The Best Late Night Chinese Food in Toronto

The best late night Chinese food in Toronto has never been, and will probably never be, about the frills. At 3 am on a Saturday morning, it's not exquisite ambience or knowledgeable servers that matter, but rather how quickly you can stuff steaming hot piles of Chinese food into your collective gullets. True to form, most of the restaurants on this list have little, if not zero, ambience, but what they do offer in abundance are heaps of crispy chicken, spring rolls, ginger beef and even the odd dim sum. Delicious, delicious late night dim sum. Put simply, these popular places ensure that you'll never be found wanting when it comes to late night gluttony in this humble city of ours.

With loads of carbs, starch, sodium, and sometimes spice, it's easy to understand why the average midnight zombie-lookalike would be drawn to these premises despite the obvious lack of anything resembling nutrition. Just enjoy and remember to keep your grease intake at a reasonable level. Or was that supposed to be your drink intake? It's all gone a bit hazy, to be honest.

So with a hearty war cry of "Forget the smile, just give me my fried noodles!" I present to you the best late night Chinese food in Toronto.

See also:

The best chinese restaurants in Toronto
The best dumplings in Toronto
The best dim sum in Toronto

Photo by Connie Tsang in the blogTO Flickr pool

New Ho King

Despite a name that makes me giggle, New Ho King is an absolute staple among the night owl population of University of Toronto. For around 5-6 bucks, you can get your late night fried rice craving up until 4am most days of the week, and until 5am on weekends. They don't serve lunch, but this shouldn't be a problem because, really, which student gets up early enough for that nonsense? More »

Rol San

With a sign that proudly states "We serve Dim Sum" and open until 4am on weekends, Rol San not only satisfies the late night clientele but also those looking for Chinese food in the mornings. Clearly the proprietors don't need sleep, since the quality of their dim sum offerings, from deep fried shrimp dumplings to the pork buns, have been praised by many and is available pretty much all day (and night!). More »

Swatow

Swatow is a no-frills Chinese restaurant with the usual mix of Asian and non-Asian clientele mingling happily at pretty much any time of the day. It's been mentioned many times before, but their General Tao chicken is so good and cheap (though a bit sweeter than most)it probably deserves an army salute. Quick service, and open until around 2am. More »

Garden Restaurant

Definitely a place that's as popular with the lunchtime office crowd as with the late night posse, this seemingly always-full joint is a great place to order some soy sauce chicken or chili chicken at any time during the day. A nice bonus is that they probably have one of the most modern decors out of all the others on this list (though at 5am, which is their supposed closing time, that probably doesn't matter). More »

Taste of China

If you're looking for the General (Tao, that is) late at night and prefer a version that's more savoury and less sweet but no less excellent than Swatow's, then this place is for you. Open until 4am on weekdays and 5 am on weekends, Taste of China is a bit more tastefully (pun intended) and cleanly decorated than many of its late night counterparts. Try the beef with scallions too, it's very tasty (OK, I'm done here). More »

Congee Wong

For those living in the 'burbs, Congee Wong is the place everyone goes to for late night Chinese dining. The environment is chaotic, and the noise level may rival heavy metal concerts (with the added delight of the sound of hundreds of utensils simulatenously clinking against each other), but the food is fast, cheap, and good. A nice plate of Cantonese chow mein with a side of their popular turnip cakes are just the things that hit the spot after a night out belting your lungs out Gangnam-style at Twister Karaoke. The most popular one, at Finch and Leslie, is open until 2 am on weekends. More »

Gold Stone Noodle

If seeing your bleary-eyed self sloppily munch food gives you self-esteem issues, you may not want to visit Gold Stone. Featuring many mirrors that line the restaurant, this popular Chinese restaurant is not one designed for delicate service or culinary etiquette. But if chomping down fearsome portions of delicious fried noodles and tender barbeque duck meat in the middle of the night sounds more like your game, then this is the place for you. Judging from this place's popularity, there's definitely more Torontonians that fall into the latter catergory as opposed to the former. This palace of deliciousness is open until 4 am on weekends, just don't mind the often curt service. More »

Canton Chilli

If you need some spice and grease in your food to jolt you from your post-drinking state, then you've come to the right place. I've long thought that Indian Chinese food is an awesome hangover treatment, and the fact that this place is particularly popular among those with limited consciousness proves my point. The flavours are strong and the quality of the food is surprisingly good. Try their crispy beef! Open until 5 am on weekends and 2 am on weekdays. More »

Hong Shing

For a late night dining experience that's a tad more unique than most, try this modest Dundas Street restaurant. They offer some lovely chili chicken, but in my opinion the thing that sets them apart is their large selection of hot plate dishes. For what it's worth, it's hard to beat scarfing down a plateful of sizzling beef with black pepper sauce close to their 6 am weekend closing time. More »

King Lobster

This place may call itself King Lobster, but I can vouch that they can call themselves the Duck King due to their excellent Peking Duck. While they may not always be available at 3 am (which is around the time that they close), scoffing one of these succulent babies will put a smile to your face. The lemon chicken and fried rice though, are as good as any you'll find in Toronto in the wee hours in the morning. More »

House of Gourmet

A restaurant that's much prettier on the inside than the outside (don't judge a book by its cover and all that), House of Gourmet is well-known to locals for its good, cheap food and quick service. They are open until 2 am weekdays and 4 am on weekends, giving you a lot of time to sample their beef brisket noodle or one of the lovely barbequed meat options that just moments ago were hanging by a hook right by the chef. More »