This Kensington Market café makes some of the city’s best sandwiches

The sort-of secret: Made-Rite, Leemo Han’s undeniably cool diner and café in Kensington Market
You may have heard of it if: You got lost in the market looking for Carlos’ House of Spice But you probably haven’t tried it because: It’s tucked away in a more residential section of the neighbourhood, next to Toronto Western Hospital

Leemo Han, the prolific restaurateur who’s made a name for himself with his nostalgia-driven Korean American diners and faux dives (Seoul Shakers, Shaker’s Club, Pepper’s Food and Drink), quietly opened Made-Rite in Kensington Market just over a year ago. While the menu here isn’t typical of the fun, fusion-y food Han has become known for, it’s just as close to his heart. “I was born in Toronto but grew up in the US—I lived in Philly, New York and Jersey. But, in 2006, when I was 18, immigration issues forced my parents back to Korea, so I came back to Toronto alone.”

Here, Han missed the grab-and-go breakfasts he could easily find in the States. “Every corner store, every bodega had a proper cup of coffee and a solid diner-style, working man’s sandwich that a Tim Hortons or McDonald’s just doesn’t come close to achieving,” he says. Nearly 20 years after moving back north, Made-Rite is Han’s attempt to fill the bodega-sandwich-size hole in his heart.

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Made-Rite’s small space drips with Han’s signature ’70s aesthetic: vintage knick-knacks, wood panelling, a retro menu board. “I grew up going to diners with my parents before we went to church,” says Han. “The diner culture out east is far greater. It’s a dying breed in Toronto, so I wanted my take to be as authentic as possible. I even used wood veneer I found in an old condo building’s trash to panel our walls.”

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Han is as meticulous with the food as he is with his design details. “We had to start with a proper bacon, egg and cheese sandwich,” he says. “And it had to be built on a plain white kaiser with ketchup, just like they do it where I grew up.” There’s also a solid tuna melt that’s like a tuna casserole between two slices of buttery grilled bread, a club sandwich with a thick layer of tangy chicken salad and a chopped cheese that smartly comes with a spoon because the marinated, slow-cooked ground beef refuses to be contained by its steamed bun.

There are no tweaks here: all of the sandwiches stay true to their blue-collar roots. At Made-Rite, the cheese is unapologetically processed, the bread comes from a factory (not a live culture) and the egg salad is as American as it comes—this is the one restaurant of Han’s where you won’t find Kewpie mayo on the menu.

Made-Rite, 68 Wales Ave., @maderitecoffee