If you’ve sworn off Winterlicious because the menus feel a bit watered down, here’s your reason to come back this year. Toronto’s annual winter culinary festival runs Jan 30 to Feb 12, 2026, with three-course prix-fixe menus across the city (dinner tiers range from $25 to $75). While some diners have complained about limited menus and smaller portion sizes, there are quite a few spots that offer great value and creativity, even with a prix-fixe menu (think full-sized portions and not the “same old” dessert options!) Here are eight restaurants to check out during Winterlicious that won’t feel like an afterthought

1. Kiin

 

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Kiin’s Winterlicious menu offers a curated selection of Royal Thai-inspired flavours! For the $75 dinner, starters include choices like wing bean salad (with tamarind, roasted coconut, and palm sugar), tom kha pla soup with Arctic char, or royal dumplings with pork, tiger shrimp and peanuts. Mains are even more impressive: think boombai short rib curry with roti, scallop khao soi, or grilled chicken with tomato chilli chutney and coconut sticky rice (plus vegan options like a massaman curry)! Dessert is where Kiin really refuses to be boring. Try the pandan coconut cream, cashew toffee cake or mango sticky rice. 326 Adelaide St W.

2. R&D

 

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If you’re looking for modern Asian flavours this winter, head to R&D. Their $65 dinner menu offers delicious starters like kung pao wontons (pork & cabbage with Szechuan peppercorn and cashews), scallop ceviche built around tom yum and kaffir lime leaf, or lamb spiducci with tamarind and puffed rice. For mains, indulge in comfort foods like kare kare with braised short rib and roasted peanuts, mie goreng made with tagliatelle and ibérico pork, or Korean fried chicken with gochujang and tteokbokki. End your meal with a mandarin creamsicle panna cotta, honey toast with Thai tea ice cream or Valrhona chocolate cake with miso caramel and calamansi. 241 Spadina Ave.

3. AGO Bistro

At AGO Bistro, lunch and dinner both run as a three-course prix fixe (with multiple choices), including starters like roasted cauliflower soup with crispy chickpeas and yogurt, or a spring greens salad with smoked cheddar, egg and sunflower seeds. Mains range from spaghetti all’Amatriciana to salmon with roasted carrots, salsa verde, and orange-butter sauce, plus chicken breast with wild rice, Brussels sprouts and cranberry. Dessert is a non-negotiable “yes”: try the dark chocolate pistachio cake with sour cherry sorbet, blood orange crème brûlée or a praline cheesecake with caramel sauce. 317 Dundas St W.

4. Maison Selby

 

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Maison Selby is one of the best spots in the city for timeless French comfort (with a modern touch). You’ve got two prix-fixe options: $48 lunch or $65 dinner. Start with the Duck Liver Mousse, or go the savoury-pastry route with the Truffle & Mushroom Tart. For mains, indulge in the Salmon Meunière or Coq au Vin if you want classic French technique, or Aged Beef Striploin with frites for pure comfort eats. Wrap your meal up with a Café au Lait Financier, a Crêpe Brûlée, a Cantal Vieux cheese course with truffle honey 592 Sherbourne St.

5. The Dorset

 

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The Dorset’s three-course prix fixe menu ($41 lunch or $55 dinner) is built around British pub classics and winter comfort cooking (bonus: their iconic Dorset Fish & Chips is available at both meals)! For dinner, the Ginger Glazed Beef Short Ribs come with sweet potato & coconut gratin, crispy Brussels sprouts and sweet & sour jus (gluten-free), while the Wiltshire Pork Chop arrives pub-style with pork scratchings, smoked cheddar and cider apple cream sauce. Seafood fans can indulge in the Crispy Skin Salmon, finished with cod roe, crushed new potatoes, sautéed greens, nori cream and lobster oil (also gluten-free)! For dessert, go for the super-satisfying ‘After Eight’ Chocolate Mousse with peppermint cream and caramelized cacao nibs 457 Wellington St W.

6. The Rabbit Hole

 

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Head to The Rabbit Hole for elevated British pub fare ($41 lunch or $55 dinner). At lunch, opt for the Hillside Gardens beet soup with horseradish cream and a caraway lavash crisp, before moving into mains like ale-battered haddock & chips with mushy peas and charred lemon! Dinner keeps the same type of comfort-food energy. Start with the treacle-glazed crispy pork belly over celery root purée, plus mains like a petit roast dinner built around slow-roasted picanha with mashed swede, Brussels sprouts, a Yorkie and deep gravy. For dessert, indulge in steamed ginger pudding with rhubarb and vanilla custard, peach crumble with hazelnut ice cream and macadamia nuts, or a chocolate banoffee cheesecake topped with banana brûlée and chocolate-toffee sauce. 21 Adelaide St W.

7. Canoe

 

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This is an upscale spot that won’t compromise on delicious food! The three-course $55 lunch and $75 dinner menus offer contemporary Canadian cooking with seasonal ingredients. For lunch, try the artichoke soup with rosemary custard, carrot, and crispy sunchokes, followed by mains like Atlantic salmon with cauliflower, fennel and Pernod cream sauce. Dinner turns up the refinement with starters like beef tartare (with smoked heart, rosemary custard and crispy sunchokes) or a smoked trout tostada with pil pil, birch syrup and salmon roe, followed by mains like brown butter roasted chicken with savoury porridge, braised leeks, and vin jaune, Alberta beef with parsnip and cultured butter pomme purée, or Atlantic salmon finished with caviar. For dessert, you can’t go wrong with the chocolate tart with blood orange and cream cheese. 66 Wellington St W, TD Bank Tower, 54th Flr.

8. Patois

 

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Patois’ $55/person dinner menu offers some of the restaurant’s most comforting faves. Start with a choice of JunePlum Cocktail Patties (either smoked brisket in oxtail gravy or a vegan corn & callaloo version), or go for Kingston Calamari tossed in jerk butter with garlic sauce and fried zucchini. Mains include Juicy Jerk Chicken with rice & peas and Jamaican coleslaw, their Famous Fried Chicken with mac & cheese and that same slaw, or the signature-sounding “Pineapple” Bun Burger, served with shrimp chips and smashed cucumbers for crunch and contrast. Dessert doesn’t fall into the usual Winterlicious rut. Try the Cookie Butter French Toast “HK style” with golden syrup, a Coconut Panna Cotta topped with sorrel-soaked strawberries and mint or a Rotisserie Pineapple Sundae finished with brown sugar butterscotch and ice cream! 794 Dundas St W.

This is an official heads-up for breadstick lovers: Olive Garden is coming back to Ontario.

The first new Olive Garden restaurant will open in the GTA at Vaughan Mills, followed by a second location in Ottawa’s Westboro neighbourhood, and both are expected to open this summer!

If nothing else, there’s a clear nostalgia factor at play: Olive Garden is known for its generous portions and family-friendly dining experience. The Italian-inspired restaurant  previously expanded across Ontario in the 1990s, getting diners hooked on never-ending servings of freshly baked breadsticks, iconic garden salads, and homemade soups, but its restaurants ultimately closed province-wide by the end of that decade.

 

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Last July, Recipe Restaurant Group International bought the remaining eight Olive Garden restaurants in Canada, which were operating across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The company also signed a national development agreement with Darden Restaurants (Olive Garden’s U.S.-based parent company) to expand the chain across the country, so perhaps this could pave the way for even more locations!

“With these upcoming openings, we’re taking an important step in expanding Olive Garden’s footprint into new Canadian markets,” Frank Hennessey, Chief Executive Officer of Recipe Restaurant Group, said in a statement. “This expansion reflects our confidence in the brand, the strength of our partnership with Darden, and our ability to execute thoughtfully and strategically across Canada.”

Announcements regarding future restaurants will be shared in the coming months as Olive Garden’s Canadian expansion continues. In the meantime, die-hard pasta lovers are already weighing in on where they’d like to see the next Ontario opening.

“Pickering or Ajax. My husband proposed at Peterborough, ON location 33 years ago,” one Insta user said.

Others had entire wish lists:

“Windsor, London, K-W, Niagara area (rumoured to get one soon), Halton and Peel Regions, Durham Region, Barrie, Kingston.”

“Square one area and Oakville again.”

“We need it back at Sherway gardens.”

In addition to Olive Garden, Recipe International has nearly 1,100 recognizable restaurants across Canada. Its brands include Swiss Chalet, St-Hubert, Harvey’s, Montana’s, Olive Garden, New York Fries, Kelsey’s Original Roadhouse, East Side Mario’s, Original Joe’s, State & Main, Anejo, The Burger’s Priest, The Landing Group, Elephant & Castle, Fresh Kitchen + Juice Bar, The Pickle Barrel, Blanco Cantina and Bier Markt.

Ghadir Meat & Restaurant has built a loyal following around its full-service meat-market-and-restaurant serving classic Lebanese and Middle Eastern faves, but there’s a whole other reason to pull up: a “hidden” fish market tucked toward the back of the space!

If you typically only order a shawarma and bounce, you might miss the sizable seafood section behind the usual restaurant-and-market setup. According to one local influencer, it’s one of the freshest seafood spots in the city, with everything made to order.

“@ghadirmeatandrestaurant is famous for their shawarmas, but did you know they also have a hidden fish market? Everything is insanely fresh and made to order. Honestly one of the best fish spots out there, so if you’re in the area definitely check it out.”

 

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On the seafood side, try signature dishes like the BBQ tilapia fillet and salmon plates, served with your choice of three sides (choose from hummus, baba ghanouj, fries, rice, batata hara, mixed veggies or baked potato). Or dig into the jumbo tiger shrimp skewers and fried dynamite shrimp if you’re craving something extra snackable!

Get your fish grilled or fried: the grilled version is cooked over charcoal for maximum flavour, while the fried fish comes out extra crispy on the outside, enhanced with secret seasoning. You can also order raw fish, like sea bream, sea bass or red mullet, or go for cleaned fish like porgy or yellowtail.

If seafood isn’t your thing, opt for classics like the viral sujuk shawarma wrap (it’s spicy and available on a bun, pita bread or saj bread), charcoal-grilled chicken, or something a bit more exotic, like shawarma sujuk poutine, made with crispy fries and topped with Quebec cheese curds, sujuk and gravy.

For dessert, dig into the kunafa: it’s a sweet pastry filled with melted cheese!

Ghadir Meat & Restaurant (including the fish market/restaurant) is located at 1848 Lawrence Ave E, Scarborough.