Did you know that Toronto is the second-best city on the continent for quality of life, is the fourth-largest city in North America, and has 240+ ethnic groups speaking 180+ languages?
If you live in New York and want to take a road trip to Canada’s most populous city, you’ll probably want to do so during spring, summer, or fall. The weather will be much better during those three seasons, so driving to and from won’t be a white-knuckle affair.
Do you consider yourself a foodie and want to enjoy some delectable cuisine while in Toronto? Whether you stay for a few days, a week, or even longer, you won’t be able to try everything. You can try, though.
Don’t dilly-dally and put a road trip on the back burner. It makes sense to make time for rest, relaxation, and recreation. If you’re a caregiver for an aging loved one, have someone responsible fill in for you. What if you have kids? Get a babysitter to help out. And if you own a rental property that keeps you busy, hire a property management firm to keep an eye on things.
Before you load your stuff into a vehicle, get behind the wheel, and hit the open road, ensure you check out these three great restaurants when you arrive in Toronto.
1. Scaramouche Restaurant Pasta Bar & Grill
Scaramouche Restaurant Pasta Bar & Grill is a two-in-one affair, meaning that it consists of two restaurants in a single space. On the one hand, there’s the restaurant focusing on haute cuisine. On the other hand, there’s the restaurant focusing on a bar and grill.
Main course dishes include filet mignon served with whipped potatoes, mushrooms, green beans, blue cheese butter, and red wine jus. The lobster dish comes with half of a lobster poached in butter, braised Swiss chard, pasta ribbon, black olives, piquillo peppers, oven-dried cherry tomatoes, and preserved lemon in a seafood nage.
Are you or anyone you’re traveling with a vegetarian? The eatery has a vegetarian menu. It also offers mouth-watering desserts.
2. Byblos
You’ll find plenty to enjoy at Byblos. Try the tuna tartare with citrus chili tahini, watermelon, avocado, soy, cilantro, and lavash. Another tasty dish is the lamb ribs with dukkah, buttermilk, date molasses, and red chili Schug. Do you prefer main course dishes with beef? Try the hummus royale with wagyu beef, pine nuts, barberry, and barbari bread.
The fried eggplant with honey, baharat, yogurt, cilantro, and sesame is a great dish if you want to go the vegetarian route. And that’s just for starters. Deserts include chocolate olive oil cake with almonds, Medjool dates, and tahini chantilly, seasonal ice cream and sorbet, and the rolled baklava with pistachios, orange blossom honey, and white chocolate.
Watch this to get a glimpse:
3. Black Camel
Black Camel is famous for its gourmet sandwiches. No, you won’t confuse the restaurant for the run-of-the-mill sandwich shops you’ll find on every other street corner. It’s a great place to grab a bite to eat when you need a break from your busy road trip itinerary.
Great sandwich options include slow-roasted beef brisket, seared steak, pulled BBQ pork shoulder, and pulled-roasted chicken. Other options include a BLT with pesto mayo pancetta, arugula, and roasted tomato. You can also get a roasted vegetable sandwich with tomato, sweet red pepper, arugula, and eggplant. Do you enjoy sweets? Black Camel offers many options.
Watch this cute clip by a few Honda bike riders who stopped by:
If you plan to go on a road trip to Toronto, there are some restaurants you should check out. The ones listed above are worth visiting. But they’re just a drop in a proverbial bucket since there are many great places to enjoy quality food. Do your research ahead of time to find restaurants serving the type of food you want.
Karen works for a big hedge fund, she’s awesome with numbers and loves what she does, but above all – she loves traveling. Whenever she’s on the road, she tries to get into the gritty tiny details of every location she explores.
Sarah Knapp is a Brooklyn based entrepreneur whose love for the outdoors and community building led her to the October 2013 creation of OutdoorFest. She has a BA in History, is a Wilderness First Responder and a NY state hiking, camp and boating guide. Her proudest achievement to date is reading the Aeneid in Latin. 
Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
Annie is a travel writer, environmentalist, and surfer based in Venice, CA. She heads up our West Coast team, keeps our grammatical errors in check, and makes sure our California writers always have a plan for their next adventure. Follow Annie’s travels @annelisemcb.
Carly Pifer is a freelance writer who has been known to follow whims inspired by romantic movie scenes or colorful street style shots to India, Japan, Tunisia and Argentina. After stints living in Seoul, Boston, Paris and Los Angeles, writing and searching for something intangible, she landed somewhat steadily in Brooklyn and has begun to find inspiration in her more immediate surroundings. 
Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram