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Best of Toronto

The Best Delis in Toronto

Posted by Emily Thomas / November 21, 2008

Toronto DelisI had concluded some time ago that the best delis in Toronto were sadly not worth my love. On every train ride home from New York, I'd spend 14 hours lamenting the illegality of getting pastrami over the border. A loved one would occasionally bring me a pound of Schwartz's from Montreal, but the long waits in between these gifts was starting to get me down. Admittedly hasty, it took only the buzz of a good sandwich to challenge this stubborn assumption that my hometown is inherently meat deficient.

By the time the new Caplansky's had been pre-emptively hailed as deli saviour, I was ready to revisit that conviction that I was deprived by birth. Their fine smoked meat in my own downtown backyard made hopeful a subsequent journey, spanning north and south of the city. And in truth, Toronto loves deli. Quiet and elusive but sure of their history and art, these spots will serve you a sandwich well worth our love.

Words by guest contributor Emily Thomas. Photos by Alyssa Bistonath.

Caplansky's Deli

Caplansky's Deli

Smoked meat at Caplansky's rivals my most religious deli experiences in New York and Montreal. It is different from anything else you can find in Toronto, sliced thick and perfect with delicate fatty edges that melt in your mouth. A couple months ago I had one excellent sandwich there, but it has even improved since. My knees are weak. It has evolved into something quite glorious. More »

Centre Street Deli

Centre Street Deli

The location (It's in Thornhill) and entirely nondescript exterior renders the chaos inside sudden and miraculous. Centre Street is huge and colourful with a busy and diverse crowd of regulars, loyal and at ease. The meat is hand cut by default and even the menu urges you to go for the fatty variant of their popular old-fashioned pastrami and corned beef. More »

Wolfie's

Wolfie's

The owner is incredible, talking electronics and cracking open tiny glass bottles of coke from his 1954 pop dispenser. He is ecstatic to serve up massive sandwiches of fatty, melty smoked meat on Styrofoam plates. Past locals return to order double portions with reverence, putting it all away like serious business and quietly noting the unchanged deliciousness. This place makes me feel lucky to live in Toronto. More »

Moe Pancer's

Moe Pancer's

The place swells with the pride of three generations of meat love. Fierce waves of locals pour in and out with pounds of meat like second nature. Pancer's moved down the street a few years ago and is currently undergoing a change in ownership, but their passion for the art of deli appears unyielding. I've never had pastrami placed before me with such conviction. More »

Yitz's Deli

Yitz's Deli

The sights, sounds and smells of the place are indulgent, full to the brim. You will question your cravings ten times before ordering, distracted by the trays of freshly baked breads, bagels and cookies. Simply, the place is complete. They do everything well and with confidence. You will be like a kid in a candy store of meat. More »

Steeles Deli Restaurant

Steeles Deli Restaurant

Steeles feels like a diner my mum or dad would have taken me in the eighties when we were in need of some comfort food. It is full of elderly patrons that show up twice a day ordering home made soup, chopped sirloin, and liver and onions. The regulars recommend the kishka and are obsessed with particular gravy that it will (and must) come smothered in. More »

Switzer's Airport Deli

Switzer's Airport Deli

Getting to Switzer's on public transit will leave a cold and empty space in your soul the exact size and shape of a Switzer's sandwich. So you break even upon arrival, but decide for yourself if their legendary Reuben is worth the wild ride into industrial Malton. In any case, rest assured the industry folk of the GTA have some fine deli at their disposal. More »

Corned Beef House

Corned Beef House

The brightness and warmth will put you in a good mood even before the spicy apple pie or homemade cheesecake. The meat is hand-cut by request and entirely satisfying. The coffee is free and the service is pleasant to the bone. Sparse but steady regulars drop in and out. You will leave with a peaceful soul and stomach. More »

Katz's Deli

Katz's Deli

The lunch rush at Katz's is hysterical. They're no relation to the New York version, but share the same loud and cafeteria-like atmosphere. The portions are huge, the corned beef is juicy and delicate, and I have never felt compelled to mention the bread before, but theirs was warmed to such crispy perfection that it's almost confusing. More »

Mutual Street Deli

Mutual Street Deli

Go there for the great coffee, tasty corned beef and a good-portioned sandwich for a decent price. The atmosphere is full and warm and the staff is excessively friendly (and sometimes sassy). More »

Discussion

49 Comments

mikeb / November 21, 2008 at 09:48 am
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Mel's ahead of Pancers? Mels on a list of good Deli?

Before Caplansky's opened the only reasons to go to Mels were either that you wouldn't venture north of Bloor and didn't know where the Corned Beef House is located or you were too drunk to know better. Now to go there you'd have to be adverse to venturing north of Bloor and not know where Caplansky's or the Corned Beef House are located or still be too drunk to know better.
Paul / November 21, 2008 at 10:05 am
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"Mel's is a sacred institution amongst anyone that spent youth in the Annex"

Mel's has only been in the Annex for about 10 yrs, no? Long enough to be an institution, I guess, but you'd have to be pretty young for it to have featured heavily in your youth.
Ryan L. / November 21, 2008 at 10:33 am
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The map shows the Centre Street Deli out in Scarborough.

I looked at the map first and you got my hopes up. "An entry east of Coxwell??"
jasont / November 21, 2008 at 10:35 am
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Mel's at #5 is total proof your list has zero cerd. Please educate yourself on what a quality meal is
Tim / November 21, 2008 at 10:52 am
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Guys - please stop freakin' out about Mel's. These are the results from our reader poll. We didn't rank them #5. You did.
Dave / November 21, 2008 at 10:54 am
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"Mel's is a sacred institution amongst anyone that spent youth in the Annex"

This is hilarious, as noted by another, Mel's had been in the Annex 10 yrs. or less. I remember when it was Pizzadelic. I agree with another post, you guys are losing your credibility with basic errors like this. Or perhaps you have become a creative writing site.
John / November 21, 2008 at 10:56 am
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Mel's a best deli? This is what happens. This is what happens when you leave the BEST OF rankings in the hands of several thousand (obviously undiscerning) souls. This is what happens.

It is reassuring, however, that some people are passionate about deli in this city!
Tim / November 21, 2008 at 10:59 am
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@Ryan - Good catch. The map has been updated. Centre St. Deli is now in the right place.

As far as you Mel haters, I'm amazed that you still don't understand that the results are based on a reader poll. And for all you haters out there, we get lambasted when they're not mentioned elsewhere like the Best Poutine results:

http://www.blogto.com/toronto/the_best_poutine_in_toronto/

And, btw, instead of just criticizing. Please consider adding something constructive to the discussion. What are your favourite delis in Toronto?
sippy / November 21, 2008 at 11:01 am
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I second Tim's comments. Wash off the hate, people. Input the love.
Badbhoy / November 21, 2008 at 11:35 am
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At least all of the hate for Mel's has postponed the inevitable "there are no good delis in Toronto" comments. Just like all the "there are no good Mexican, poutine, or pizza places in Toronto" comments that dominate every discussion about food in this city.
JonO / November 21, 2008 at 11:56 am
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Tim's assertion that the presence of Mel's is due to this being a reader poll only underscores the fact that people have no judgement when they're drunk or stressed out.

When it first arrived on the scene, I eagerly tried it and was disappointed (at the time, mainly by the incredibly shitty, surly service). I tried it again a few times recently and while the level of service seemed to have improved marginally, the smoked meat sandwich is inconsistent at best. The last time I was there this summer the meat was dry and tough, like jerky, and the sandwich was thrown together.

Pass on Mel's folks...go to Dominion for 24 hour food.
Shaun Smith / November 21, 2008 at 12:12 pm
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Tim, I suspect packaging these "Best Of" pieces as opinion, rather than survey results, is what leads to all the shocked negativity. Does it say in the piece that these are survey results? I can't find it.

Mel's truly is horrid.
Gloria / November 21, 2008 at 12:19 pm
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I'm excited about Caplansky's ... it's only a few blocks from where I'm moving. Mmm.
Daniel Rozenberg / November 21, 2008 at 12:31 pm
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The best deli of Toronto..... is in Mississauga, and it's called "Peter's on Eglinton".
Their meat, sandwiches and soups are SUPER tasti, and the portions feed a family of four. SERIOUS; I am not kidding.
I live downtown and often make the trip there.
Ryan L. / November 21, 2008 at 12:34 pm
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"At least all of the hate for Mel's has postponed the inevitable "there are no good delis in Toronto" comments. Just like all the "there are no good Mexican, poutine, or pizza places in Toronto" comments that dominate every discussion about food in this city."

I'm going to go out on a limb and take that comment one step further:

"I'm from Montreal and Toronto has no good [restaurant type] anywhere. If you really want a good [food item] you won't find it here."
Badbhoy / November 21, 2008 at 12:47 pm
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"I'm from Montreal and Toronto has no good [restaurant type] anywhere. If you really want a good [food item] you won't find it here."

Well if you are a Montrealer I'll assume you intend to insert "strip bars" and "lap dance" to the statement above as well.
jamesmallon / November 21, 2008 at 01:33 pm
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Hey, you're never going to find an ex-Torontonian in Montreal who's homesick; on the other hand...
Vivyruest / November 21, 2008 at 02:36 pm
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siboire! to All ex-montrealer's: Yes it is difficult to get real good poutine in the city. Just get over yourself. Or go to MTl more often so you can get your poutine fix...that's what I do! Better yet: start your very own poutine place or make it yourself. s'pas dure criss!

Back to the topic of Deli In T.O., I have to agree, Mel's sucks.
mikeb / November 21, 2008 at 03:14 pm
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OK, I won't blame you, I will blame the readers who chose to put Mels as their favourite deli in your poll. I voted, but I happily educated myself before I voted. Clearly others didn't. I attribute it to people who go to Mels late at night when they are loaded, to people who don't venture north of Bloor and to people who don't know deli.

The best places in Toronto for deli IMHO are Centre Street (old fashoined MSM), Pancers (Pastrami and Corned Beef) and the newbie Caplanskys (his own smoked meat). When I worked downtown the Corned Beef House sufficed, but now I would hike over to the Monarch or wherever Caplansky ends up.

BTW the reason you don't find homesick Torontonians in Montreal is that they all return home once they've graduated.
Jer / November 21, 2008 at 03:33 pm
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Ahh the disenchanted mutterings of the old-school restaurant critics lamenting their pseudo-traditions.

No big deal. I welcome the upswing of healthy, pro-vitality food source restaurants. You can take your old-man, artery clogging, depression-ridden, diabetes-prone, medicare-killing, life-shortening food sources with you to Quebec. I have lived in European-style cities before and witnessed their mind-numbing, past-looking-traditional, bi-polar inducing, health-condition-deteriorating circumstances. Not far to the day of vegetarian and pro-biotic, wine & juice bar, organic-lean-meat-sourced, down-home localized meal prep places. Not long now. Try not to have a cardiac on the way back to Montreal.
apetimberlake / November 22, 2008 at 11:22 am
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"Try not to have a cardiac on the way back to Montreal."

You fucking pussy.

This is the 10 BEST DELI'S!!!!

If Blogto does a "Best lavender infused vegan treat tea houses" then you can speak up.

For fucks sakes.
apetimberlake / November 22, 2008 at 11:25 am
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BTW.

Centre Street Deli brings me back to the days of Cote St Luc and Snowdon deli etc. Really great!!
Laura / November 22, 2008 at 09:29 pm
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I love how many people complained about the list, as I doubt any of them bothered to contribute to the poll.
If literally everything in Toronto is so horrible regarding food, where on earth do you people eat?

I've enjoyed Mel's dozens of times at several points in the day and I think their food is wonderful!

Also George's (one on Bathurst and one on Dundas) has some killer smoked meat. Mmmmm.
Heather / November 24, 2008 at 12:17 pm
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Aww sippy - I love you!
Disparishun / November 24, 2008 at 01:23 pm
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<i>BTW the reason you don't find homesick Torontonians in Montreal is that they all return home once they've graduated.</i>

It is, ironically, quite stunning just how wrong that is. <i>Pace</i> an enormous chunk of Montreal's indie music scene, among lots and lots of other aspects of anglophone Montreal life in and around the Plateau.

Anecdotally -- it's always fun to watch the Toronto-supplied Godspeed folks try and deflect talk about their Toronto backgrounds. Toronto grads literally litter Montreal's hipster universe. Just don't expect any of them to admit it.
sid stienberg / November 26, 2008 at 02:03 am
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In my opinion one of the best deli's in the city is right in the heart of downtown Toronto. The Corned Beef House has such a great sandwich and the vibe in that place is amazing. Try and get a table during luch hour if you arrive after 12 noon. The only thing wrong with this place is that they close to early and they do not stay open late on the weekends
illbill / December 4, 2008 at 08:57 pm
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If you can get to wolfies its a gem. Looks dirty as hell from the outside and the parking lot is hideous.
Inside the place is the real deal ..hope you like the 'coke' decor kinda random coke stuff everywhere like dutch dreams only no cows.. the smoked meat is the best I have had out of the this bunch and closest to almighty Schwartz's .. haven't tried Caplansky's Deli though. Spicy mustard is nice too and staff is freindly.
max / December 7, 2008 at 09:02 pm
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Zane (Meat Smoker Extraordinaire) truly deserves to have Caplansky's on this list. He's working hard to bring us the true love of meat - and he is succeeding.

I didn't vote for this pole... because I wouldn't know where to find that on this vast, huge site of distracting tidbits of awesome.
Hey, dudes, where does one find these poles of opinion finding goodness?
Rene Newton / January 27, 2009 at 11:37 am
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I have been going to Zupa's Deli at Peter and Adelaide Streets for 25 years and it has amazing corned beef on rye! Everything on their menu is wicked. Huge portions.
Dave Bruegger / October 9, 2009 at 06:53 pm
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I heard that both Mel's and Coleman's have closed their doors for good. Can anybody confirm this?

RATM replying to a comment from Dave Bruegger / November 11, 2009 at 06:33 pm
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Correct, both Mel's and Coleman's have closed. Zoulpy's, another old fashioned deli on King East, also closed recently.
Penny / September 9, 2010 at 05:28 pm
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Centre Street deli is by far the best in To
Peter / November 25, 2010 at 01:11 am
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You might want to delete Coleman's since they closed their doors. As in Out of Business. Sadly enough.
Pebbles / December 11, 2011 at 07:41 pm
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This piece was a lfeicjaket that saved me from drowning.
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This may be the best piece yet!!
cheapest shared hosting / January 27, 2012 at 02:26 am
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I dont disagree with this article..
asus transformer / February 7, 2012 at 06:19 am
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I couldn't agree with you more!!!
Swish Templates / February 18, 2012 at 09:51 pm
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That was scholastic read!!!
poudre de piment d'Espelette / February 23, 2012 at 10:08 am
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At least some bloggers can write. My thanks for this article..
roussecul / March 24, 2012 at 12:24 pm
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That's an all round well thought out blog...
Dennes / August 17, 2012 at 10:37 am
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Are you kidding me?!? How narrow minded is this evaluation? There is so much more to delis than smoked meat sandwiches... This thread should be renamed to 'Best Smoked Meat Sandwich Delis'.
Dave B / August 18, 2012 at 05:50 am
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A Subway, Coleman's is a Subway. No way, but there it was, a legacy, gone. On our occasional trip into Toronto my wife and I always stopped in for a deli sandwich. On our last visit Carol had told us Jerry had passed away and she was now running the business. You have to understand I have a personal interest in Colemans. In the early 1960's, as a 15 year old kid, I worked there. Fred hired me to do the take-outs and over time I worked the counter, cash, phones, learning the business. I can still remember the staff, Fred, Emil, Jack, Steve, Alex, Tommy, Jerry, Carol, Jeff, Larry, John, Amy, & Earl. Sunday nights were a special night, Jeff and I would open up the downstairs dining room, usually groups of 8 or more, up and down the back stairs, but at the end of the night, the tips and compliments were well worth it. After 3 years it was time to move on, after that Fred sold Colemans to Jerry. Just for the record back in 1963, a deli sandwich was 45 cents, a Big Moe, 85 cents. Thanks for letting me share my story and perhaps some of you remember the old days.
Paul / August 29, 2012 at 07:19 pm
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I am of Polish descent and I LOL'd hard at this list. I guess "deli" means "sandwich with meat" in Toronto. How narrow is your world?
COSPLAY / September 26, 2012 at 10:11 pm
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You might want to delete Coleman's since they closed their doors. As in Out of Business. Sadly enough.
Daniel / December 24, 2012 at 12:18 pm
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U guys need to check out Pumpernickels deli and catering
They have the BEST deli sandwiches and lunch specials ever.
Such a great meal at a reasonable price.
AA / March 19, 2013 at 11:50 am
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Yitz's is awful
D Hibberd / April 13, 2013 at 12:35 am
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Hey Everyone

I see that everyone is talking about the best deli's in T.O.
Moe Pancers Deli is still going strong and has the best corned beef and pastrami in the city making it in house everyday.
Priced accordingly with there competitors. New items as well as tried and true. Always a good place to go. I believe that it is "the go to" deli in Toronto
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