Adding the suffix "licious" to even the most dreary of words makes them significantly more sensational. Let's try it: Taxlicious. Vegetablicious. Back painlicious. See? So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that talking about the best Winterlicious Toronto menus for 2024 starts to quicken our pulse. Especially when the annual initiative sees tons of excellent Toronto restaurants offer discounted, prix-fixe menus.
We're floored that some of the best restaurants and new restaurants in Toronto are offering Winterlicious menus for 2024. While you might be a regular at the best spots for cheap eats in Toronto, now's your chance to snag a table at that restaurant you've been itching to check out, without breaking the bank. With more than 200 eateries offering Winterlicious Toronto menus, we're spoilt for choice.
Now, for the badlicious news. Even if you made it your mission to dine out every evening, you'd never make it to every single spot on the list — Winterlicious is only on from January 26 to February 8. So, to help you decide which menus to sample before time's up, we've rounded up the best Winterlicious Toronto restaurants for 2024. Pair a meal with a visit to one of the best bars in Toronto for a night you'll be reminiscing about long after Daylight Savings Time relinquishes that hour of sunshine it stole from us in November.
Dine the grey, gloomy days away at the best Winterlicious Toronto restaurants and before you know it, spring will be here.
The best Winterlicious Toronto restaurants for 2024
1. AP Restaurant
55 Bloor St. W.
High up on the 51st floor of the Manulife Centre, AP Restaurant pairs sweeping views of the city with sultry design and impeccable Japanese cuisine with Latin flair. The regular Chef’s Tasting Experience comes in at $95, so the $75 Winterlicious dinner menu is a slightly more approachable price point. Good luck deciding between the crispy shrimp tempura maki with spicy jalapenos and creamy avocado; the soft and flavourful gyoza; or the delicate hamachi crudo swimming in ponzu and garlic oil. And the choices don’t get any easier with mains like omakase sashimi and nigiri, miso black cod and teriyaki chicken. Don’t even get us started with the desserts — just make your reservation already.
2. The Cottage Cheese
64 Oxford St.
Nearly every ingredient at this urban-Indian restaurant in Kensington Market is made fresh from scratch, daily. Dishes span several regions of India with signature delicacies that include a docket of succulent tandoor grills; dum-cooked biryanis; and a naan, paratha and roti bread bar. The $45 Winterlicious dinner menu leaves us spoilt for choice, with six stupendous mains like chicken chennai, prawn curry and rosepetal paneer, to pick from. Just try to convince us that squeegeeing their famous butter sauce off our plate with a cheese naan isn’t the definition of happiness.
3. TOCA
181 Wellington St. W.
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Put on the ritz this January with a special lunch ($55) or dinner ($75) at TOCA. The Italian restaurant inside the Ritz-Carlton is known for diving into the European nation’s regional cuisine — and of course, its cheese cave. Tuck into 24-hour sous vide pork neck and hearty fish stews packed with shrimp and mussels.
4. Stelvio
791 Dundas St. W.
This underrated hidden gem on Dundas serves Northern Italian classics in a rustic-chic atmosphere. Winterlicious is the perfect time to try their $55 dinner menu with dishes like the Arancine del Bosco (mushroom risotto balls) and Nutellamisu — yes, it’s a Nutella tiramisu. We would go back again just for the Caramelle di Coniglio, large rabbit-stuffed ravioli with truffle and cherry tomatoes.
5. Toronto Beach Club
1681 Lake Shore Blvd. E.
Toronto Beach Club might not give off the same summery vibes in January, but their three-course Winterlicious dinner menu will get you as close to the Mediterranean as possible without setting foot on a plane. Enjoy dishes like smoked eggplant with pita, grilled branzino and a baklava with honey semifredo to top it all off for just $75.
6. Nuna Kitchen & Bar
1265 Queen St. W.
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Dive into delicious Peruvian flavours at Nuna, a cozy, modern restaurant that’s tucked away in Parkdale. The $41 lunch menu and $55 dinner menu include dishes like yuca croquettes, beef anticucho (Peruvian grilled AAA beef skewers), glazed pork belly and lemon pie. We’re not drooling, you are.
7. PAI Uptown
2335 Yonge St.
David Whittaker
Just like the Michelin-recommended downtown location, chef Nuit Regular’s midtown PAI dishes exceptional Northern Thai cuisine. Portions are big, bright and full of flavour, and there are plenty of vegan and vegetarian options. Tuck into either a $34 lunch or $45 dinner feast for Winterlicious, with mouth-watering options like grabong (deep-friend butternut squash fritters), khao soi (egg noodles in a coconut milk curry) or chef Nuit’s pad thai with stir-fried rice noodles, tofu and egg.
8. Reign
100 Front St. W.
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We’re still dreaming about our last visit to this refined restaurant inside the Fairmont Royal York hotel. Settle into a dark green banquette in the luxurious, dark wood-adorned space and tuck into their $55 lunch or $75 dinner Winterlicious menus. It may seem pricey, but with dishes like leek & potato soup, steelhead trout, juicy steak and blueberry cheesecake, you can’t go wrong.
9. Hawker
291 Augusta Ave.
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This under-the-radar vegan gem is committed to blending fancy cuisine and naturalism — maintaining the integrity of base ingredients with little interference. Plates, artfully prepared by chef Jeff Merkel, often emulate a natural setting. In the Starry Night biryani, dollops of poblano cream resemble stellar constellations. Portions are on the smaller side, so the $45 Winterlicious dinner menu sometimes pairs multiple items together to make a complete course — which means more flavours for us.
10. Curryish Tavern
783 Queen St. W.
Chef Miheer Shete wields seasonal Canadian ingredients to execute contemporary twists on traditional Indian dishes. Both the lunch ($41) and dinner ($55) Winterlicious menus at this buzzy Queen West spot are playgrounds of interesting textures and bold flavours. Choosing between a succulent beef kebab, hearty chicken dhansak with roasted potatoes, crusted sea bass or a vegan coconut chickpea main will be the most challenging part of your night.
11. Il Fornello Danforth
576 Danforth Ave.
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This Danforth Village neighbourhood spot dishes out casual Italian favourites with elevated presentation. Grab a table for Winterlicious and slurp up a white bean minestrone, cut into chicken cacciatore or scoop up a buttery vegan wild mushroom risotto. For $35, the Winterlicious dinner menu let's you take your pick from three courses of Il Fornello’s mouth-watering Italian classics.
12. Leña
176 Yonge St.
Leña’s $65 prix-fixe menu is one of the most cost-friendly ways to enjoy their bounty of vibrant South American plates — if you can rip your eyes away from the restaurant’s stunning design, that is. Don’t skip Susan’s Chorizo Empanada as an appetizer, served with a vibrant jalapeño chimichurri.
13. Minami Restaurant
225 King St. W.
Minami could win our hearts with its beautiful design alone: Murals of koi fish swim along the walls beside floating cherry blossoms in the airy space. But they’ve also pulled out all the stops with their $48 lunch and $65 dinner Winterlicious menus. Choose from dishes like wagyu tartare, soy braised short rib, salmon crudo, an aburi sushi selection, AAA beef tenderloin — need we go on?
14. The Drake Hotel
1150 Queen St. W.
West Queen West’s Drake Hotel is a Toronto institution for a reason. Grab a seat in the modern, local art-filled space for seasonal bites. For $41, the Winterlicious lunch menu really rustles our jimmies with truffle mac ‘n’ cheese or the famous Drake Burger, followed by a hot fudge sundae or honey cake. They also offer a $55 dinner menu with a quarter chicken dinner or cold smoked B.C. sockeye salmon.
15. Miss Likklemore’s
433 King St. W.
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Escape the dreary days of Toronto’s slush season with a visit to Miss Likklemore’s, an haute-cuisine Caribbean dream on King West. For $65, the dinner menu lets you dig into dishes like braised oxtail and spicy beef patties, jerk chicken, short rib, fried snapper and a key lime tart.
16. Kasa Moto
115 Yorkville Ave.
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This classy Japanese restaurant in Yorkville is a special occasion meal, so we’re thrilled to sample some menu highlights for only $75 during Winterlicious. There’s plenty to choose from, but we’ve got our eyes on the Australian wagyu appetizer, six ounces of buttery soft tenderloin, and Kasa Moto’s dreamy Chocolate Sesame Stone dessert.
17. Birrotecca
55 Bloor St. W. Concourse Level
If you’ve ever been down to Eataly’s basement, you’ll know that Birroteca is a destination for award-winning beer and exciting new SKUs. What you may not know is that the brewery is also home to seasonal snacks. Choose between lunch ($34) or dinner ($45) Winterlicious menus and dig into Italian classics like arancini, gnocchi and tiramisu.
