6 Michelin Restaurants in the 6ix That You Can Order Takeout From
Written by Karen Burshtein
In the fall of 2022, Michelin put Canada’s biggest city on its starred map. The Michelin guide awarded stars to 13 restaurants in Toronto on its first foray into Canada. The culinary pacesetter also awarded Bib Gourmands to 17 more restaurants, recognizing high quality at an affordable price point (with most restaurants ringing in around $60 per person for a two-course meal with dessert or a glass of wine). Forty other Toronto restaurants also earned Michelin Recommendations.
These often unassuming places execute simple food exquisitely, and often, they already have a cult following among locals. What makes them of special interest to us here at Canada Takeout is that they offer takeout and/or delivery. If you’re looking to bring Michelin quality food to the comfort of your couch tonight, here are six deserving restaurants in Toronto awarded either Bib Gourmand or Michelin Recommendations that you can order takeout from:
India’s storied street food is the essence of Indian cooking and street vendors are icons of the country’s culinary scene. Indian Street Food Co. in East York brings the best of Indian street food to the streets of Toronto. You can take their delicious pakoras, savoury chaats, and thalis to go. Don’t forget to also grab an order of okra fries!
What Michelin said:
“Order the thalis to see the breadth of this kitchen’s talent in one large, oversized platter featuring delicately spiced lamb curry, rich dal makhani and a superb south Indian vegetable curry.”
In the heart of Toronto’s Little India is Puerto Bravo. The restaurant’s menu draws on street food from Mexico’s Northeast coast, including scrumptious seafood tacos. The Camarones Bravos shrimp tacos and the Pulpo al Carbon with grilled octopus are culinary delights that cost a mere $7. Vegan tacos with meatless chorizo are another affordable delight at only $6. Rotating specials can include a beef Papa steak, asadero cheese, avocado Salsa and mashed potato.
What Michelin said:
“Their itty bitty kitchen is the little engine that could, doling out bold flavors and phenomenal bites made with quality ingredients and executed with care.”
Chica’s owners, a young husband and wife duo, are bringing the fiery “hot chicken” they fell in love with on a trip to Nashville to Toronto’s Junction and Annex neighbourhoods. On the menu is an array of chicken sandwiches with varying degrees of heat (Michelin recommends medium) that transport you to sunnier climates on blustery days.
What Michelin Said:
“Medium heat is an approachable entry into this genre, but daredevils can swing for spicier tiers turbocharged with ghost peppers.”
Torontonians and visitors alike come here for owner Phanom Suksaen’s chili-laced Southern Thai comfort food dishes. These include Khao Pad Pla (fried rice with Basa fish) and Pa Phed Sa Tor Koong with stink beans. The stink beans are so named for their pungent pungent smell when raw, but when cooked, they take on a deliciously nutty aroma and flavour. Pad Thai and chef’s specials are also popular takeout items. Their hot and comforting Thai dishes hit the spot on a chilly Toronto winter day.
What Michelin said:
“The kitchen dishes out regional specialties that deliver heat and flavor in spades. Coconut green curry beef with plantain and stink bean is a classic bowl of piping hot, delicious comfort.”
Mother’s Dumplings in the heart of Chinatown is an obsession amongst Toronto locals. Chef owner, Zhen, and her team boil, steam, and pan-fry dumplings based on her mother’s traditional recipes from Northeastern China. The end result speaks for itself: dumplings taste like home cooking with no MSG or other additives. The boiled pork and dill dumplings are standouts.
What Michelin said:
“The menu boasts all manner of Chinese dishes, but stick to the namesake specialty, which are rolled out and folded at all hours by a dedicated team in the back.”
This deli, located in a Scarborough strip mall, serves delicious Montreal-style smoked meat sandwiches. Owner Sumith Fernando honed the craft of smoked meat sandwiches working at the Montreal mecca, Schwartz Deli. In his spare time, he created his own secret spice rub in which he marinates his Hallal brisket before smoking it for hours until tender. The brisket then finishes in the steamer before it gets piled high between slices of pillow-y rye bread.
What Michelin said:
“Against the advice of any physician, complete your order at this no-frills deli with poutine—fries topped with Quebec cheese curds and submerged in gravy. Ask for extra napkins, you’ll need them.”
