January 2, 2025

Dear reader,

It’s my practice to write this newsletter every Wednesday, and since this particular Wednesday is New Year’s Day, I’m going to make it quick, as I would like to continue living my best sloth life as soon as possible. It’s just after 10 a.m. and I’ve already enjoyed some leftover pork fried rice and Shanghai chow mein (shoutout to Mayflower Chinese Food for both my New Year’s Eve dinner and this morning’s breakfast), followed by a small cheese plate (it’s called cleaning out the fridge). I also put back the last few glugs of eggnog left in the carton—but sans rum because of Dry January, which so far has been a resounding success. It’s that time, after all, when we swear off any bad habits and replace them with healthy ones—new year, new leaf, new life.

Toronto likes shiny new things. It’s evident in what we line up for (Did you see those Crumbl queues? You’d think our city had never seen a cookie before) and how we love a best new [insert type of restaurant or food] list. We at Toronto Life are guilty of this too; it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of an always-changing food scene. But we can’t forget about those restaurants and bars that came before—the places we once raved about, the ones that initially made those lists. They’re as good as ever and still around for a reason, but—like the forgotten playthings from the bottom of Andy’s toy box—they’re quite often overshadowed by newer, trendier spots. In this week’s newsletter, instead of looking forward, we look back: we asked some of the city’s top chefs for their favourite middle-aged restaurants and what they order at each.

Also in this first Table Talk of 2025: the most popular food stories of the past year. Plus, a look at what’s on the menu at Bar Clams, Matty Matheson’s new East Coast–inspired diner.

Editor’s note: It’s now 8 p.m. on Wednesday and I’m updating this to let you know my streak has come to an end with a glass of lambrusco. But I ask you which is the worse offence: breaking a promise one day in or wasting perfectly good wine? Dry January starts (again) now.

For more of our food-and-drink coverage, visit torontolife.com or subscribe to our print edition.

—Rebecca Fleming, food and drink editor

Toronto restaurateur Jen Agg recently posted a heartstring-pulling Instagram callout for Torontonians to keep patronizing their favourite haunts. While speaking on behalf of all older kitchens, she was also advocating for herself as rent increases and weekday services with fewer guests have put Rhum Corner on the chopping block. We all know restaurants come and go, but some are just too critical to a city’s culinary scene to be lost to the next new thing. In the hope of highlighting a few of these not-to-be-forgotten gems, we asked a handful of chefs and restaurateurs for their favourites—and what they order at each.

Our readers were hungry for a variety of stories this year, including a memoir about opening a cocktail bar in Mexico, a food tour of St. Catharines and a Taylor Swift–inspired investigative report. Here, a dozen of our most-read food stories of 2024.

Just when you think you’ve seen the last of Matty Matheson, he opens an East Coast–inspired diner. Last month, Bar Clams took over the space that housed Mexican restaurant Fonda Balam. Tacos have been replaced with a menu of donairs, hot turkey sandwiches, seafood cocktails and more bivalves than you can shake a shellfish fork at.

In the latest issue: the ultimate try-anything-once, antidote-to-doomscrolling bucket list for 2025. Plus, a ranking of the city’s best new cookies, up close and personal with the Beaches, and more. Still not receiving Toronto Life at home? Subscribe today.

Follow us for the latest from Toronto Life

Copyright ©2024. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part strictly prohibited. Toronto Life is a registered trademark of SJC Media
15 Benton Rd.
Toronto, M6M 3G2

You're receiving this email because you signed up for a Toronto Life newsletter.

Unsubscribe