Toronto's Chinatown and Little Italy: A Food Lover's Guide

Toronto’s Chinatown and Little Italy are two of the city’s most distinctive ethnic neighbourhoods, sitting adjacent to each other in the downtown west end and collectively offering one of the best food-focused walking experiences in North America. Chinatown — centred on Spadina Avenue — is the city’s third-oldest Chinatown (Toronto has four), a dense, vibrant commercial strip of dim sum palaces, Vietnamese pho shops, Thai restaurants, bubble tea chains, roast meat counters, and Hong Kong-style bakeries. Little Italy — along College Street just north and west — is the historic Italian neighbourhood that has layered a contemporary restaurant and nightlife scene over its 1950s-era Italian character. Walked together, the two neighbourhoods cover roughly two kilometres and can easily absorb a full day of eating, browsing, and drinking.

This guide covers both neighbourhoods, the best things to eat, and how to plan a day. For broader context, see the Toronto neighborhoods guide and the Toronto food guide.

Chinatown: the geography and history

Toronto’s main Chinatown sits at the intersection of Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street West, and extends north up Spadina to College Street and south to Queen Street West. The neighbourhood emerged in the 1960s after the original Chinatown around City Hall was displaced by urban renewal; the community relocated up Spadina Avenue. Today’s Chinatown has absorbed successive waves of immigration from Hong Kong, Vietnam, mainland China, and more recently Southeast Asia — the result is a neighbourhood that is ethnically Chinese in its historical identity but pan-Asian in its contemporary character.

The commercial strip along Spadina is a genuinely active working neighbourhood — not curated for tourists. Fish markets with tanks of live fish, herbalists with walls of dried ingredients, bakeries, restaurants, and supermarkets operate alongside each other. Weekend mornings are busiest.

What to eat in Chinatown

Dim sum: Several institutions run morning-to-afternoon dim sum:

• Rol San (323 Spadina): A Chinatown classic; roving carts in the traditional style; weekend waits.
• Pearl Court (633 Gerrard St E, Chinatown East): Larger, more family-friendly; excellent har gow and siu mai.
• Lai Wah Heen (Metropolitan Hotel): Higher-end, refined dim sum in a hotel setting.

Hong Kong-style cafe (cha chaan teng):

• Sky Dragon Chinese Restaurant (280 Spadina, 4th floor): Classic Cantonese with a view.
• Congee Queen (various locations): Late-night congee and rice rolls.

Vietnamese:

• Pho Hung (350 Spadina): Long-standing pho institution.
• Banh Mi Boys (392 Queen West): Gourmet-style banh mi; minor wait at lunch.
• Pho 88 (270 Spadina): Alternative pho with strong broth.

Roast meat counters:

• Sun’s Kitchen (486 Dundas W): Roast pork and duck by the pound.
• Kom Jug Yuen (371 Spadina): Legendary BBQ pork (char siu).

Bubble tea and dessert:

• Real Fruit Bubble Tea (various): Pioneer of the real-fruit trend.
• Ten Ren Tea (454 Dundas W): Traditional tea shop.
• Hoi Ping Shao Bing (Kensington adjacent): Taiwanese shao bing (flatbread sandwiches).

Markets and groceries:

• Chinatown Centre (222 Spadina): Multi-level Asian market with food court.
• Kensington Market (immediately west of Chinatown): Overlapping culture and food. See Kensington Market.

Little Italy: the geography and history

Little Italy runs along College Street between Bathurst Street and Ossington Avenue — a 12-block strip that became the centre of Toronto’s Italian community in the 1950s and 1960s, following waves of post-war immigration from southern Italy and Sicily. The original community has partially moved north and west (to Woodbridge and Vaughan in the suburbs), but enough of the institutional infrastructure remains — the bakeries, the espresso bars, the butcher shops — that Little Italy is still recognisably Italian, now layered with a contemporary cocktail bar and restaurant scene.

The neighbourhood comes alive on summer evenings, when the patios along College fill with diners and drinkers, and the atmosphere is arguably the liveliest in Toronto.

What to eat in Little Italy

Classic Italian (the tradition):

• La Diperie (595 College): Not classic, but fun — gelato dipped in chocolate.
• Sicilian Ice Cream (712 College): Family-run gelato since 1959.
• Café Diplomatico (594 College): Longest-running restaurant-bar on the strip; a Toronto institution.
• Mr. Tasty (680 College): Italian butcher; deli sandwiches to go.

Contemporary restaurants (the overlay):

• Bar Raval (505 College): Spanish (not Italian) but essential — one of Toronto’s best tapas bars, in a stunning Art Nouveau-inspired space.
• Pizzeria Libretto (221 Ossington, just off College): Naples-style Neapolitan pizza.
• Sotto Voce (595 College): Wine bar with Italian small plates.
• Superpoint (757 Dundas): Excellent pizza slices.
• Trattoria Taverniti (106 Portland, close by): Family-run trattoria.

Coffee and pastry:

• Sam James Coffee Bar (various): Toronto’s coffee institution with a College outpost.
• Nuances on College (596 College): Traditional Italian pastries.

Portuguese overlay:

West of Little Italy, Portugal Village (also known as Little Portugal) continues the multicultural food corridor along Dundas Street West. Highlights:

• Venezia Bakery (114 Ossington): Portuguese custard tarts (pastéis de nata) — many Toronto food writers call these the best in the city.
• Nova Era Bakery (various): The Portuguese chain; also excellent custard tarts.
• Chiado (864 College): Upscale Portuguese fine dining.

How to plan a food-walking day

Morning (9-11am): Start with dim sum at Rol San or Pearl Court — the traditional weekend Chinatown experience. Budget 90 minutes with the wait.

Late morning (11am-12pm): Walk north up Spadina; browse the markets; coffee at a Hong Kong cafe.

Lunch (12-1pm): Lighter — a banh mi at Banh Mi Boys, or a pho at Pho Hung.

Afternoon (1-3pm): Walk west along College Street into Little Italy. Coffee at Sam James; pastéis de nata at Venezia Bakery on Ossington.

Late afternoon (3-6pm): Browse independent shops along College and Ossington; possible patio drink at Cafe Diplomatico.

Evening (6pm onwards): Dinner at Bar Raval (for Spanish) or Pizzeria Libretto (for Italian). Bars and restaurants stay busy past midnight.

Getting there

Subway:

• Spadina Station (Line 1 / Line 2): North end of Chinatown, walkable down Spadina.
• Queen’s Park Station (Line 1): Short walk to College and into Little Italy.
• College Station (Line 1): East end of Little Italy.

Streetcar:

• 510 Spadina streetcar: Runs the full length of Chinatown along Spadina.
• 506 Carlton / College streetcar: Runs along College through Little Italy.

From downtown Yonge/Dundas: 10-15 minutes by streetcar or 5 minutes by subway.

Where not to go

Avoid the first 2-3 establishments along Dundas West and Spadina that are explicitly targeted at tourists — they are not representative of the neighbourhoods. The genuine restaurants are usually slightly further into the neighbourhoods and have minimal English signage.

When to visit

Best time: Any summer evening (patios open); weekend mornings (dim sum); festival weekends (Taste of Little Italy in June; Night It Up! Asian night market in summer).

Avoid: Winter weekday afternoons (many patios closed; quieter atmosphere).

Related guides

• Toronto food guide for the citywide food picture
• Kensington Market — immediately west of Chinatown
• Toronto neighborhoods
• Toronto with kids — dim sum is surprisingly kid-friendly
• Toronto weekend itinerary
• Queen West — another west-end food/drink strip

Browse Toronto food tours and walking experiences on GetYourGuide