Toronto Dining

To get the best from Toronto's kitchens, head for any one of the city's ethnic neighbourhoods, where there's an abundance of good restaurants, or go to one of the many downtown cafés, café-bars or restaurants that have carefully nurtured a good reputation. Some of the best of the city's restaurants emphasize their use of Canadian ingredients - fish and wild-animal meat especially - but there's no real distinctive local cuisine: if there is a Toronto dish, it's hamburger, fries and salad. Prices range from the deluxe, where a meal will set you back upwards of $60, to the cheap fast-food chains, where a decent-sized snack or sandwich works out at about $9. The majority of Toronto's restaurants fall somewhere in between - a $25 bill per person for a two-course meal, excluding drinks, is a reasonable average. Most of the city's popular restaurants feature bargain daily specials from about $8 upwards and serve food till about 10pm, drinks till 1am.

For drinking, many of Toronto's neighbourhood bars are rough-and-ready places that look and feel like beer halls. Until fairly recently, it was common for them to have one entrance for men accompanied by women, the other for men only, but although these traditional bars remain popular with many of the city's blue-collar workers, they have largely been supplanted by the café-bar. The development of the latter has made the traditional distinction between eating and drinking places obsolete.

Café Bernate, 1024 Queen St W (tel 416/535-2835). The steam machine is in full swing at this neighbourhood spot, and the sunny yellow walls are hung with local artists' work. The menu offers 29 plump sandwiches for all tastes, and those drinking regular coffee get free refills. Streetcar: Queen (#501).

Bonjour Brioche, 812 Queen St E (tel 416/406-1250). This patisserie/café draws hoards from all over the city to sample its jewel-like fruit tarts, buttery croissants, puffy brioche and its delectable pissaladiere, a variation on the pizza from the Provence region of France. There's always a line for Sunday brunch, and almost everything is eaten by 2pm. Streetcar: Carlton (#506).

Goulash Party Haus, 498 Queen St W (tel 416/703-8056). This Hungarian café/bistro serves - what else? - goulash, along with other Eastern European staples such as cabbage rolls and schnitzel. The prices are reasonable and regulars like to bring along newspapers and books for a good, long visit. Streetcar: Queen (#501).

Gypsy Co-op, 817 Queen St W (tel 416/703-5069). An eclectic mix of old-time candy store and traditional Muskoka lodge, with a hip dining space downstairs and a space for jukebox, jitterbug dance fiends upstairs. The creative, light-fare menu caters to everyone from rare-steak eaters to vegans, and the atmosphere is agelessly cool and poseur-free. Streetcar: Queen (#501).

Insomnia, 563 Bloor St W (tel 416/588-3907). Internet cafés have not sprouted throughout Toronto like they have in other cities. Nonetheless, this one is staking a strong claim. Eight terminals with Net access, a full bar and an international menu which includes pastas, and Asian finger foods keep them coming until the wee hours of the night. Subway: Bathurst.

Jet Fuel Coffee Shop, 519 Parliament St (tel 416/968-9982). One of the oldest independent coffee establishments in town, this place is the unofficial hangout of Toronto's bicycle couriers. It only serves beverages that can be made with an espresso machine (tea included), and imports a few baked goods for dunking. An excellent choice for relaxing with a huge, inexpensive latte and a newspaper. Streetcar: Carlton (#506).

Kensington Café, 73 Kensington Ave (tel 416/971-5632). The international soup-and-sandwich menu here gives a nod to the Middle East. A small, cosy place to slip into if the hectic pace of Kensington Market gets to be too much. Streetcar: Dundas (#505).

Last Temptation, 12 Kensington Ave (tel 416/599-2551). A locals' kind of place where gossip and pool are the main sources of entertainment. The terrace caters to people-watching, and the bistro-style menu features a good selection of appetizers, as well as basic sandwiches, stir fries and pastas; don't miss the on-tap microbrews. Streetcar: Dundas (#505).

Café Nervosa, 75 Yorkville Ave (tel 416/961-4642). A delightful Yorkville address perfect for sipping coffee and watching the world pass by. The remodelled decor is broadly Mediterranean, as is the food, whose major emphasis is meal-sized salads, pastas and small pizzas baked in a wood-burning oven. The terrace is the place to be and be seen in summer. Bay subway.

Zelda's, 76 Wellesley St E (tel 416/922-2526). An unpretentious neighbourhood joint with a menu that runs the gamut from burgers to Asian-fusion salads. The interior is purposely kitschy and heavily Elvis-inspired. Subway: Wellesley.