I’m usually a planner. But when my family and I decided to take a quick trip from Niagara Falls to Toronto, my spontaneous self emerged. I quickly pulled up Google to search up restaurants and was pleasantly overwhelmed by the number of healthy restaurants in the Canadian city. It was hard to boil it down to one, but I chose Farm’r Eatery & Catering for a bite of lunch and Bunner’s Bakeshop for something sweet. Below, I’ll give you the reviews of the two awesome spots 🙂
Farm’r Eatery & Catering
Farm’r is all about delicious, wholesome, and clean eating.
In one of their flyers, Farm’r states that its mission is “To make great food that brings people together.” And this certainly seems to be true. The restaurant is extremely peaceful, with happy and regular customers. You can see directly into the kitchen right when you walk in, and your plate is assembled right in front of you on the countertop. They thought of everything – there are menus lining the glass window dividing the ordering space from the countertop, so you don’t have to waste paper (yay!). Also, unlike a lot of “fast” healthy restaurants, they have real flatware and glassware which means less plastic 🙂
They believe in using seasonal foods and work with local Ontario farmers to make their food taste better and be more sustainable. Farm’r’s food is all “scratch made” because they “believe food tastes better when it’s home cooked” – in fact, the overall ambiance of the restaurant is similar to that of a home. Groups of friends casually stroll in and the staff is extremely pleasant. Their food is also affordable (especially considering tax is already included). In fact, my plate cost me slightly less than what I typically get at Chipotle – except it is cleaner eating!
I ordered the plate above. What blew me away at first bite was the freshness of each ingredient – it’s clear that Farm’r is serious about their ingredients. The lentil and chickpea fritters were crunchy and filling, and the garlic tahini provided a nice tang to the fritters. The eggplant was also extremely delicious. I took a bite of my mom’s Ontario quinoa & kale salad, and that had a burst of flavor – from the sweetness of the carrot to the slight bitterness of the pumpkin seeds. I also stole a potato wedge from my brother and they were light, with a golden crispy exterior and fluffy interior.
Bunner’s Bakeshop
Now onto the even more fun part – the dessert! With one location located in the quirky and artsy area of Kensington Market and the other on Dundas Street, Bunner’s is super hip and equally delectable. Kensington Market is the equivalent to Manhattan’s East Village: it’s diverse, artsy, and vibrant. My family and I walked around it for about an hour. At Bunner’s (perhaps the best bakery I’ve ever been to), you’ll be greeted by a super friendly and passionate staff, and of course, the amazing aroma of a wholesome bakery. Everything is gluten-free, egg-free, and dairy-free which is comforting to any consumer who has dietary restrictions. Bunner’s has a large selection of desserts, ranging from cinnamon buns to soft serve ice cream, all of which looked just like those of a typical bakery. It was so so so hard to choose 🙂 Eventually, we got: red velvet cupcake, vanilla cupcake, double chocolate muffin, blueberry oat muffin, lemon poppy seed scone, and a brownie. And yes, this list was heavily edited.
The red velvet cupcake was perfectly baked and brought out a subtle chocolately fudginess to the bite. The frosting was sweet, but pleasantly so. My brother devoured the vanilla cupcake before I got the chance to take a bite – no hard feelings though because I was busy with other treats anyways!
My dad ordered the blueberry oat muffin which was so hearty and tasted like a real muffin! I wished I had grabbed one for breakfast the next morning – although I’m not sure it would have lasted. Similar to the red velvet cupcake, the muffin had a fudginess to it, but it was richer in chocolate – in nearly every bite, there were a couple of chocolate chips. The brownie was sweeter than the muffin, and it had that crusty sugar crust that is so desired in a brownie 🙂 The lemon poppyseed scone might as well have belonged in a Sarabeth’s bakery; it was tarty, with a crumbly bite.
overall
I absolutely fell in love with Toronto and quite unexpectedly. The food was astounding and the people I met were extremely kind. Even though it’s been a few weeks since my trip there, I cannot stop talking about Toronto. Regardless if you’re in the area, Toronto warrants its own trip!