Toronto's Top 5 Hotel Restaurants
Whether you're on a business trip, vacation, or just passing through town, Toronto's hotel restaurants and bars are convenient and quality locations for a meal or drink. Most are open daily for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks, which can help take the hassle out of hunting down specific addresses. The following are ranked based on quality of experience (ambiance, service, and food), critical acclaim, and hours (the number of daily services offered).
Next time you're in town, here are five Toronto hotel restaurants that are worth a visit (if only for the food):
1. TOCA, Ritz-Carlton
With a name that's short for Toronto, TOCA is "an homage" to the city's diverse metropolitan vibe. The restaurant focuses heavily on Mediterranean culinary traditions and has on-site wine cellar and cheese cave. Guests are welcome to reserve a private room and/or the Chef's Table — a spot which allows guests to be as close to the stove as possible "without actually cooking themselves." They're open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch. A dinner menu standout is the venison loin with Jerusalem artichokes, fig compote, and pistachio.
2. Scarpetta at the Thompson Toronto
Located in the Thompson Toronto, Scarpetta serves an Italian-inspired menu "that is unexpected and soulful to Canada." The award-winning restaurant is the first international outpost of chef Scott Conant's Manhattan location. Scarpetta's signature dishes include spaghetti with tomato and basil, creamy polenta with fricassee of truffled mushrooms, and yellowtail with oil and pickled red onions. The restaurant is open for dinner every day except Sunday.
3. Stock Restaurant and Chocolate Lab, Trump Hotel
STOCK Restaurant Bar & Lounge serves "the finest meats, seafood, and locally cultivated fruits and vegetables, prepared with superior technique and international flair." In addition to the restaurant, Toronto's Trump Hotel restaurant also features a Chocolate Lab, or "a workshop from which items are designed daily for The Chocolate Cart at STOCK." The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch. In addition to the exclusive chocolate creations, we're loving the veal osso buco and potato gnocchi with picholine olives, white wine, and marjoram featured on the dinner menu.
4. Bosk, Shangri-La Hotel
Bosk is the signature restaurant at the Shangri-La Hotel. The restaurant serves fresh ingredients from around the world with an "Old World cooking style." They are open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Highlights from their dinner menu include a roasted sunchoke soup with arugula purée, hazelnut, pickled apple, and a prosciutto wafer, as well as the pumpkin agnolotti with roasted forest mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, and roasted garlic emulsion.
5. Momofuku (Noodle Bar, Nikai, Daishō, and Shōtō) next to the Shangri-La Hotel
Although not technically in the hotel itself, a collection of Momofuku establishments are only a short walk away. Noodle Bar (ramen-focused), Nikai (bar and lounge), Daishō (restaurant serving large-format meals meant to be shared), and Shōtō (restaurant serving a tasting menu that changes based on market availability) are some of the city's culinary gems. They're open at different times during the week and each offers a unique and modern interpretation of Japanese cuisine. If you can fit it in, we suggest trying the roughly 10-course tasting menu served every Tuesday through Saturday at Shōtō.