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GuideUpdated July 16, 2026

3 Best Places for whatToOrder":[ in Toronto

Where to find the best whattoorder":[ in Toronto — each restaurant rated 4.0★ or higher. Top-rated at 9.6★. Spanning middle eastern and contemporary kitchens. Curated by TastyPals.

The best places for whattoorder":[ in Toronto are Darna Middle Eastern Kitchen, House on Parliament, Pinkerton's Snack Bar. Start with Darna Middle Eastern Kitchen if you want the strongest overall first pick.

By Marcus Chen•3 ranked picks•Published July 16, 2026•Updated July 16, 2026
Methodology•Editorial team
Darna Middle Eastern KitchenHouse on ParliamentPinkerton's Snack Bar
3 Best Places for whatToOrder":[ in Toronto
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Top picks at a glance

#1Darna Middle Eastern KitchenMiddle Eastern • Leaside • value#2House on ParliamentContemporary • Church Street • value#3Pinkerton's Snack BarBar • Toronto • $$

Who this guide is for

This guide covers the highest-rated spots for whattoorder":[ in Toronto. Whether you're a local hunting your next regular or visiting and want to eat well, these picks are sorted by quality and review depth.

Quick picks

Darna Middle Eastern Kitchen
Middle Eastern • Leaside
Darna is not performing Middle Eastern food for a Toronto audience that considers shawarma adventurous.
House on Parliament
Contemporary • Church Street
House on Parliament has no interest in performing cool — it simply is what Church Street needed: a multi-floor pub that feels lived in rather than launched.
Pinkerton's Snack Bar
Bar • Toronto
Pinkerton's Snack Bar opened in Leslieville in 2017 and has spent the years since becoming the east end's definitive late-night hang — not because it's trying to be everything, but because it commi…
Browse all Toronto restaurantsBack to Toronto hub
Editorial details
Author: Marcus Chen
Published: July 16, 2026
Last updated: July 16, 2026

On this page

  1. 1. Darna Middle Eastern KitchenView →
  2. 2. House on ParliamentView →
  3. 3. Pinkerton's Snack BarView →

How the restaurants compare

Darna Middle Eastern Kitchen
Leaside • Middle Eastern
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
value
Best for
Neighborhood dinner
Mood
Leaside
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for House on Parliament
Google
House on Parliament
Church Street • Contemporary
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
value
Best for
Group dinner
Mood
Church Street
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Pinkerton's Snack Bar
Google
Pinkerton's Snack Bar
Toronto • Bar
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
$$
Best for
cocktail
Mood
Easygoing

How we chose

We looked for restaurants that feel like a strong fit for the guide topic, not just the most obvious names in the city. The shortlist favors rooms with clear mood, dependable pacing, and enough distinction to help someone decide faster. Read our full methodology →

Room tone

Lighting, pace, and general energy all need to support the reason someone clicked this guide.

Food fit

We favored restaurants that feel best suited for the moment, not just restaurants with broad reputation.

Useful range

The final list tries to give readers enough variation in neighborhood, price, and style to compare real options.

3 ranked picks

Darna Middle Eastern Kitchen — Darna is not performing Middle Eastern food for a Toronto audience that considers shawarma adventurous. Co-owner Marwan Carmi opened this Bayview Avenue room in 2019 after moving from Jerusalem and finding no Palestinian cooking in the city that matched his family's recipes — specifically those drawn from his partner and father-in-law Osama Khalaf, who operates a Darna in Ramallah. That origin story is not marketing copy; it is the entire logic of the menu. The name translates to "our home," and the kitchen operates accordingly: this is Palestinian home cooking made public, and in Leaside — a neighbourhood that skews comfortable and conventional — that specificity is genuinely radical. The dish Darna is best known for is the Sayadieh ($27): crispy-skinned Mediterranean sea bass over rice loaded with nuts, raisins, and caramelized onions, finished with a rustic tomato sauce. The combination of crackling fish skin against sweet-savory rice is what diners consistently cite as the reason they return. Alongside it, the Fattet Batenjan ($16) has developed a following for the way it reportedly plays temperature and texture — hot tomato-braised eggplant at the base, cold tahini-yogurt sauce layered above, then pomegranate seeds, slivered almonds, and crispy fried pita on top. The open kitchen is anchored by a Malagutti wood-burning oven used to make taboon, a whole wheat Levantine flatbread baked over hot stones, which accounts for the bread-and-char atmosphere the room is known for. The recommended progression is to begin with the Jarjeer Salata and the Fukhara, move toward the Sayadieh, and not pass on the sticky date pudding regardless of how far into the meal you are. At these price points, Darna represents one of the stronger value propositions in Toronto's mid-range dining landscape. Book ahead for weekend evenings — the room is not large, and the neighbourhood has noticed. View restaurant →
House on Parliament — House on Parliament has no interest in performing cool — it simply is what Church Street needed: a multi-floor pub that feels lived in rather than launched. The name itself is a workaround, a cheeky geographic compromise that folds two addresses into one identity. What that identity delivers is a front patio that bleeds into street life, a ground-floor room loud with post-shift bartenders and first dates and groups of eight who stopped negotiating and just want a pint, and a rooftop that reportedly becomes its own destination once the weather cooperates. The price point — firmly accessible — isn't an afterthought; it's part of the social contract the kitchen appears committed to honouring. The menu centers on pub classics reconstructed with clear sourcing intent. The Wild Boar, Pheasant & Cognac Scotch Eggs at $14 are what the room is known for — a British format rebuilt around a game meat blend, with cognac in the mix to keep the richness in check. Diners consistently flag them as the dish that signals whether the kitchen is focused on a given night. The Parliament House Burger builds its reputation on an 8oz Wellington County dry-aged brisket and chuck patty sourced from a named county and served on a Blackbird Bakery bun — a burger that reportedly gets to its quality through provenance rather than through sauce. The Smoked Duck Breast Salad earns mentions as a counterpoint to the heavier plates, though the Fancy Bangers and Mash is equally discussed, particularly the mash, which diners describe in terms that suggest it resets expectations. Practical reality: the rooftop fills early in summer, so arriving by 6pm is the consistently repeated advice. Weekends call for a reservation; Tuesday walk-ins are reportedly well-handled at the bar. Budget around $50 per person with drinks — a figure that, by most accounts, feels like underpaying. View restaurant →
Pinkerton's Snack Bar — Pinkerton's Snack Bar opened in Leslieville in 2017 and has spent the years since becoming the east end's definitive late-night hang — not because it's trying to be everything, but because it commits hard to a specific lane: classic cocktails, Ontario sour beers (a genuine specialty since day one), and a rotating menu of pan-Asian small plates that have no business being this interesting at a bar at 1am. The Globe & Mail called it View restaurant →

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Save these spots to your Toronto list

Save these spots to your Toronto list in the TastyPals app, then explore similar restaurants when you want a tighter shortlist for the night.

Personalized city picksCleaner shortlistsBuilt for iPhone and Android
TastyPalsTonight
Your taste. Our picks.
Smarter follow-through after the guide: better restaurant context, quicker narrowing, less second-guessing.
For tonight
Date night spots with warm rooms and polished service
Next step
Keep exploring in the app when you want a tighter shortlist