Five bistros in Toronto, with the lists that name them and why. One holds a MICHELIN star, two have made Canada's 100 Best, one is on North America's 50 Best and one is an editor's pick.
Bistro means something different at each of these five. Edulis is a modest-looking room in Niagara that asks you to put your phone away and keep your table all evening; it holds a MICHELIN star, ranked #5 on Canada's 100 Best in 2026 and #25 on North America's 50 Best Restaurants. Dreyfus on Harbord Street has served Zach Kolomeir's French-leaning food since 2019, with wine at fair prices, and placed #19 on the same Canadian list.
The other three lean elsewhere. Paris Paris is a bistro-inspired restaurant and wine bar in a converted garage on Ossington, and it made Canada's 50 Best Bars in 2024. Stock Bar sits upstairs on Yonge near Eglinton, an Italian bistro for pasta, pizza, steaks and cocktails that Gambero Rosso names among its top Italian restaurants. North in Richmond Hill, Chillax & Co. is a modern Asian bistro from the Chillax group, with a seafood rice skillet for two. More Italian rooms are on the best Italian restaurants in Toronto, and the rest of the city's picks are on the Toronto page.
A narrow, casually stylish Harbord Street bistro where owner-chef Zach Kolomeir cooks inventive French-inspired food, with attentive service and an adventurous, approachable wine list.
Standout dishes: sweetbread and sweet pea fricassee, grilled lobster with bone marrow, breaded pork chop with preserved pepper paprikash, crêpes Suzette
A cozy, eclectic room with warm hospitality from the chef-owners. The set menu is seafood-focused, drawing on Spanish and wider Mediterranean cooking with seasonal produce and rich sauces.
Standout dishes: Québec snow crab with fennel and mousseline, John Dory with white asparagus and Amontillado sauce
Michael Caballo and Tobey Nemeth cook around seasonality, simplicity and hospitality, with a tasting menu that changes too often to print and puts local vegetables, seafood and foraged ingredients first.
A destination restaurant behind a modest bistro facade, evoking unhurried dining with a tasting menu of classic European fine dining; seafood is a highlight, with praise for charcuterie, poultry and desserts.
Standout dishes: red fife bread, black truffle finger sandwich, langoustine tartare with caviar, walleye and black truffle gâteau
