There's nothing like feeling like a complete foodie in your hometown by knowing exactly what to order at restaurants — especially when the dishes aren't on the menu.
The secret to Toronto's secret menu items is that some of them may not be so secret. Most food-lovers know spots like The Burger's Priest and big chains like Starbucks and McDonald's all have "secret" menu items that have been tasted and reviewed all over the Internet.
But this city is constantly growing, with a landscape of delicious foods and experimental chefs, so we did some digging to see if any other spots are serving up any off-the-menu goods. While we've also included Toronto's favourites, we asked some chefs to tell us the menu items that are fairly readily available — if you know they exist.
And as food lovers ourselves, we also teamed up with Toronto blogger Marie Nicola of Karma Cake to try out some of the more popular secret menu items, including the Club Bao (read: fried chicken and pork belly bao) at Banh Mi Boys.
If you're curious, you can always ask your server for any new specials or off-menu items. In our experience, most joints are willing to spill the beans. And there is a difference between being flexible and having secret menu items — this is a collection of standalone dishes for the most part that are not listed on the menu.
Note, some of these items may be seasonal, so we suggest calling ahead of time — like at Patois Toronto — to see if the restaurant is serving the specific dish that week. Check out our list below and let us know if we've missed any that you've tried.
