Flavours of Toronto: The ultimate comfort food, found at Toronto’s Polish, Ukrainian and Hungarian restaurants

There’s something about borscht and cabbage rolls that lines the stomach in just the right way, especially in the winter. Living in Toronto allows for some great Polish, Hungarian and Ukrainian restaurants that know how to fill bellies to the max. Most do homemade pierogies, which are positively heavenly.

Stuff yourself with homestyle dishes from the European mecca of meals that satisfy with these six restaurants:

polish food from chopin restaurant

Just like mom made it.

Chopin Restaurant

Chopin’s Polish food is among the best in Toronto. With a ton of homemade foods on their menu, and quite possibly the cities best pierogies, Chopin on Roncesvalles is doing it right. The restaurant is on the upscale side but the prices are still reasonable. Besides the pierogies, try the Hungarian pancakes, the pork hocks, hunter’s stew and cabbage rolls.

Cafe Polonez

Filling, traditional dishes keep this family-run restaurant super busy. Cabbage rolls, herring, borscht, pierogies, schnitzel, stews, homemade soups and hot sandwiches fill the need for homestyle comfort food and the Polish beers are a hit, too. Located on Roncesvalles, they’re busy for lunch and packed at dinner time.

Salad from Krepesz Cafe & Bar

Looking fresh!

Krepesz Cafe & Bar

Crepes filled with stew certainly isn’t a normal lunch in Toronto, but if you’re keen to try something new, pop in to Krepesz Cafe & Bar on Augusta Avenue. They’re a Hungarian joint specializing in crepes (filled with stew, or paprika chicken, eggs, nutella or berries and whipped cream) chimney cakes and beer.

Albatros Pub

Awesome food and great service are the highlights of the Albatros Pub in New Toronto. For many, it’s worth the trip out towards Etobicoke for red borscht, schnitzel covered in gravy, homemade pierogies, potato pancakes and beer.

polish dish from Kovalsky Restaurant

Kovalsky Restaurant

With traditional dishes from Poland and across central Europe, Kovalsky Restaurant on the Queensway has great prices and well-loved foods, from goulash to pierogies to kopytka and several kinds of schnitzel.

Amber European Restaurant

In Bloor West Village, the tiny Amber European Restaurant does Ukrainian food well, despite limited space. It’s a very homey, casual spot with schnitzel, borscht, blintzes and cabbage rolls, but the prices tend to be higher than most similar restaurants.

Check out some more cultural eats:

 

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Born on the Prairies, Erin Cardone grew up knowing there was more to life than canola fields and AAA Alberta Angus. So she escaped, living in Europe and Australia, white-knuckling it through plates of calf brains and raw horse meat, and learning languages she can't remember anymore. After a stint as a jaded, skeptical journalist, she changed tack and began writing rather awesome blogs and showing businesses that advertising is dead, so long live social media, with her businesses Legendary Social Media. She now splits her time between various Canadian cities, Costa Rica and wherever else the wind blows.

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