Lunch@Yonge and Bloor?

[sillywalker]

I often find myself at Yonge and Bloor needing to eat. Other than Craft Burger, where would people recommend that is healthy for lunch under$15(ideally under $10) Tried Zyng noodles, they're ok...all of the shawarma places S of Bloor suck unfortunately, a good shawarma place there would make a fortune...and yes, I know, Craft Burger ain't healthy..;)

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Big Smoke Burger
830 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4W, CA

[meatnveg]

1. Bloor St. Diner - They have a quick serve cafe section if you don't want to sit. Food is relaible. Prices can be a little high, which is why the cafe option is good.

2. Scaccia- Lower Floor of Manulife Centre (floor below Bloor St. Diner) - They have lunch specials (lasagna, pasta sandwiches) and the Scaccia is nice thing to try if you've never had it before. (sort of like a pizza slice folded, but not quite the same).

3. Flo's Diner - Yorkville Ave. The prices are in-line with everywhere else ($10-$12) and the food is good and tasty.

4. Whole Foods - Hazelton Ave - They have a hot lunch counter, salad bar and if you don't carried away with trying everything (guilty) you can get away with $7-$8 for a plate of decent grub. Their pre-made salads are atrocious though and expensive. Pizza is okay, never had their sandwiches.

Edit to add: Other's in the area
- The soup place - inside the Cumberland Terrace, main floor
- The Pilot - Cumberland Ave (around the corner from Craft burger)
- Pusateri's - They sometimes have a roast beef that you can buy 'by the inch'
- Sandwich Box - Bay st. down from Pustaeri's. Same grub as the original locations
- Freshii - I'm not a fan, but some are.

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Scaccia Restaurant
55 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M4W1A5, CA

[RogerDoger]

Last time I went in Whole foods had taken away most of the hot food and replaced it with a make your own Natchos station.. not sure if it is due to the expansion / construction or just a lack of people wanting hot food in the summer..

[meatnveg]

I asked the manager, and they said it was because their hot food, kitchen was 'unsuitable for cooking' a.k.a. Too much sawdust in the air from the the expansion. The other stuff is made in a separate 'prep' kitchen.
Will be fully up and running in a month or so, I was told.

[RogerDoger]

Actually Hue's on the west side of Yonge just south of bloor does a good job of quick cheap asian food. Pho, Curries, stuff on rice.. etc.. they get you in and out quick and also provide separate bills by default...

The shaded patio behind is a great little summer getaway as well.

It may not be the abosolute most authentic but there should be something for everyones taste.

[BioLogic]

Crêpes À GoGo has even less seating than Big Smoke (fka Craft), but is as healthy as most of the other choices here and under $15 and yummy.

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Crepes A GoGo
18 Yorkville Ave, Toronto, ON M4W1L4, CA

[jessicacufaro]

the only thing im having when im downtown @ work is timmys!

[ingloriouseater]

what a shame....the world and yonge/ bloor has much more to offer than panhandlers, insipid coffee, reheated frozen donuts and mediocre sandwiches...

[Googs]

Where's the 'like' button?

[abigllama]

Camros Organic Eatery on Hayden. A bit pricy but you can get a plate of food for around $10 there. Everything's organic and the salads and casseroles are really tasty. It's my local goto when I've been eating poorly and need to get some good stuff into me. A two item plate would do the trick for lunch. The food is very fresh tasting but the casseroles and bean salads are a lot heavier than they look. I'm a big eater and have can usually make it through a 3 item plate. I was super hungry and got a 4 item once and couldn't finish it.

http://www.camroseatery.com/

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Camros
25 Hayden St, Toronto, ON M4Y, CA

[gastrojunkie]

Last few days I have been going to some place on Cumberland close to Yonge called Meditteranean something... the food isn't anything amazing, but you get a good meal for $5 if you are looking for something on the cheap side. Also that salad place in Cumberland Terrace is great too!

[tochowchick]

King's Palace on Church just east of Yonge...very reasonable and decent food...lots of taxi drivers love this place too.

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King's Palace Restaurant
111 Water St S, Cambridge, ON N1R3E1, CA

[tochowchick]

LInk was added for wrong restaurant in Cambridge...the one I'm talking about is right near the car wash on the south side of Church St. e of Yonge in TORONTO

[T Long]

Has anyone tried out the Holt Renfrew Cafe?....I saw a nice review on TV recently.
http://www.holtrenfrew.com/holts/en/c...

[JennaBean]

It is pretty good but not cheap. I like the sandwiches a lot but if I add some veg to the side it is about $12 with tax.

[wontonfm]

Holt's Cafe isn't bad! Prices are lower than one would expect. They also take reservations which is helpful.

WON
http://whatsonmyplate.net

[Googs]

If you want super cheap, but nothing fancy you could try Loaf & Ladle on Yonge just north of Davenport. It won't make the Top 10 Chowish Lunches, though it does meet your criteria.
http://www.loafandladle.com/

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Loaf and Ladle
901 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4W2H2, CA

[Teep]

Zyng??? please don't go back again, they give noodles a bad name!

In the street level of the Cumberland Mall there are 3 options
- Esther's soup kitchen - serving hearty soups and Indian cuisine
- a salad place - made to order salads, very busy at lunch time
- a Korean place, you either order their entrees, or get a take out container and fill it from the buffet which has daily specials of beef/pork/chicken, plus Korean pancake (my fave), glass noddles, and all sorts of steamed or grilled veggies (not the Korean place at the bottom of the stairs which is also a deli)

[sillywalker]

I love the New Yorker Deli on Bay! For my money they're the best smoked meat/pastrami in town. I'll even go there and get takeout instead of buying sliced deli meats at a supermarket($6-7 for a 1/2 pound works out to be about the same$ and the quality is much much better than processed supermarket crap!)

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New Yorker Deli
1140 Bay St, Toronto, ON M5S, CA

[Rabbit]

And they roast their own turkeys... I go for the turkey sandwiches which taste just like after Thanksgiving!

[Teep]

For roast turkey the best is "Roasty Jacks" in the Cumberland food court. The whole turkey is there and they carve it in front of you.

[sasgirl]

Hey Teep, where is this Korean place? I walked on the street level of the Mall once and saw there were at least 2-3 different Korean places.

[Teep]

It's opposite the toy store that is not open. They have a big raw salad bar in front, with the Korean cooked food buffet inside.

[Idas]

I agree about Zyng I don't care for at all. I am surprised it is still operating.
I really enjoy Ginger's Pho soups and shrimp rice wraps. Very cheap and fast.
Also Green Mango also looks yummy, (Thai food and some Vietnese). It is from a hot table but it looks good, I didn't get a chance to eat there but I would definately stop by for a quick lunch, also reasonable prices.
Both on Yonge St.
Also highly recommend Okonomi house. Awesome savory pancake-ish dishes. You have no idea till you try one what it tastes like. I love it.. I think it is on Charles St., West of Yonge.

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Green Mango
2180 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M6S1N3, CA

[Rabbit]

Second the rec for Ginger... cheap and cheerful(-ish). You can easily get lunch for under $10.

[Teep]

Thumbs down for Green Mango steam table. All the items taste similar - bland. And I find it very strange when I asked which item is not spicy and the answer is "curry chicken".

I like the pad woon sen (glass noodles) lunch special that they make fresh for you when you order, although it is quite oily. I actually dump in some hot water over and pour it out to get rid of some of the greasiness. The "street style pad thai" special, however, is a joke.

[sasgirl]

I order the bun with grilled pork. You get a LOT of pork (for me it's a lot) and it's very tasty! That's the only dish I get from Green Mango.

And I agree with Ginger as well! I usually get the tofu with egg noodle or the vermicelli with grilled beef.

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Green Mango
2180 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M6S1N3, CA

[Idas]

Bummer about Green Mango. But I would guess it beats a greasy burger?

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Green Mango
2180 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M6S1N3, CA

[5secondrule]

I'm also looking for lunch places around Yonge & Bloor. I've been to Ginger, it's okay. Has anyone here eaten at Indochine? I've passed by it but never given it a try.

[eatravel]

For shawarma, there's a little place on Cumberland, just west of Yonge (I think it's called Eat a Pita or something). Very good shawarma.

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Eat a Pita
6 Cumberland St, Toronto, ON M4W1J5, CA

[Teep]

I went to Eat a Pita years ago, but when I saw that they made sandwiches and handle money with bare hands without washing, I did a 180. There's now another one right next door called Xtreme Taste which serves similar food, which a co-worker really liked.

[wooby]

Eat a Pita is very good, cheap eats. They usually make their falafels fresh, which makes a big difference. Chicken sharwarma is solid too. I disagree with Teep's comment on lack of handwashing. They clean their hands whenever they handle money. For other choices in the area, King Palace is a great place for Pakistani. Aji Sai has suprisingly high quality AYCE sushi. Crown & Dragon has the best chicken wings in the city, IMO. try their Dragon's Breath!

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Eat a Pita
6 Cumberland St, Toronto, ON M4W1J5, CA

King Palace
820 Church St, Toronto, ON M4W2M9, CA

Aji Sai
783 Danforth Ave, Toronto, ON M4J1L2, CA

[eatravel]

Try Mela on Yorkville, just west of Yonge. It's a vegetarian/vegan Italian place, with wonderful salads, soups and daily specials (risotto pies, stuffed peppers, pastas, etc.) It's the best tomato sauce ever!

You might also want to try Camros organic eatery on Hayden Street, just south/east of Yonge and Bloor. Very health selection of salads and stews.

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Camros
25 Hayden St, Toronto, ON M4Y, CA

[Rabbit]

I like the New Yorker Deli on Bay just north of Charles. Simple salads, sandwiches, etc.

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New Yorker Deli
1140 Bay St, Toronto, ON M5S, CA

[markdsgraham]

Not sure what your timing is like at lunch, but Ethiopian House (on Irwin between Yonge and Bloor) has a good, cheap lunch special. I'd also second Mela. And I have liked Biryani House on Hayden, where you can get a lot of very competent food for an unbeatable price.

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Ethiopian House
4 Irwin Ave, Toronto, ON M4Y1K9, CA

The Biryani House
, Toronto, ON M5G, CA