Summer is fully summering, and if you're anything like me, you want to be out and about soaking up all the rays we can before the cold, dark days return. Toronto's best patios are always calling, but constantly dining out at the best restaurants in Toronto is putting the smackdown on my wallet. Thankfully, this seems to be the summer of cheap eats with new Toronto restaurants opening up with lower price points and our old favourites offering amazing deals and happy hour specials.
Stackt Market's sprawling patio has been unbeatable in size and selection, with a dozen food and drink vendors to choose from, plus all the adorable shipping container shops to peruse. And now it's become a destination for deals, too. Every Wednesday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. until the end of September, folks can get a full meal for $15 or less, and a quick injection of fresh air and sunshine during their lunch break.
There are a lot of different options: Oi Sushi serves made-to-order poke bowls and sushi, Pampered Pig slow-smokes their Southern-style barbecue, Monday's Off slings sliders and glizzies, and Bodego Energy powers people up with protein-packed smoothies.
On my visit, I go for Sunday's Pasta Lab, which slaps. For $15, you can choose between two sauce options — a classic tomato basil or a brown butter sage — with any noodles, plus a beverage and an entire full-sized bag of chips. I get through half of the heaping portion of perfectly chewy rigatoni, and save the rest, along with the truffle chips for later — so I basically have lunch and dinner for $15.
I also can't resist the açai bowl at Haydn's that's been going viral. The $15 flat rate lunch special lets you pile your bowl to the sky with toppings like fruit, nuts, granola, nut butters, mini mochi, boba and toasted coconut chips. It's so refreshing and feels so healthy but also so indulgent. It's the perfect sweet treat for lunch or dessert.
Stop by Courage Cookies to get five of their thick, buttery cookies for $15 and bring them back to the office. If you share the flavours like Brown Butter Tahini, Oreo, B-day Cake and Mini Egg, your coworkers will forget all about the fact that you took a long lunch. And Courage donates a portion of their revenue back to the community.
