Advertisement

Food Food & Drink

Lunched Out

Rating: NNNNN


Need a decent lunch break? Take it at one of these happening spots.

NEW YORK SUBWAY (520 Queen West, at Portland, 416-703-4496) East Indian-inspired take-away fuses mild-to-wild roti-like curried veggies with Mexican tortillas and calls them burritos. Then they add cheese, grill ’em and dub them California Rolls. Zero decor but dead cheap expect lineups when the bars close. Best: so-called burritos stuffed with curried cauliflower, spinach or ground chicken quesadillas lined with cheese, roast beef and onion grilled eggplant with spinach and satay chicken or shrimp jumbo burritos. Complete dinners for $7 per person ($4 at lunch), including all taxes. Open Monday to Thursday 11:30 am to midnight, Friday and Saturday 11:30 am to 3 am, Sunday noon to 10 pm. Unlicensed. Cash only. Access: one step at door, washrooms on same floor. Rating: NNN

CO YEN (372 Spadina, at Dundas West, 416-597-1573) With ugly fluorescent lighting, zero ambience and silent counter staff, this Vietnamese take-away turns out thousands of Asian sandwiches daily. There’s always a lineup, but it moves quickly. The cause? One-dollar Saigon submarine sandwiches! Best: sugar-sweetened French-style buns loaded with mildly spiced tofu pâté, jalapeño slivers, carrot and daikon julienne and coriander sprigs non-veggie version adds near-prosciutto pork and “ham” packages of rice-paper-wrapped spring-rolls studded with whole shrimp noodle combos with salad. Complete dinners for $3 per person, including all taxes. Open daily 9 am to 9 pm. Unlicensed. Cash only. Access: one step at door, no washrooms. Rating: NNNNN

TERRONI (720 Queen West, at Manning, 416-504-0320 106 Victoria, at Queen East, 416-955-0528 1 Balmoral, at Yonge, 416-925-4020) Combination Ital groceteria and upscale pizza and panini joint dishing out what’s possibly Toronto’s best pizza. Takeout or eat-in. Best: ultra-thin-crust pizzas decorated with minimal yet full-strength sauce and cheese, and quality toppings like fresh basil, spicy Calabrese sausage, grilled peppers and arugula romaine and sun-dried summery salads. Complete dinners for $12 per person. Queen West location open daily 9 am to 11 pm. Victoria location open Monday to Saturday 9 am to 10 pm and closed Sunday. Balmoral location open daily 9 am to 10 pm. Fully licensed. Access: all barrier-free. Rating: NNNN

ZENA CAFÉ (250 Church, at Dundas, 416-366-9362) For the area, this almost-classy café serves up quick take-away breakfasts and wallet-friendly home cookin’ at lunch. Best: under-five-bucks three-salad combo (roasted veggie mix, two-tone tortellini, tabbouleh, Greek, green or fruit) homemade soups and customized mega-sandwiches retro macaroni ‘n’ cheese. Complete meals for $8 per person, including all taxes and tip. Open Monday to Friday 8 am to 7 pm. Closed Saturday, Sunday and holidays. Unlicensed. Smoke-free. Cash only. Access: four steps at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN SD

Visit our Web site and read over 100

restaurant reviews at www.nowtoronto.com

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Recently Posted