurant downtown, as well as Swatow for old school non- dim sum.
The dim sum at Wok Theory was good when I ordered it.
I’ll DM you re: what happened, to turn me off Wok Theory.
Ref: Wok Theory thumbs down
Would love to hear the cause as well!
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I wound up at Piano Piano and it was an excellent choice. Location was perfect, staff was lovely, and my pasta and salad were delicious. The restaurant is not necessarily worth a special trip, but it’s a great option if you want to dine in that area.
After all that food and train riding, I walked down to Mizzica. I do not get what all the fuss is about. It was good and the staff is lovely, but the gelato itself is way too melty.
This morning I had coffee and a scone at Ezra’s Pound. Later, a strawberry cream bun at Hattendo. Japanese pastries are not really my thing but I was compelled to check it out by other family members. The exterior was like milk bread, innards were nice - not super sweet.
I will be back soon!
