Top 25 Unique Restaurants in Toronto for Inspiration in 2025

Narrowing down the most unique restaurants in Toronto is no easy feat. On any given day, Toronto diners can choose from one of nearly 10,000 restaurants within the city’s walls.

And with one of the most diverse restaurant scenes in the world, we’re sure we’re missing a ton of amazing options – so make sure to do your homework on your niche if you’re thinking about opening up a spot in Toronto.

For the budding restaurateur, Toronto is ripe for conceptual analysis: which concepts are working? which are not? To help you fine tune and differentiate your restaurant concept, we’ve created a list of 25 of the best and most unusual restaurants in Toronto.

With these creative concepts in mind, we hope that you can refine your startup idea or fill out your current concept so that your offering stands out from the rest.

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1. Byblos

Byblos is a contemporary eastern Mediterranean restaurant whose philosophy is to use hand-made, homemade, in-house ingredients. But it also imports olives, oils, and spices from Israel, Morocco, and Turkey.

What sets this restaurant apart? A fusion of traditional and contemporary, Byblos uses time-honored cooking techniques along with modern methods to create an entirely novel taste experience.

Despite its city chic feel, Byblos keeps with Middle Eastern dining traditions: food is served family-style, and the ambiance is friendly and bustling.

2. Richmond Station

In a city that hustles and bustles as much as Toronto, time stops at Richmond Station. The brainchild of Top Chef Canada winner Carl Heinrich, Richmond Station is a casual, trendy restaurant in the heart of Toronto’s financial district.

Despite its artfully crafted menu and reputation as one of downtown Toronto’s best restaurants, Richmond Station remains unpretentious. Before its grand opening, staff sat together for Thanksgiving dinner and enjoyed a meal together. Years later, the restaurant’s humble atmosphere remains.

3. Midnight Market

Midnight Market is a Toronto snack bar that’s earned its spot as one of the top 10 results on Yelp for unique dining experiences in the city. Taste Toronto describes the restaurant’s decor perfectly: “it feels like you’ve entered a cyberpunk dreamscape.”

The menu is as creative as the venue itself, featuring items like wasabi Caesar salad, salted duck fettucce ricce, and cocktails served in teapots. The best part? Appetizers are buy one, get one free for two hours every day.

4. Kinka Izakaya

Prepare for some yelling, all in great fun! Kinka Izakaya is Toronto’s take on a traditional Japanese pub, known in Japan as an “izakaya”. Diners eat at communal tables and food is served tapas style. With a robust sake and Japanese cocktail list, diners can expect a loud, boisterous, communal, and delicious experience.

5. Beast Pizza

Beast Pizza is known not only for its pizza, but also its elaborate whole animal dinners. How does it work? Diners choose the animal and chef Nathan Middleton creates a six-course tasting menu using a different part of the animal for each course. 

Here’s what Reddit users have to say about the experience: “It’s one thing to order off a menu, it’s another to have a whole kitchen take weeks to imagine and prepare dishes explicitly for you.” And, “Totally second this. Plus you can choose your adventure level, so if you’re worried about being served offal or unconventional cuts you can choose less adventurous.”

6. O.NOIR 

On its face, O.NOIR offers guests a fine dining experience. The caveat? They can’t see a thing. 

As the O.NOIR experience proves, seeing isn’t everything. The restaurant aims to provide an experience that actually amplifies diners’ ability to taste and smell. O.NOIR’s entire waitstaff are also visually impaired. The restaurant has aimed to replicate the socially conscious concept of Jorge Spielmann, a blind pastor in Zurich who blindfolded dinner guests so they knew what it felt like to taste while visually impaired.

7. See-Scape

See-Scape, also among Yelp users’ top 10 unique restaurants in Toronto, is the city’s original sci-fi bar and gaming cafe. With both video games and board games on the menu, this restaurant is the epitome of fun dining in Toronto, catering to all ages and styles of gamers. 

Diners might come for the games, but they stay for the food. Tacos and burritos from Black Sheep Taqueria are the MVPs at See-Scape, alongside a full menu of alcoholic beverages.

8. Mysteriously Yours

You could simply describe Mysteriously Yours as “dinner and a show.” But the experience goes far beyond that: there’s fake-blood shed, lies, and deceit. Even chicken marsala. We digress… Just know it’s one of the most unusual restaurants in Toronto.

Mysteriously Yours is also a theatre company that has been performing murder mysteries for over 30 years. Diners don’t just watch: they’re brought into the show and get to mingle with the characters, murderer included.

As diners try to solve the case, they feast on a three-course meal while trying to identify the killer. Once they’ve fine-tuned their sleuthing skills, they even have the chance to win prizes based on their guesses.

9. Le Petit Chef

Le Petit Chef is a one-of-a-kind dining experience where a tiny animated chef prepares your meal right on your plate (sort of). Through the magic of 3D projection mapping, your table becomes a stage for storytelling, complete with themed music, props, and a fine-dining menu to match. The result? A whimsical, immersive meal where technology and theater meet French cuisine – no VR headset required.

As for the food, diners are treated to a multi-course meal (think pan seared chicken, filet mignon, or eggplant a la Parmigiana) with a vegetarian menu available. Bon appetit, and thanks to Reddit for the heads up about this gem!

10. Snakes and Lattes

Board games and booze, anyone? Snakes and Lattes promotes dining room table favorites. Now with three locations across downtown Toronto, guests can choose from games that range from trivia to strategy to dexterity. 

For those who are easily intimidated by games – or just can’t quite figure them out – Snakes and Lattes employs “game gurus” to help everyone get the most out of their experience. The cafe also regularly has game nights to engage hardcore gamers. For those diners who can’t get enough, they can buy games from Snakes and Lattes’ retail shop.

11. Rec Room

With over 40,000 square feet of event space, Rec Room is kind of like Playdium for grown-ups. It’s a restaurant, bar, arcade, pool hall, meeting space, concert venue, and patio lounge. Games include the typical shuffleboard, ping pong, and pool. But the Rec Room also offers video games, a car simulator, and a real-life 3D video game experience called The Void. 

Besides the entertainment options, the Rec Room offers two dining experiences. The first, Three10, is an ode to Canada’s three territories and ten provinces, with province- and territory-specific cuisine. The second eating option is called the Shed, whose menu consists of poutine and pizza share plates.

12. Yasu

Yasu isn’t your average California roll, in-and-out sushi hole in the wall. The restaurant serves twelve people at one table and one price per person. With only two nightly sittings, 6:00 pm and 8:30 pm, diners must make a reservation and arrive on time. Since the entire restaurant is a chef’s table, diners get a first-hand look at the meticulous curation of each roll.

13. The Keg Mansion

You’re probably thinking, “What? The Keg isn’t one of the most unusual restaurants in Toronto. It’s a franchise.” But hang tight.

The Keg Mansion is haunted.

The tales of toilets flushing and washroom stalls opening on their own are just the beginning.

As history would have it, a young boy once fell to his death after popping a spindle out from the staircase. A spindle, we should mention, that continues to fall out on the same day every year. 

14. 360 Restaurant

There’s no better way to see Toronto than from 350 meters above the city. 360 is the CN Tower’s restaurant, and in the … sigh… second highest building in the world. 

A spot often frequented by tourists and for special occasions, 360 revolves slowly so guests get a complete view of the city from the sky. Like most fine dining restaurants, 360 has an extensive wine list. But unlike most fine dining restaurants who keep their wine buried in cellars underground, 360’s 9,000 bottles are suspended in the sky. 

15. Medieval Times

Some like forks, knives, and theatres. Others want to sink their teeth into a pound of meat and bear witness to “an epic battle of steed and steel.” For the latter, Medieval Times offers dinner and a show like no other. 

In the course of an evening, men on horseback joust to the death (ok, not really, it is a family show). For birthday parties or pure entertainment, the appeal behind Medieval Times is legendary for a reason.

16. Sultan’s Tent and Cafe

When diners walk into the Sultan’s Tent, they leave Toronto and enter Morocco. Guests sit on plush cushions against a backdrop of jewel-toned silk curtains. Under a golden tented tapestry, diners enjoy a Moroccan-French inspired menu. As if the decor wasn’t inspiring enough, belly dancers complete the Moroccan experience, weaving between tables in all their glitter and gold. Some diners are lucky enough to leave with a new move or two. Talk about fun dining in Toronto!

17. Track & Field

Track & Field is a restaurant and bar that has all the games most retirees enjoy. Funny, because on most nights, the bocce ball, shuffleboard, and crokinole areas are usually occupied by young professionals.

Beyond the games, Track & Field is known for cocktails on tap and a vast selection of craft beers. Track & Field is often the venue of choice for special events like birthdays, corporate gatherings and group socials. One of Toronto’s trendiest restaurants, Track & Field keeps its concept and cuisine fresh, but the fun is old school.  

18. Rodeo Brazilian Steakhouse Rodizio

It’s not all you can eat at Rodeo Brazilian Steakhouse Rodizio: it’s “all you can meat.” 

Servers walk table-to-table carving sizzling meats off skewers and directly onto diners’ plates. While this is business-as-usual in Brazil, for many Torontonians, the experience is entirely new. As if the endless meat carving wasn’t entertainment enough, Samba dancers and Brazilian music complete the dining experience. 

19. Bar Poet

Bar Poet earns points for uniqueness before you even walk through the front door – the restaurant is housed in a building with a facade resembling a castle. Inside, the venue’s twinkling lights and many trees make diners feel like they’re sitting on a cozy patio.

The menu offers several handmade pasta options like spicy rigatoni and short rib fettucine, and the pizzas have creative names like Hot Rod, Microdose, “Life is Gucci”, and Shakespeare in Love.

20. The Shameful Tiki Room

Toronto can get cold. Really cold. This could be why The Shameful Tiki Room works so well. The Shameful Tiki Room is a restaurant and bar that successfully brings warmth to the Great North through Polynesian rum-based cocktails and home cooking. 

The restaurant has an extensive “grog” (or drink) menu that is comprised of various rum rhapsodies. With drink recipes as complex as they are colorful, diners should note: the drinks may take longer than the food. Each cocktail follows the original decades-old recipe down to the letter – and that’s what diners come for. 

21. Kaiseki Yu Zen Hashimoto

When many diners hear “Japanese cuisine”, their brain likely goes straight to sushi. But there’s none found on Kaiseki Yu Zen Hashimoto’s menu. 

Kaiseki is the golden standard of gourmet cooking in Japan. As a culinary art, Japanese chefs have long preserved the Kaiseki tradition. True to its name, Kaiseki means “a very long history” and has been around for five centuries. During this time, generations of chefs have upheld its culinary secrets.

For diners, a kaiseki meal begins with a tea ceremony before a choreographed nine-course meal. Kaiseki Yu Zen Hashimoto is most well-known because this Michelin-starred restaurant is one of the most expensive fine dining experiences in Toronto.

22. Arriba Restaurants

Forget dinner and a show. Diners come to Sportsnet Grill for dinner and the big game. 

Located past second base and beyond the outfield, Sportsnet Grill looks into the Rogers Centre, Toronto’s premiere sports arena. With floor-to-ceiling windows and real-time audio, Sportsnet Grill makes diners feel like they’re a part of the action…without the chaos of the stands. It’s earned its place on the leaderboard as one of the most unique restaurants in Toronto.

23. Prequel & Co. Apothecary

Yelp users call Prequel & Co. Apothecary “a very interesting and unique speakeasy experience” as well as “one of my favorite speakeasies” – noting that the bill even comes in a wax sealed envelope. This place is the real deal! One user says, “The apothecary in front could be an actual apothecary with clean design and interesting items well lit and displayed.”

Beyond the aesthetics, Prequel & Co.’s menu takes inspiration from the Art Nouveau era of 1890-1910 Paris. Dried herbs, botanicals, and spices are key ingredients in the bar’s cocktails, which include the Absinthe Colada, Lavender & Lemon, and many more.

24. Blueblood Steakhouse

What better way for the average diner to feel like royalty than to have dinner in a castle? Casa Loma is one of the largest castles in North America, and Blueblood Steakhouse calls it home. 

And what a home it is. The venue is decorated with antiques that preserve the castle’s early 20th century feel. The menu is a smorgasbord of fine and expensive meats from around the world.

25. Mariposa Dinner Cruise

Dinner, cocktails, lunch, or brunch, City Cruises Toronto diners enjoy a buffet-style meal while touring the city on Lake Ontario. Since the cruise is arguably one of the best places to see Toronto at sunset, guests on the City Cruises are often looking for something different to commemorate a milestone, celebrate a holiday, or simply have a romantic evening. 

Toronto’s ever-shifting culinary landscape favors diversity and creativity. Strange? Good. Outlandish? Even better. To survive in a city where restaurants don every corner, finding your differentiator is as important as your stove. And after you’ve made your way through the most unique restaurants in Toronto, it might be time to move on to the 10 best restaurants in Vancouver.