Food Travel

14 Unique Restaurants in Toronto To Check Out Now

Lamanna’s-Bakery
PC: Lamanna’s Facebook

Whenever genius strikes, it’s often when the most creative minds settle down to have some fun. What can we say? Inspiration can hit you anywhere! Plus, once you get into these unique restaurants in Toronto, the creativity of these concepts may rub off on you too! But, let’s not pretend that these unique restaurants in Toronto aren’t amazing when you go on a date! How does your date feel about eating out of a poop toilet? Does he or she like to eat on a cruise? Discovering each other is the whole point of these unique restaurants in Toronto!  While these restaurants might not appear in every “things to do in Toronto” list, nor are they a part of Toronto’s famous skyline, they are definitely worth checking out.

Now we’ve mentioned that these  restaurants are perfect for creative souls and even for dates, but let’s not leave families out of the picture. Parents, are you tired or bored of eating at home (not to mention clean up)? These weird, most unique restaurants in Toronto help bring some much needed change of scenario for everybody! 

So, after you read this article, you’ll get a total of 14 different unique restaurants in Toronto, so don’t you dare even think of ordering in. Dining experiences in Toronto have been perking up over the past 10 years. In fact, narrowing down the top restaurants in Toronto was not easy especially since Toronto diners can choose from one of 12,000 restaurants within the city’s walls! Toronto hosts some of the most diverse restaurant scenes in the world, so don’t miss out these CRAZY, UNIQUE options: 

14 Unique Restaurants in Toronto To Check Out Now

Mysteriously Yours 

PC: Mysteriously Yours 

“A murder mystery in a basement and 3 courses of dinner? who knew that murder could be this fun? Hahaha who knew?! So fun!” – Anonymous review.

But the experience goes far beyond that: there’s fake-blood shed, lies, deceit and FOOD.  That’s right, this is what the dining experience at Mysteriously Yours looks like. Along with a good old fashioned murder mystery, this interactive dinner experience has diners trying to guess: “whodunnit”? 

But if your brain’s burning calories thinking, it’s easily replenished with freshly prepared food and drinks of course. As diners try to solve the case, they feast on a three-course meal while trying to identify the killer.  Top it off with a prize for whoever sharpened their detective skills and guesses the murderer first, and you have one entertaining meal.

Mysteriously Yours is also a theatre company that has been performing murder mysteries for over 30 years. 

Where: Chelsea Hotel, 22 Gerrard St

Lamanna’s Bakery

PC: Lamanna’s Facebook

Ever seen pizza served on top of more pizza? Yep, this is what you get at Lamanna’s Bakery: one of the most unique restaurants in Toronto! The restaurant starts by making a giant triangular slice of pizza and then adds tiny pizzas on top of it! Sizes are estimated at 20 inches long so be warned, any one without a huge appetite! 

What’s more? This place serves crazy options: Feel like a Grilled Cheese Pizza? Get a pizza with tiny grilled cheese sandwiches! Feel like a French Fries Pizza? Get fries as toppings.  

Where: 758 Kingston Rd, M1B1G8 Toronto, Ontario

O.NOIR Toronto

PC: O.NOIR

O.NOIR offers guests the most unique fine dining experience. The catch? You cannot see a thing!  As you’re eating in total darkness, you have to rely on your senses alone to give you a totally different once in a lifetime experience. Confused about menus? Don’t worry  O.Noir lets you pick your meals before entering and there are some surprise options for the more adventurous folk. Since darkness heightens your other senses, maybe it’ll taste extra good?

There’s a very touching purpose behind this restaurant: The restaurant aims to provide an experience that actually amplifies diners’ ability to taste and smell. The most interesting thing about this restaurant is that the O.NOIR’s entire waitstaff are also visually impaired, so it 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.

Where: 620 Church St

Poop Cafe

PC: Hector Vasquez 

Welcome to Toronto’s washroom-themed restaurant. That’s right this dessert shop serves up treats like ice cream, lattes, and much more in toilet-shaped cups and bowls. Know someone who uses the poop emoji constantly? Know someone who loves fart jokes? Does this “person” happen to be you? Whatever it is, you’ll know someone who would love to check this restaurant out! All in all, this place helps to encourage Torontonians to lighten up, and open themselves to flavour combinations.

Beyond dessert being served in urinal-shaped cups, this restaurant offers a generous range of various Asian desserts, from Thai rolled ice cream to Hong Kong egg waffles. 

Where: 706 Bloor St W

Figures

Photos by Hector Vasquez

Figures brings all the nostalgia back with its comic book concept and even Forbes named Figures one of 2017’s best new restaurants in Toronto. Committed to the comic book theme, as diners walk into Figures, they pass through a comic book and collectibles shop. What looks like a simple comic book store from the front, actually has a secret entrance to the eclectic dining area through the hidden door camouflaged by figurines where comic book pages wallpaper the walls. 

Not only is the theme all across the wallpaper, it’s also across the menu, right down to the names of the drinks. In fact, when you get seated, you will notice that there are no “appetizers”, “mains”, and “desserts”. Instead, the menu categories are “exposition,” “climax,” and “resolution”. 

Where: 137 Avenue Rd, Toronto, ON M5R 2H7, Canada

Tilt Arcade Bar

This is one of the most unique restaurants in Toronto as you get transported back to every old-school arcade game imaginable. While it isn’t the normal seated style restaurant, the food has everything from Poutine to Corndogs! 

Where:  824 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M6J 1V3, Canada

The Keg Mansion 

Legend says that the Keg Mansion is haunted and a fine middle-class restaurant establishment. Toilets flush themselves, doors have a mind of their own opening and closing at will, and once a kid died by falling off the stairs. The same railing pole that he apparently fell through falls on the same day every year. 

Where: 515 Jarvis St

Snakes and Lattes

Who doesn’t love board games and booze? This restaurant in Toronto brings friendship and games to the table where you can choose from games that range from trivia to strategy to dexterity.  On the other hand, if there is someone who just can’t figure the game out, Snakes and Lattes employs “game gurus” to help everyone get the most out of their experience. The cafe also regularly has games nights to engage hardcore gamers. For those diners who can’t get enough, they can buy games from their retail shop.

Where: Three Toronto locations

Robo Sushi

Photos by Robosushi

Robo Sushi may look ordinary from the outside, but don’t be fooled by this visage. Within the restaurant is the most futuristic food experience to hit the Toronto food scene! This North York treasure may seem slightly out of the way, but believe us, it’s totally worth the drive. This unique restaurant in Toronto is futuristic and primarily run by robots- they greet you, take you to your seat, and three tiered robot servers will bring out your food. Once you take the food from the trays, ask you for a high five and then be on its merry way. 

Sounds too good to be true? Well, there can be some glitches but honestly, this is one hell of an experience, making you imagine what our future will one day be like and it’s highly entertaining to say the least. With a human touch, the place is more of a mixed-service endeavour where robots are the main attraction but humans definitely still run the show.

Mixing with the perplexing world of robot tech, Robo Sushi is the first restaurant in the country where hostesses and servers are robots on wheels. 

Where: 865 York Mills Rd

Nomads Restobar

Expect everything you’ve eaten at this restaurant. Seriously, what makes this place distinctively cool is that the menu stars food from every corner of the globe. It’s any kind of food you could want, in one place! It easily solves the “I want Noodles, he wants Pizza” issue.

Where: 100 Lakeshore Ave, Mississauga & currently relocating the Danforth location to the East End

Blueblood Steakhouse

Casa Loma houses the largest castles in North America, and Blueblood Steakhouse calls it home. That’s right, whatever occasions call for celebrating, eating in this castle, fits them all. A royal dinner, a castle, antique decorations all make this a once in a lifetime experience you cannot miss on. Not only do you eat surrounded by an early 20th century feel, the food is a smorgasbord of fine and expensive meats from around the world- perfect for a royal palette right? 

Where: Casa Loma, 1 Austin Terrace, Toronto, ON M5R 1X8, Canada

360 

Ever eaten dinner at the top of the CN Tower with a perfect view of the entire city? This is one ridiculously unique experience as long as you and your date aren’t afraid of heights. Yes, truly there is no better way to see Toronto than from 350 meters above the city, it’s been around for a while for this reason, but trust us when we say that the novelty never wears off, as you’ll witness spectacular views of the city like never before.

360 is the CN Tower’s second highest building in the world, bringing tourists and locals for special occasions to the rotating room that promises a unique dining experience. The restaurant revolves slowly so guests get a complete view of the city from the sky. Like we expect in most fine dining restaurants, 360 has an extensive wine list, but fine dining restaurants don’t keep their wine or 9,000 bottles to be exact, suspended in the sky! Up, Up, Away! 

Where: 301 Front St

Mariposa Cruise

Cruises provide a totally instagram worthy view, but what if you could enjoy dinner, cocktails, lunch, or brunch along with it? As you roam around the harbour, this is the most perfect dinner date setting for your loved one..or to impress someone you’re pursuing. Arguably, this is one of the most amazingly unique restaurants in Toronto if you happen to hop on during sunset.  

With Mariposa Cruise diners can experience a unique buffet-style meal while touring the city on Lake Ontario. This is one of Toronto’s culinary landscapes that has strived for uniqueness, setting it apart from other experiences, making holidays, birthdays, anniversaries and other celebrations, a truly special event! 

Where: 207 Queen’s Quay W #425

Kaiseki Yu Zen Hashimoto

PC: Kaiseki Yu Zen Hashimoto Facebook

Kaiseki is the golden standard of gourmet cooking in Japan, but there’s a huge surprise: there is zero sushi in their menu! As a culinary art, Japanese chefs have passionately carried on the Kaiseki tradition. True to its name, Kaiseki means “a very long history” and has been around for five centuries with generations of chefs upholding culinary secrets.

When you enter, a kaiseki meal begins with a tea ceremony before a choreographed nine-course meal. Kaiseki Yu Zen Hashimoto is definitely a place to hit up because it is one of the most expensive fine dining experiences in Toronto. 

Where: 6 Garamond Court, Toronto, Ontario M3C 1Z5 Canada

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