Harbourfront itself doesn’t have much. I’d describe it as equivalent to Battery Park City. The only place I have visited recently is Dynasty, in Queens Quay Terminal (a dead mall), which serves upscale dim sum.
Don Antonio in the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel is a rotating restaurant with a Michelin star located at Harbourfront . I haven’t visited since it opened, at its original location a few years ago. Of course it’s Italian- so you wouldn’t be interested- I’m just mentioning it because it’s a good restaurant located near Harbourfront.
For locavore food, consider Canoe (upscale expense account Canadian Continental cuisine with a view but fairly corporate crowd ). You might consider Dreyfus.
Perhaps consider getting on the waitlist for Alo, or visit Alobar. The menus might come across as too bistro/ Continental for your taste.
Favorites Thai BBQ might be something you’d like. I like it, but it adds up quickly.
I am a semi-regular customer at a couple Vietnamese coffee shops- prob not with a taxi.
Most Vietnamese restaurants located downtown are pretty good, but focused on bun, pho and banh mi, rather than broken rice platters, beef 7 ways, etc. The less common dishes and fuller service menus are found in restaurants further from the core. There’s is a year-old spot called Ca Phe Rang, with a connection to Matty Matheson, which is downtown, on Spadina near Richmond. I haven’t been yet .
In terms of traditional Toronto and Ontario cuisines, the dishes that I associate with Toront:
Peameal bacon on a bun or peameal sandwich (St Lawrence Market has some places that sell this, and some restaurants have peameal bacon breakfast mains), the butter tart (downtown, they’re available at Bannock attached to the Bay department store on Queen, Arcadian court chicken pot pie (a typical chicken pot pie, also available at Bannock).
Soma Chocolate on King near Bathurst is with visiting if you like chocolate.
