CKA1

Hi,

Does anybody have suggestions for decent, but affordable restaurants in the downtown Toronto area.

I'll likely be eating out at least 8 times with a friend from school. We're grad students, so my budget isn't unlimited, but it isn't tight either.

Preferably 50/plate or 100 for two people. No wine or alcohol, so the 100 is just actual food. I have twelve meals to fill, and I plan to eat at the dorms for 4 or more of those meals as we have a kitchen. As it's for summer school, there is no meal plan or on-site options.

Also, suggestions on pizza and Chinese joints near Robarts Library would be good. On College or Spadina.

Chuck

tentseller

Chinese joint near College and Spadina? Just head south on Spadina to Dundas(3rd Chinatown) look for any Chinese joint with a lineup or crowded at lunch or dinner time. depending on what you eat you can get 8 very satisfying meals for not much over $100Cdn ($80US)

As for dress code, you need to be wearing clothes in public restaurants in Toronto.

CKA1

Any Chinese places that would deliver to a school? I found a great pizza place down the street from Trinity, but I can't remember the name.

I remember being in Chinatown last year and having a four dollar rice, some kind of meat and sauce. Really good deal, but I wasn't sure what exactly I was eating.

I am not suggesting it was a strange animal, but when the menu is in Chinese, I can't translate into English. The waitress asked me if I wanted the 'special' and I said "yes".

Chuck

tentseller

It is better that you don't ask what is in the food as long as it taste good.

I am not aware of any "delivery" services. It is a short walk for UofT and the fresh air will be good for you.
These are all real Chinese restaurants, not American version with deliveries.

BTW my favorite is Swatow at the SE corner of Spadina and D'arcy.

StuckInYYZ

Just a little off the path, but you could try Salad King. Yonge and Elm streets. On the second floor. Very popular.

neuron

Similarly, Green Mango on Yonge, near Bloor for Thai. I think they deliver also.

Since you are on campus, there are a lot of restaurants on Elm St. Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Italian. Definitely less than $50 per person. Not sure they deliver, but its 10 min walk from Robarts.

rankourabu

There are so many places on Spadina/College/Dundas that you wont even get to try them all.
Sky Dragon, Rol San, Xam Yu, a plethora of good eats.
Not to mention all the stuff around Kensignton Market.

If you are paying $50 a plate in the UofT area for good food - you are being taken for a ride.

neuron

Kensington Markey is a great idea, nice variety, younger crowds, some places with good beer selection.

For the OP, I would also recommend getting out of the campus area if you can, Greektown on the Bloor line will have lots to offer or head over to Queen or King St West.

If you have a fridge and plan to cook, Chinatown will also be a great place to get fruits and veggies and seafood for cheap.

B1

Kom Jug Yuen has good barbecued meats and the price is low considering the size of the portions (eat half and take the other home). The atmosphere is bearable. The two pizza slice places at Harbord and Spadina are good values and not franchises. The best Chinese deals are King Noodle on Spadina at Dundas and Yummy-Yummy Dumpling on Huron at Dundas. If you need poutine in your life, go to Smokes on Spadina at College. For a treat, go to Ryus Noodles on Baldwin at Henry. The Subway franchise on Spadina at Harbord is clean and the owner tries harder than those at other Subways.

CKA1

Interesting,

If I want a pizza at 10PM, what are my options. I remember going for a late night pizza quest across from Queens Park and there was a place where I could get a couple slices, some Sprites and it was all under 20.

As for paying 50/plate, I'm talking about eateries downtown. I'm not paying 50 for a sandwich, but maybe for a steak. Definitely not a dive bar. Maybe the Keg.

Also, as a non drinker, I don't care about beer or wine selections.

I seem to recall those two pizza places on Harbord and Spadina. I'm definitely planning to get pizza there. I had some last year and I paid a pittance, considering they gave me several huge slices.

Any suggestions on an all day breakfast (aside from the Free Times Cafe which I probably went to every day last time)? How about really good Italian?

Chuck

neuron

That would be Papa CEOs. Its been there for eons and does serve big slices (though not great pizza). I think they open til real late. The other quick and easy pizza is Pizza Pizza, which also delivers.

The ones people have mentioned are all sit down dining, not sandwich shops, but full course meal options.

I am not a big Italian restaurant goer, but little Italy is near the campus, beginning from Bathurst westward, south of Bloor, north of College. In that area is an all-day bf restaurant called Easy.

eigenvector

I don't really understand the question. You talk about wanting to spend $50/plate which implies you want fine dining, but then you are asking about stuff around College/Spadina. Lots of great Chinese food on Spadina but fine dining it is not.

Use Just Eat for deliveries (https://www.just-eat.ca/), it is just an order taking service that is used by many of the Chinese restaurants on Spadina. The food is delivered by the actual restaurant. It's like Seamless or whatever nonsense they are using in SF except it uses fax machines and doesn't operate under the pretense of being an innovative tech startup. New Ho King and the like will deliver directly to campus buildings, they know all the names, especially the engineering buildings. Deliveries until 4am or so.

Pizza - do you want good pizza or cheap pizza? These are completely different. Libretto has a downtown location now for good pizza. It's more than $3/slice or whatever the places on Harbord/Spadina charge these days. You don't need to "quest" for pizza at 10pm in Toronto. It's not Yellowknife, all the big chains will deliver until 1am.

24 hour breakfast near U of T - Fran's is pretty much your only option from midnight to 6am.

Italian - not sure what you mean by good, the best Italian places in Toronto aren't downtown but if you just want non-fast food Italian there's a Mercatto on College.

CKA1

Okay,

Just wanted to say this. The reason I'm inquiring about if a place delivers is that I don't feel safe after the early evening. It seems to me that there are a lot more rough fellows on the streets at that time. If I can get the food to come to me rather than walking around the area, even if I'm not alone.

50/plate is my upper limit.

I am actually interested in places where I can get a pizza for reasonable prices, or Chinese which can be delivered to the school. There are always guys who are willing to split a pizza.

I went to a restaurant on the top of the Manulife building and it was pretty close to 50/plate. It was a nice place and the view was a novelty.

Lunch will probably be a Nutella sandwich, which I would make myself. Total cost, under a dollar.

To be honest, I prefer food which I know what it is. I'm okay with Americanized Chinese food, as long as their place is clean. There are times where it's 9PM and I don't feel like going out to eat.

I don't want to have to hop in a cab to get somewhere. Walking distance from Robarts. That means it should only be a few km away. Maybe an hour away at the most.

Chuck

RCyyz

Toronto is a big city which means we have good stuff and not so good stuff (including violent crime) happening. That said, I do find it unlikely that something bad is going to happen in any of the areas mentioned on this thread.

If you really feel you can't go out after dark, stick to Just Eats of Uber Eats. If you do find the courage to venture out at night or any other hour, you'll find lots of places around U of T that are well within the budget.