The Best Turkish Restaurants and Cafes in Toronto

The best Turkish cafes and restaurants in Toronto are truly transportative. This cuisine that brings together Mediterranean elements of Greek, Middle Eastern, and even Asian cultures among others is replete with intricate tapas breakfasts, warm flaky pastries, tender dumplings and of course, delicious kebab.

Here are the best Turkish cafes and restaurants in Toronto.

3 - Mustafa

Designed to look like a Turkish cave, this place in North York specializes in thin Turkish pizza most commonly laden with meat or cheese. They also do up a delicious steaming Iskender, long flat strips of meat served with sauce and yogurt.
4 - Pasha's Authentic Turkish Cuisine

Turkish pizza, or pide, and Iskender are well represented at this Thornecliffe Park establishment. They also serve up comforting stews like lamb with veggies over potatoes and yogurt.
5 - Galata Cafe

This sister spot to Anatolia does a more daytime version of Turkish sans belly dancing, but with lots of Turkish breakfast platters of honey, cheese, olives, sweets and bread. Warm up with some comfort foods like manti dumplings or gozleme pies too.
6 - Istanbul Cafe

Near Yonge and Eglinton, this is the place to go for traditionally prepared and elaborately served Turkish coffee. They also serve pastries like baklava, borek and sekerpare, as well as savoury dishes like stuffed grapevine leaves.
7 - Simit & Chai

You guessed it, what this King West cafe does best is simit bagels and chai tea. Simit are flat and large, covered molasses and rolled in seeds, baked on site. A decidedly modern take on Turkish tapas sees mini sandwiches in options like hummus and prosciutto, smoked salmon, and fava bean paste fill out the rest of the menu.
8 - The Poet

This slick King Street cafe doles out Turkish breakfast platters brimming with Persian charcuterie, cheese balls, olives, eggs, and more. They also do a wide variety of cafe drinks with Turkish influences, as well as pita burgers and breakfast sandwiches.
9 - Baklawa Queen

Near Yonge and St. Clair, this cafe lives up to its name. Not only do they have at least a half dozen varieties of sticky sweet baklawa made by a real Turkish grandma, they also serve classics like manti and Turkish breakfasts with their own homemade jam.
1 - Anatolia

This cozy restaurant in Etobicoke takes guests to the centre of a Turkish community so bustling that lines form on weekends. Known for their kebabs, authentic appetizers, strong Turkish coffee and the occasional lively belly dancing ceremony, this place has been run with authenticity for years.
2 - Barans

This Scarborough restaurant does jaw-dropping plates of hot and cold appetizers and kebabs that are showily flame-grilled out in the open. Gigantic puffy breads cooked in a wood-burning oven precede your meal.

by Amy Carlberg via blogTO