Type of Food
|
Restaurant Name
|
Rating (out of 5 stars)
|
Cost
Rating
|
Within Walking Distance of CITA?
|
Comments
|
American
|
Phil's
Original BBQ |
3.00
|
 |
No |
If you like slow-cooked
American-style BBQ, Phil's is the place for you. They, of course,
have great ribs, pulled pork, and beans, with corn bread -- everything
you'd expect, and our waitress was very helpful in navigating the
choices.
|
British
|
Ferret & Firkin
|
2.25
|
|
Yes |
Very close by (just up Spadina),
great place to grab a pint, and good chicken wings. Pretty much
standard pub fare.
|
Canadian
|
Le
Bifteque Steak House
|
2.50
|
|
Yes (but long walk) |
Rating varies greatly depending on dish served
-- some people liked their steak a great deal, while others found their
meals undercooked. Fairly expensive, too.
|
Canadian
|
Swiss
Chalet
|
1.50
|
|
Yes |
Good for ribs and chicken, certainly. Not
much else for food on the menu, but the prices are reasonable and there
seem to be a lot of them around...
|
Chilean
|
Jumbo Empanadas
|
2.5
|
|
Yes |
This is a fairly small restaurant offering
genuine, inexpensive, fast Chilean food.
|
Chinese
|
Asian Legend
|
3.25
|
|
Yes |
This is a chain that has four
locations in Toronto, the closest to CITA being 418 Dundas
St. W. [(416) 977-3909]. This is a rather upscale Chinese
resturaunt, but still not very expensive. We found the food to
be very good, and prepared relatively quickly. This is a good
local place for CITAzens to take visitors who would like to
sample Chinese cuisine.
|
Chinese
|
Chung King Restaurant
|
2.50
|
|
Yes |
Located at 428 Spadina, we found
this restaurant to serve fairly standard Chinese fare, although we were
a bit surprised at the Mongolian Shrimp. Not bad, but nothing
extraordinary. Good, quick service.
|
Chinese
|
Shanghai
Lily
|
3.50
|
|
Yes |
Billing itself as "modern
Chinese dining", this is a rather unique restaurant relative to the
rest of Chinatown. We've been there for lunch and dinner and the
dishes have been excellent both times. One recommendation: if you
go for the Chai Pas (like tapas), get more than two per person.
The normal main dishes, however, are huge. Also, the service, while
good, is not incredibly quick.
|
Continental
|
Elixir
|
3.00
|
|
Yes |
Located at 522 Bloor W, near the
intersection of Bathurst & Bloor, this is a small restaurant
serving mostly continental food (standard beef, potatoes, pastas) with
a smattering of eastern European food as well. Nice dining
atmosphere and friendly staff, as well.
|
Cuban
|
Julie's
Cuban
|
3.50
|
|
No |
Great food and deserts, and although small, has
a cool, cozy atmosphere. Also, of course, they have Mojitos.
|
Czech
|
Bistro Praha
|
2.75
|
|
Yes (bit of a long walk) |
This may be authentic Czech food, and
reasonably close to CITA, but we didn't find the food as tasty
as we would have liked.
|
Ethiopian
|
Queen
of Sheba
|
2.50
|
|
No |
Prepare to eat with your hands only! The
huge combo platters offer great variety and introduction to Ethiopian
food, and inexpensive,
although the service is a little slow.
|
French
|
Le Petit Dejeuner
|
3.25
|
|
No |
This is a very nice, fairly small French
restaurant in downtown Toronto. A little bit more expensive,
but worth it.
|
French
|
Le Papillon
|
2.75
|
|
Yes (long walk) |
This is supposedly one of the best French
restaurants in Toronto, but we found their crepes more like
Indian dosas than crepes.
|
Indian (South)
|
Saravana Bhaven
|
3.25
|
|
No |
A vegetarian restaurant out in Mississauga,
this locale serves authentic South Indian food at very
reasonable prices.
|
Indian/Nepali
|
Mt. Everest
Restaurant
|
3.00
|
 |
Yes |
More Indian food than Nepali, so
the name is a bit misleading, but very close to CITA, good food, and a
friendly staff. The "Mt. Everest Special Dinner" is recommended, and
they do have a lunch buffet.
|
Italian
|
Pizza Rustica
|
3.5
|
|
Yes (long walk) |
This is quite possibly the best pizza in
Toronto, and fairly reasonably priced. The appetizers and
desserts are good too, although we didn't find the strawberry
dessert pizza very good, though.
|
Italian
|
John's Italian Cafe
|
2.75
|
|
Yes |
This is very close to CITA, on Baldwin. We
found this restaurant to have reasonably good food at good
prices. More of a nice, relaxing neighborhood Italian restaurant.
|
Italian
|
Cafe Nervosa
|
3.00
|
|
Yes |
Lots of outdoor seating,
friendly staff, and good food, especially the selection of
pizzas. A bit on the expensive side, and alas, their Mojitos
don't quite stack up. This restaurant is part of a upscale
shopping district, which has a nice little ice-cream shop a block west
called "Summers".
|
Korean
|
Jimmi Rak
|
2.75
|
|
Yes (long walk) |
Relatively cheap, good food -- lots of
interesting side dishes. The BBQ-on-the-table is highly
recommended and very filling. And,
there's a Baskin Robbins just west of it, making a great desert to a
spicy meal.
|
Mexican
|
Margarita's
|
2.75
|
|
Yes |
One of the few Mexican
restaurants around; good food and reasonable prices.
|
Middle Eastern
|
Free
Times Cafe
|
2.25
|
 |
Yes |
Has both Jewish/Middle Eastern and Canadian food
as well as a folk club.
|
Moroccan
|
Boujadi
|
2.75
|
|
No |
The food was generally really good, very
friendly service, but many
people were soured on the "Moroccan Sunsets", a drink we decided to
try...
|
Pakistani
|
Lahore Tikka House
|
3.00
|
|
No |
Located at 1365 Gerrard East, we
have it on good authority
that this is much closer to authentic Parkistani/North Indian than
normal Indian restaurants. Most of the seating is outdoors (so go
in good weather!), and the staff is really friendly and quick.
The food is good, very filling, and relatively cheap.
|
Persian
|
The
Pomegranate
|
3.5
|
 |
Yes |
Rice dishes are really good,
service was nice, as was the Chef.
|
Peruvian
|
The
Boulevard Cafe
|
3.75
|
|
Yes |
Excellent variety of food, cozy atmosphere, and
fairly close to CITA, although on the expensive side. Great
Mojitos, too.
|
Portuguese
|
Amadeus Restaurant
|
3.00
|
|
Yes |
The food seemed both authentic and was well
prepared, but we found it a bit pricy. For a sample of
Portuguese food, you might want to try the bar area, which
seemed cheaper (although they had less selection).
|
