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Liza Agrba

Liza Agrba has worked as a freelance journalist in Toronto for over a decade and has earned multiple awards. She covers food, business and culture and writes memoir-style pieces. Her work frequently appears in the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, Toronto Life and many other publications

Latest from Liza Agrba

Because hotel bars are back

Reasons to Love Toronto Now

Because hotel bars are back

And the cocktails are as gorgeous as the rooms

What's on the menu at BB's, Parkdale's new weekend brunch spot for Filipino favourites

What’s on the menu at BB’s, Parkdale’s new weekend brunch spot for Filipino favourites

Including silog, spaghetti and tamarind-spiked caesars

What's on the menu at North of Brooklyn's Better Half Bar, a new east-end pizza parlour and craft beer hangout

What’s on the menu at North of Brooklyn’s Better Half Bar, a new east-end pizza parlour and craft beer hangout

Including one new thing: chicken wings

What's on the menu at Orote, a Korean tasting menu restaurant from an Actinolite alum

What’s on the menu at Orote, a Korean tasting menu restaurant from an Actinolite alum

Take a look at the six elegant courses currently on offer

This ad agency turned Kenny Hotz's old house into the perfect post-pandemic office

This ad agency turned Kenny Hotz’s old house into the perfect post-pandemic office

There's a quiet zone, BYO phone booths and rooftop work cabanas

"We came really close to selling the place": Two Toronto restaurateurs on the struggle to open their dream Grey County restaurant

“We came really close to selling the place”: Two Toronto restaurateurs on the struggle to open their dream Grey County restaurant

The story behind Heart's, the roadside tavern that almost wasn't

Inside Oroshi Fish Co., a sleek new fish counter and sushi shop tucked down a west-end laneway

Inside Oroshi Fish Co., a sleek new fish counter and sushi shop tucked down a west-end laneway

Dry-aged fish (yes, just like steak) is the speciality here

What's on the menu at Vilda's, Taverne Bernhardt's new sandwich shop across the street

What’s on the menu at Vilda’s, Taverne Bernhardt’s new sandwich shop across the street

It's housed in an old convenience store

What's on the menu at When the Pig Came Home, the popular deli's new location in the Junction

What’s on the menu at When the Pig Came Home, the popular deli’s new location in the Junction

Peameal sandwiches, porchetta, patties and more

What's on the takeout menu at Banh Haus, Chinatown's new spot for banh mi, vermicelli bowls and Vietnamese iced coffee

What’s on the takeout menu at Banh Haus, Chinatown’s new spot for banh mi, vermicelli bowls and Vietnamese iced coffee

Also: a sandwich that uses a Vietnamese doughnut as its vessel

Sort-of Secret: Snack Edition, a delivery service for hard-to-find treats like apple-flavoured Fanta and Dunkaroos cereal

Sort-of Secret: Snack Edition, a delivery service for hard-to-find treats like apple-flavoured Fanta and Dunkaroos cereal

Owner Reema Aviles turned her junk food obsession into a business during the pandemic

Valentine's Day: These Toronto restaurants are offering multi-course takeout meals, bagel brunches and charcuterie bouquets

Valentine’s Day: These Toronto restaurants are offering multi-course takeout meals, bagel brunches and charcuterie bouquets

Say it with... meat and cheese

What's on the menu at the Royal, Prince Edward County's swanky new hotel

What’s on the menu at the Royal, Prince Edward County’s swanky new hotel

Former Le Sélect chef Albert Ponzo helms the kitchen

Inside Pasta Forever, a new takeout counter and Italian pantry that started as a side hustle

Inside Pasta Forever, a new takeout counter and Italian pantry that started as a side hustle

Started from a webshop now it's here

"This rink builds relationships": Five volunteers on the impact natural ice rinks have on communities

“This rink builds relationships”: Five volunteers on the impact natural ice rinks have on communities

They're much more than just places for shinny

Sort-of Secret: Heavenly Perogy, a Ukrainian restaurant and food shop running out of a church basement

Sort-of Secret: Heavenly Perogy, a Ukrainian restaurant and food shop running out of a church basement

It's the schnitz

What's on the takeout menu at Cà Phê Rang, a new place for pho and banh mi from Matty Matheson's mentor, chef Rang Nguyen

What’s on the takeout menu at Cà Phê Rang, a new place for pho and banh mi from Matty Matheson’s mentor, chef Rang Nguyen

Two (more) words: avocado milkshakes

Toronto restaurants offering takeout fried chicken dinners, surf-and-turf feasts and tapas extravaganzas on New Year's Eve

Toronto restaurants offering takeout fried chicken dinners, surf-and-turf feasts and tapas extravaganzas on New Year’s Eve

Ring in 2022 (for better or worse) at home with one of these smorgasbords

Toronto restaurants offering takeout turkey dinners, prime rib roasts and seafood platters for the holidays

Toronto restaurants offering takeout turkey dinners, prime rib roasts and seafood platters for the holidays

Here we go again

What's on the menu at Neon Tiger, OddSeoul's new sister spot in the Annex

What’s on the menu at Neon Tiger, OddSeoul’s new sister spot in the Annex

Including prawn tacos, chilli-soy chicken wings and a siu mai hot dog

Toronto bakeries selling house-made panettone for the holidays

Toronto bakeries selling house-made panettone for the holidays

These are no mass-produced loaves

Sort-of Secret: Cicchetto, a new line of Toronto-made tipples started by a chef and bartender

Sort-of Secret: Cicchetto, a new line of Toronto-made tipples started by a chef and bartender

This ain't your nonna's limoncello

What's on the menu at the Library Bar, the Royal York's newly renovated cocktail lounge

What’s on the menu at the Library Bar, the Royal York’s newly renovated cocktail lounge

Including the legendary Birdbath Martini, and more

What's on the menu at the Haifa Room, an Ossington restaurant serving creative takes on Palestinian and Israeli dishes

What’s on the menu at the Haifa Room, an Ossington restaurant serving creative takes on Palestinian and Israeli dishes

Including (wait for it) schnitzel-fried pita

Summer Camp Guide

Summer Camp Directory 2026

Summer Camp Directory 2026

Discover our top-rated summer camps for kids of all ages

Wines of the World

Wines of the World: Rediscover your favourites from Toronto Life’s Best Restaurants

Wines of the World: Rediscover your favourites from Toronto Life’s Best Restaurants

From cabernet and merlot to icewine and chardonnay, these wines are primed to pair and delight

Big Stories

Charm Offensive: The cottage country mortgage broker who lost $101 million of his clients’ money

Charm Offensive: The cottage country mortgage broker who lost $101 million of his clients’ money

Sandy Sussman spent decades wooing the upper echelons of Toronto society, becoming their go-to investment guy. He took their money and made a huge bet on cottage country. When the market tanked, he lost it all. Then he did everything in his power to cover it up

The Monster Cottages vs. the Resistance: Inside the ruthless battle for the future of Muskoka

The Monster Cottages vs. the Resistance: Inside the ruthless battle for the future of Muskoka

From Gravenhurst to Port Cockburn, the uber rich and powerful are buying up shoreline for private island compounds and sprawling mega-resorts, radically changing the face of Muskoka and infuriating environmentalists, locals and long-time cottagers

Dead Reckoning: The executor of their estate was supposed to divide it among their friends and family. Instead, he bankrupted it

Dead Reckoning: The executor of their estate was supposed to divide it among their friends and family. Instead, he bankrupted it

When Sami and June Suomalainen died, it fell to the executor of their wills, a lawyer they hardly knew, to sell their million-dollar midtown home and split the proceeds among their inheritors. Seven years and six lawsuits later, the beneficiaries haven’t seen a cent

These are Toronto’s best new restaurants of 2026

These are Toronto’s best new restaurants of 2026

This year’s list includes a 150-square-foot omakase counter, a Parisian brasserie in the Annex, Korean comfort food, Filipino karaoke and a Summerhill seafood spot that’s reinventing the raw bar

Hoop Dreams: Inside the making of the Toronto Tempo, the city’s newly assembled WNBA team

Hoop Dreams: Inside the making of the Toronto Tempo, the city’s newly assembled WNBA team

After years of false starts, months of nail-biting negotiations between the league and the players’ union, and an 11th-hour scramble to build a roster, Toronto finally has its own major-league women’s basketball team. Now it just has to live up to the hype

Live From New York: Inside the slay-or-be-slayed world of Studio 8H with SNL rookie Veronika Slowikowska

Live From New York: Inside the slay-or-be-slayed world of Studio 8H with SNL rookie Veronika Slowikowska

Slowikowska is the first Canadian to join the cast of Saturday Night Live in more than 25 years. She’s also this season’s breakout star. Now all she has to do is keep crushing it

Better Call Deepak: Meet drug lord Ryan Wedding’s self-styled cocaine lawyer

Better Call Deepak: Meet drug lord Ryan Wedding’s self-styled cocaine lawyer

The man who represented the infamous drug lord is unapologetically flashy—he has a Lamborghini and two Maseratis and wears $1,200 Louboutins. But did he become an accomplice to his client’s crimes? Deepak Paradkar says he was just doing his job. The FBI says he crossed a line

The Redemption Tour: The Blue Jays are back. Can they finish what they started?

The Redemption Tour: The Blue Jays are back. Can they finish what they started?

We’re not over it, but they are. Six months after that devastating defeat, the Jays take the field once more, bent more than ever on winning the World Series. Dispatches from the dugout

My Life as a True Crime Spectacle: My father’s crimes fractured our family. Then came the press

My Life as a True Crime Spectacle: My father’s crimes fractured our family. Then came the press

My dad was the infamous Rolex Killer. The news of his crimes nearly broke me. And ever since, my family has been hounded by reporters, podcasters and true crime fanatics—a whole new circle of hell

Robby on the Line: Out and about with Robby Hoffman, comedy’s equal opportunity assassin

Robby on the Line: Out and about with Robby Hoffman, comedy’s equal opportunity assassin

Larry David is the indisputable king of brutal honesty. But if anyone comes close, it’s Robby Hoffman, the suddenly everywhere comic from whom no group is safe

Notes on an Academic Scandal: Why did TMU demote a leading advocate of DEI?

Notes on an Academic Scandal: Why did TMU demote a leading advocate of DEI?

Pamela Sugiman, a former arts dean at Toronto Metropolitan University, was a key player in the school’s push for diversity, equity and inclusion. When the backlash against DEI arrived, she was demoted. The school says it was a coincidence. She disagrees

City of Renters: The dream of home ownership isn’t dead. Maybe it should be?

City of Renters: The dream of home ownership isn’t dead. Maybe it should be?

Scenes from the rent-for-life revolution

This generation was pummelled by Covid high school. Now the job market wants to replace them with AI

This generation was pummelled by Covid high school. Now the job market wants to replace them with AI

It’s hard out here for a 20-something

The High Price of Hope: Inside Toronto’s white-hot fertility market

The High Price of Hope: Inside Toronto’s white-hot fertility market

Desperate wannabe parents are betting their life savings on unproven treatments and false promises

Man vs. Machine: ChatGPT caused him to spiral into delusion. Now he’s suing OpenAI

Man vs. Machine: ChatGPT caused him to spiral into delusion. Now he’s suing OpenAI

Last spring, a chatbot convinced Allan Brooks that he had discovered a revolutionary mathematical theory. He says it nearly destroyed him

Smart City: 20 mind-blowing Toronto inventions that are changing the world

Smart City: 20 mind-blowing Toronto inventions that are changing the world

Homegrown innovations that will transform lives for the better

293 Days Without My Son: I gave up everything to rescue my kidnapped child from my abusive husband

293 Days Without My Son: I gave up everything to rescue my kidnapped child from my abusive husband

When Valentino was abducted, I knew three things: he’d been taken by his father, he was somewhere in India and I would not rest until I found him

Just Listed

For Sale: 99 Lake Promenade

For Sale: 99 Lake Promenade

This classic Hamptons-style home by Chatsworth Fine Homes offers an exciting opportunity to customize a new dream home and build instant value - without the long wait of new construction

For Sale: 92 Arjay Crescent

For Sale: 92 Arjay Crescent

As luxury buyers become increasingly focused on wellness, privacy, and long-term livability, a new generation of custom homes is emerging – one defined less by excess and more by thoughtful design

For Sale: 171 Durant Ave

For Sale: 171 Durant Ave

This rare property features 2 houses on 1 lot

For Sale: 50 First Avenue

For Sale: 50 First Avenue

A testament to time presiding over one of Uxbridge's most storied streetscapes, this magnificently preserved circa 1880 residence commands its prominent corner lot with the quiet confidence of a true architectural landmark

For Sale: 7 Bentley Drive

For Sale: 7 Bentley Drive

A commanding architectural statement in prestigious Stonegate–Queensway, this newly completed custom residence by Bali Homes Group presents a refined interpretation of contemporary luxury living