Restaurants in Pickering

Little nuggets of pearl sugar caramelize during baking, making Wanda's made-to-order Liège-style waffles different from the typical Belgian style. The dough is infused with vanilla, maple, or strawberry flavour, and the waffles can be crowned with toppings such as Nutella, strawberries, or caramel. Toasted sandwiches, such as the croque monsieur and the signature chicken with thai sauce, sate savoury teeth, whereas espresso and coffee drinks brewed with beans from Illy wash it all down with more refinement than sucking on a garden hose.

Amidst a shining bar, rich wooden accents, and gold-studded green-leather chairs, Quinn's Steakhouse and Irish Bar welcomes patrons to sup on succulent steaks and taste aged whiskies. Whether seated in a plush leather sofa or situated on the outdoor patio, guests can sip from one of 14 draught beers or sample one of 250 whiskies. Meanwhile, hand-selected steaks are aged in-house, just like children that watch too much TV.

Bartenders lean over the illuminated bar, pouring beers from the tap or tipping bottles into ice-filled glasses. Inside Seneca Pub, flat-screen TVs overhead broadcast local sporting events, and the smells of battered fish and chips and rich poutine fill the air. The snap of a cue ball breaking a rack resounds across the large, open space, where theme nights feature stand-up comedians or lying-down tragedians.

Not many people go from busser to restaurant owner, but then not many people possess Armando Mano's passion for fine dining. His first memories go back to his aunt's kitchen in Portugal, where the young Armando remembers spending the entire day watching her cook. He brought these memories with him to Centro Restaurant & Lounge, where he started toting plates in 1990, and they propelled him as he worked his way up to wine-bar manager, then general manager, and finally, 15 years later, to owner.

Today, he supervises a team that includes sommelier Mitchell Gomes and Executive Chef Symon Abad, who continually updates the Italian-influenced menu with new seasonal ingredients. Armando also oversaw a redesign of Centro's interior, which is now adorned in oversized mirrors, velour-upholstered chairs, and soaring 20-foot ceilings. In the kitchen, the restaurant adopted a Q water filtration system to provide clean, clear water without time-consuming expeditions to melt chunks of glaciers in the Yukon. Such leadership caught the attention of the Ontario Hostelry Institute, who awarded Armando a Gold Award for Independent Restaurateur in 2011.

Coral hues and sedimentary stone walls surround patrons at Amaya’s Bread Bar, where the kitchen creates casually inventive Indian cuisine. Inside, a team of highly skilled and professionally trained chefs from India craft authentic dishes with a combination of authentic Indian herbs and spices. After walking between tied-back rose-and-gold curtains, parties alight at red and ochre tables and dine on starters such as beef-masala sliders and butter chicken poutine. Chartreuse plates host entrees of tamatar wali halibut seared in a garlicky tomato broth or curries such as the coastal-prawn curry, which swims in coconut milk amid spices of mustard seeds, curry leaves, and tamarind. Diners can choose to inside the dining room, where paintings hang on white walls, or sit out on the patio to catch a fresh breeze.

Mongolian Hot Pot brings the concept of hot-pot cooking to Toronto’s taste buds with a menu anchored in cauldron-based cuisine. Patrons gather around a pot full of simmering stock, dropping meats, veggies, seafood, and other edibles into the kettle, with delicious soups emerging from the bubbling eddies. Mongolian Hot Pot offers more than 60 items for its Super Set Dinner ($16.99 per person on weekdays and up to $18.99 per person on weekend evenings). Suggest a different profession for Little Bo Peep with premium lamb-shoulder slices, jolt awake your jaws with juicy tiger prawns, or savour spherical sustenance with the house meatball platter. Guests can opt for the free herbal soup base or upgrade to a spicy stock ($2), a vegetarian-friendly egg and parsley base ($0.99), or a sweet and sour tomato stock ($3.99). For those not hot on the hot pot, the eatery also offers dishes such as a three-cluster lamb skewer ($2.99). Cool the heat with a domestic or imported beer, available for impromptu toasts to the sun god Ra.