Oh, Toronto! Show us some love!

For any friends traveling to the *inserts bad Drake reference*, then let this guide shows you the Armenian food scene of Toronto.

We asked the locals so you don't have to! Welcome to the Armenian-owned restaurant joints.

Breakfast

Pizza for breakfast isn't just for frat boys.

It is for us distinguished folks that know what is good for us.

Mihran Boudakian opened Mamajoun Armenian Pizzeria in Scarborough area back in 2014 to bring a modern twist to our crispy lamajoun favorites for Armenian locals and adventurous foodies to discover.

Dough is made daily. All natural ingredients. The lamajoun's tomato sauce is always made from scratch. What more could you want?

Mihran creates a variety pressed flatbread lamajourns with your choice of any base, varying from Zaatar, Cheese, Red Pepper Paste, Ground Beef (Papajoun), and more. You can add a protein such as egg, cheese, bacon, chicken or sausage for those extra macros. Top your delicious flatbread off with mint, green olives, pickled turnips, tomatoes, and some jalapeno for the extra kick. 

Snack

Have you ever heard of soujuk beef jerky?

Before you leave the Mamajoun store, grab a bag of Mama's Boyz Jerky for your mid day snack later on.

Mamajoun's own Mihran Boudakian and his companion Alex Kandaharian started their jerky business in 2020. They are very proud to be  100% Canadian Beef using 100% natural ingredients with no added preservatives.

They add a unique and unseen touch on jerky flavors by adding an Armenian twist.

Their flavors include: Armenian Soujouk Beef Jerky, Spicy Caesar Beef Jerky, Basturma Beef Jerky, Taco Beef Jerky, and Korean Beef Jerky.

Not traveling to Toronto and want to order online? Click here.

Lunch

Once lunchtime rolls around, Mayrik is the spot to visit.

Located in Bayview, Toronto, and the namesake restaurant is owned by Chef Seb Yacoubian and Aram Gabrielian as an homage to Chef Yacoubian's deceased mother.

With every dish, the Armenian due focus on bringing a new youthfulness in their Armenian community with uniquely designed meals that encourage on old-school, family-style dining to embrace the full Armenian experience. There are various family style ordering options, like the "Date Night" or "Family of Four" family platters, which all give an array of mezze and kebab by ordering with those few words.

You'll be foolish not to start off your meal with the “Jallab” as your beverage choice (if you know, you know).

Some of the most popular dishes that you should try are the Ontario Lamb Chops and the Double Roasted All Dressed Cauliflower.

For the more ambitious flavor chasers, the Octopus Sarma is octopus wrapped in grape leaves and pan seared with white wine. Now that is thinking outside the box.

Dinner

We don't want to hear that you're full!

For dinner you need to run over to the Lavash Armenian Restaurant located in North York, Ontario and owned by Armen Jakjakian and Shant Ghazarian. Each ingredient's quality picking leads to dishes that flourish is color and flavor.

As the Toronto scene continues to grow as the city's pop culture scene expands, Jakjakian and Ghazarian want to add a homemade touch of Armenian cuisine that gave even a stranger a familiar comfort.

Toronto restaurants are all about the  the classic family style way of Armenian dining, so be sure to indulge the beginning of the night with their mezze variations.

Their cold mezze options include Sarma, an irresistible garlic labne dip, hummus, mutabel, muhammara, and more. The hot mezzeh options would be meat/cheese boregs, Kebbeh, and spicy garlic fries.

One of their most popular dishes is their fattoush salad, which is a must try from what we hear. As your main course get your Mixed BBQ Platter of ground beef kebab, chicken skewers, filet mignon skewers, and grilled vegetables. 

Just be sure to bring some gum for that onion and garlic breath you've developed today, because you're going out tonight at...

Drinks and Live Music

...The Oud and The Fuzz .

The revered place for diasporan Armenians outside of Toronto, head into the cocktail and live music cafe owned by the Tchakmak brothers, The Oud and The Fuzz located north of Kensington Ave and Dundas Street West.

The duo describe their back story to their cafe beautifully on their website: “The Oud & the Fuzz was inspired by John Berberian, an artist who fused traditional Armenian music with psychedelic jazz for the very first time. It is an unapologetic portrayal of the fact that these two worlds can exist together in harmony”. Shaunt Tchakmak intends to feature artists at their venue that challenge the limits between culture and our timeline. 

Depending on the night you're there, you could get a treat of an Armenian dinner created by an Armenian chef, with Mihran Boudakian, the chef from Mamajoun and Mama's Boyz Jerky being in the weekly rotation.

Take a night cap with a few of these cocktails with a special Armenian touch: Pomegranate Mule, Apricot Bourbon Sour, Dirty Armenian Martini, Anoush’ella and Ayki, along with some specialty shot options. 

The cafe is notorious for a full schedule of themed music nights, with live performances from an array of Armenian and Middle Eastern artists, keeping the heartbeat alive for the region's new waves of culture.

Their cozy back patio is the perfect backdrop for all your late-night conversations to end any type of day.

Any Armenian places to eat in your city? Send us an email and let us know!