Toronto Life’s most popular restaurant openings of 2025

This year, our readers were especially hungry for restaurants serving meat-heavy menus (we’ll chalk it up to the obsession with protein). The top 10 restaurant openings of 2025 include three steakhouses and a Texas-style barbecue joint as well as a Korean Ecuadorian diner, a kissaten-inspired snack bar and the fancier sister restaurant to Toronto’s iconic house of spaghetti.

No. 10: The Old Spaghetti Factory’s new sister spot is nothing like the kitschy red-sauce restaurant

You won’t find bottomless breadsticks at Eloise or its backroom speakeasy, Bar Cart. Instead, you’ll find something that’s equal parts enoteca and steakhouse. There’s a lean roster of pastas, salads and crudos as well as dry-aged beef, Dover sole and tableside theatrics. (And don’t even think about asking for complimentary spumoni ice cream.)

No. 9: What’s on the menu at Kensei Bar, the newest addition to Toronto’s Japanese kissaten scene

This new cute-as-a-button listening bar at Dundas and Ossington looks like it was ripped straight out of 1970s Tokyo. “We’re all obsessed with the late Showa period in Japan, which was a significant time for art and music,” says chef and co-owner Hansang Lee. “We wanted to represent that in everything we do here at Kensei.” And they do: from the lo-fi jazz to the smooth cocktails matching the music’s ebbs and flows to the punchy small plates, Kensei Bar sings in the details.

No. 8: What’s on the menu at Harbour 60, the new-and-improved revamp of the luxe steakhouse

When the 25-year lease renewal came up for Harbour 60, the Nikolaou family didn’t just re-sign—they saw a chance to usher in a new era of the long-running steakhouse. The result? A glossier, even grander version of one of Toronto’s most famous steakhouses—with a refreshed menu, a next-level wine program and even more big-night-out energy.

No. 7: Inside Jacobs and Co.’s new 14,000-square-foot steakhouse

Way back in 2019, the Jacobs and Co. team began to reassess their relationship with their Brant Street digs. The new space inside CIBC Square—which includes two private dining rooms, a store with grab-and-go steaks and pre-batched cocktails for sale, a piano lounge, and two outdoor terraces—marks its territory with confidence. And where there was once a relatively limited seafood program, there’s now an expansive raw bar and a dedicated fish aging room. “We don’t want to be known as just a steakhouse anymore,” says chef Danny McCallum. “We’re a great restaurant with a steak focus.”

No. 6: What’s on the menu at Bonito’s, a new Korean Ecuadorian diner on Ossington

You’d never guess that Bonito’s—a cozy wood-panelled room above its sister spot, Bar Bowie—used to be a laundromat. Now, in its ’70s basement–inspired dining room, chefs Mikey Kim and Adrian Montesdeoca are serving up dinner and late-night menus that reflect their respective Asian and Latin American heritages. The result is a rich and saucy mix of snacks and sharing plates.

No. 5: A visit to this new Portuguese restaurant is like a trip to Lisbon without leaving Toronto

LX is the short form people in Lisbon use to refer to their city. “I’ve been spending time in Lisbon since I was 15. It feels like one of the sunniest places in the world. When people step into Taberna LX, I want them to feel like they’ve been transported to Europe for a hot minute,” says co-owner Kelly Amaral of the sprawling two-storey, 70-seat Portuguese restaurant at Dundas and Ossington.

No. 4: Toronto’s newest barbecue joint is already drawing crowds

Andrew Golden, the 24-year-old pitmaster and co-owner of Golden Horseshoe Barbecue, went from selling barbecue at breweries around the city to opening a brick-and-mortar operation in less than two years. At the new restaurant, Golden remains dedicated to the art of slow-cooking on offset wood-burning smokers, and the menu centres the Texas-style barbecue he’s become known for.

No. 3: A sexy new Italian steakhouse is bringing massive cuts of meat and tableside martini service to St. Lawrence

Bisteccheria Sammarco reimagines the classic steakhouse through an Italian lens. It’s the long-envisioned third act from Rob Rossi and David Minicucci, completing the arc that began with Giulietta and Osteria Giulia. “It’s the final piece of the trilogy for David and I,” says Rossi. “We started off with Giulietta, which is central Italian—more convivial, with lots of pizza and pasta. Then came Osteria Giulia, which is seafood-focused. And we always wanted to have what we thought would be our crown jewel, which is Sammarco.”

No. 2: Inside Harbourfront’s new 23,000-square-foot restaurant with a massive retractable roof

When Kevin Jazexhi decided to work on a project that would be a game-changer for Toronto’s waterfront, he didn’t think he’d end up with something the size of Queens Harbour. The new lakeside spot is almost comically big, with two levels, many different dining spaces and a retractable roof rivalled only by the Rogers Centre’s. The encyclopedic menu lists Euro classics like steak frites and pasta; Asian favourites including sushi, Wagyu and sake-fried chicken; North American staples like burgers and a club sandwich; and splurge-worthy seafood platters.

No. 1: These are Toronto’s best new restaurants of 2025

Okay, this one may be cheating a bit as it’s actually many new restaurants rolled into one big feature package. Nevertheless, Where to Eat Now 2025—our 43rd annual ranking of the city’s best new restaurants—was this year’s top food story.