Six Toronto restaurants serving up all-Canadian menus

Donald Trump’s tariffs have sent shockwaves through the Canadian economy, leaving restaurants—and other businesses that already operate on razor-thin margins—fearful for their bottom lines. But, amid the chaos, several of the city’s patriotic chefs and proud restaurant owners have decided to stand up to the bullying. From a Michelin-starred Yorkville kitchen to a neighbourhood pizza shop, here are six places that will help you put your Canadian money where your mouth is.

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Patois

For the best bang for your buck

As a kid who attended six different GTA schools before the fifth grade, Patois chef and co-owner Craig Wong says he knows a thing or two about being bullied. So when Trump started shaking Canadians down like a schoolyard meanie after our lunch money, Wong decided it was time to push back. “We didn’t ask for any of this, and yet it’s happening to us,” says Wong, who’s been serving his scintillating brand of Asian-Caribbean fusion from his Dundas West location for over a decade. “So I thought, Let’s feed people in a way that won’t hurt their wallets, and let’s celebrate Canada at the same time.”

The patriot’s pick: She-Bang for Your Buck, a $25 meal deal offered from Tuesday to Thursday. Created by Wong’s kitchen staff, the platter’s items change weekly and are made from exclusively Canadian ingredients. “It’s a chance for our team to go off-menu and for our chefs to create what they want to cook,” says Wong. One recent offering featured creamy Ontario hothouse cucumber salad and tender cabbage rolls stuffed with garlicky Grade A Alberta beef, bathed in a rich tomato sauce. Nationalist noshers got to finish the meal with a delicate vanilla cake topped with a spoonful of maple syrup for some local flavour.

Richmond Station

For the whole Canadian hog

Chef Carl Heinrich’s Financial District restaurant has always taken a local, nose-to-tail approach, so it’s been mostly shielded from the tariff threats. “We buy a cow a week and a pig a week,” explains co-founder Hayden Johnston, whose team of full-time butchers prepare their steaks, bacon and other cuts in-house. Chicken, duck and lake fish (when available) are all locally sourced. A seasonal menu allows most produce to be sourced locally too—Ontario beets, carrots and cabbage in winter, with more greens in the spring and summer. That said, swapping out customer favourites, like US-grown rapini, has been a challenge. “The tariffs have given us even more opportunity to stop and reflect on where our food comes from,” says Johnston, who adds that they have been looking at Ontario’s overwintered spinach as a substitute for the bitter green. “We get customers every day who say they don’t want any American products, so we’re also swapping out the bourbon in their old fashioneds for Stalk and Barrel’s Canadian rye whiskey.”

The patriot’s pick: Made with pasture-raised beef from Hamilton’s McNeill Farms, Richmond’s ever-popular Station Burger gets full Canadian points. The patty comes topped with aged white Ontario cheddar and house-made aïoli. A small serving of red chutney (made with beets from Cookstown Greens) and crispy fries (made from PEI spuds) come on the side. And the seasonal dessert menu includes mostly local items like rhubarb custard, made with some of the province’s first pink stalks and cream from Hewitt’s Dairy, paired with an olive oil cake. “The olive oil is Italian,” Johnston admits. “But Italy is an ally, right?”

Island Oysters

For seafood sourced from sea to shining sea

Bloordale’s self-proclaimed slice of PEI has proudly served a wide selection of Canadian seafood since it opened in 2023. Still, when the tariffs were first threatened, Jason Kun and his team went through their sourcing list, expunging any American products they could. Serving food that is local and Canadian is important to Kun, who grew up in Charlottetown, foraging for clams and crabs with his restaurateur parents. “Canada is one of the biggest producers of oysters in the world,” says Kun, who used to feature American oysters as a novelty but isn’t anymore. “First Nations have been eating oysters like Island Emeralds from PEI for over 9,000 years. Why go to the US to get oysters when we have the best ones right here?”

Related: Island Oysters, a sweet little seafood bar in Bloordale

The patriot’s pick: After you’ve proven your loyalist leanings by indulging in a Four Shores platter (a mix of East Cape Emeralds, Chebooktooks, Island Pearls and Effingham Fliptides on the half-shell), protecting Canadian sovereignty involves some difficult decisions. When it comes to appetizers, the Newfoundland cod cakes served with mashed Yukon Gold potatoes, house tartar sauce and pickled onions will earn you your flag pins, but the clam chowder made with BC halibut also passes the test. Its bouillabaisse base is made with locally sourced back bacon for added smokiness. A main course of house-smoked Nova Scotia salmon served with crispy potatoes and crème fraîche stays the all-Canadian course. And guests can pair their meals with one of many local craft beers.

Gram’s Pizza

For the most patriotic pizza pie

Graham Palmateer, owner and chef at this tiny west-end pizzeria, became a mini celebrity in February, when he took to Instagram to stand up for Canada. Then the US-sourced goods started going out the window. California’s Stanislaus tomatoes were first to hit the chopping block, followed by anything from Costco—his original main supplier but, unfortunately, an American company. His message resonated, with interview requests pouring in from the Guardian, Norwegian state media and the CBC. Throw in an Instagram big-up from Olivia Chow, and Palmateer has been scrambling to keep up with demand.

The patriot’s pick: There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that customers will eat any US-made goods here, since Palmateer now uses only Canadian and Italian ingredients. A slice of his delicious vodka pie is made with Italian tomatoes and locally sourced mozzarella and pecorino romano. Since Coca-Cola is currently in this pizzeria’s penalty box, customers can enjoy soda from London, Ontario’s Pop Shoppe instead.

Enigma Yorkville

For Michelin-starred meals

Eighty per cent of the ingredients executive chef Quinton Bennett sources for his Michelin-starred menu are local or Canadian. “Enigma has always made an effort to work with local suppliers because they provide some of the freshest and finest ingredients,” says Bennett, noting that current trade tensions have given the Yorkville restaurant even more reason to work with provisioners this side of the border. “We use Nova Scotia lobster, east coast halibut, and Ontario-raised Cornish hen, quail, pork and lamb,” he says, noting that they also bring in foie gras and duck from Quebec’s Hudson Valley. “Relying on Canadian suppliers provides more stability and consistency in the kitchen, and there’s a sense of pride in showcasing the best of what Canada has to offer.”

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The patriot’s pick: The first course of Enigma’s new dinner tasting menu celebrates brassicas with vegetables supplied from Toronto’s Broadfork Produce and Dragon Acres in Orillia. (Guests can pair it with a glass of chardonnay from Niagara-on-the-Lake’s On Seven Estate Winery to earn their strong-and-free stripes.) The second course includes PEI Raspberry Point oysters, and the third features Nova Scotia lobster. Meanwhile, over on the lunch menu, a delicate lamb dish features braised Ontario lamb shoulder, supplied from the Butcher Shoppe, with local turnips and wild green elderberry capers from Forbes Wild Foods. A cup of sun tea, blended in house from local wild chamomile, dried stone fruit and lavender, pairs beautifully with any of the seasonal desserts. Who knew standing up for Canada could taste so good?

Unboxed Market

For a hyper-local, zero-waste greengrocer

Anyone who still believes in the climate emergency will be a fan of this environmentally friendly grocery store, which has a short-order counter of delectable house-made dishes and locally sourced desserts up front. Owners Michelle Genttner and her partner, Luis Martins, opened Unboxed in 2019 with the goal of eliminating single-use plastics and excess packaging wherever possible. But their prepared food is also top-notch, with Martins cheffing up his short-order menu from the shop’s extensive pantry.

While Unboxed’s stock has always been ultra-local, in keeping with their low-carbon footprint, Genttner says they started switching out US products as soon as the tariffs were announced. “Our store is very community-oriented,” says Genttner. “We’re constantly chatting with our customers, so we knew they’d want to shop Canadian as much as they could.”

The patriot’s pick: If you’re feeling loyal over your lunch break, the salmon bagel (made with Jerusalem bagels from Brodflour, smoked salmon from the Smoke Bloke, cream cheese infused with local herbs and a handful of Ontario greenhouse-grown arugula) is the ticket. Desserts by Downsview’s Bakerberry include butter tarts (available in traditional, pecan or chocolate), and freshly brewed coffee is made using beans from Mississauga’s Global Roasters.