Best of Toronto
The Best Onion Rings in Toronto
The best onion rings in Toronto prove that the formerly fast food staple can be refined into something more than just an occasional stand-in for French fries. Broadly speaking, the key parameters for an onion ring are the cut, the coating, and the seasoning. Some people prefer the relative crispiness of a thin-cut ring versus the meatier thick cut. On the topic of coatings, the big choice is between a doughy batter or panko breaded rings.
Finally, some restaurants choose to season their batter/breading, and others prefer to let the onions speak for themselves. Regardless of one's preferences, there's probably a spot on our list frying up your ideal onion ring as we speak.
Here are the 13 best onion rings in Toronto.
Apache Burgers
This long-standing Etobicoke institution perfectly embodies the 50’s diner ethos, and has found a way to work some of that spirit into their onion rings. They’re thin cut and battered, with a nice balance of chewiness and crispiness. No fancy tricks here, just straight up onion rings done right. More »
Craft Burger
Though mainly renowned for their beef, Craft Burger’s onion rings stand up as a worthy side dish. Heavily breaded, thick cut and fried to order, these are not rings to be trifled with. More »
Gourmet Burger Company
The thick cut, battered rings served at GBC have a salty seasoning kick that gives them an addictiveness best fought off with root beer. Take-out bags are thoughtfully perforated by staff to prevent the steam from getting the coating all soggy. More »
Nota Bene
Not a name generally found on fast-food lists, culinary hot spot Nota Bene nonetheless crafts some wicked awesome onion rings. Chef David Lee serves the impossibly thin, well seasoned rings in a mound so huge it’s best tackled as a team effort. More »
Stockyards Smokehouse and Larder
Given the obvious attention lavished on their barbeque, it’s no surprise that the onion rings at Stockyards are also top notch. With a medium thick cut, spicy batter, and careful frying to ensure optimum crispiness, these are rings that are indisputably worth a little bit of artery clogging. More »
The Lakeview
This diner at Dundas and Ossington serves big fat onion rings with a lightly seasoned batter and a good, crisp consistency. Also, they’re open 24 hours a day, making this one of the few places in town where you can get a high-quality grease fix at 4 in the morning. More »
The Burger Shack
Yet another long-time greasy spoon fixture on the city’s fast food scene, The Burger Shack’s onion rings are battered, thin cut and nicely fried – not too crunchy, not too soggy. More »
Fresh
Vegetarian cooking tends to get stigmatized as healthy and boring, but Fresh proves it can be every bit as unhealthy and delicious as non-vegetarian cuisine. Their huge onion rings are breaded with quinoa, which adds some visual and textural interest. More »
BQM Diner
BQM’s onion rings are cut nice and thick, with a liberal coating of breading that gives these rings some above-average crunch. Don’t worry though, all that panko crispiness is balanced by the mildly sweet, fresh onions inside. More »
Universal Grill
Universal’s big, crispy rings are as tasty and satisfying as anything, but it’s the addition of fresh herbs that brings some class and finesse to the otherwise humble side dish. Bonus - some of the friendliest service in the city. Double bonus - awesome hot sauce for dipping. More »
W Burger Bar
Manager Frank Weshler claims it took two months of development to find the right formula for their onion rings, and I believe it. The panko breading is subtly seasoned and lightly crispy, the onions are flavourful, and the portions are huge. More »
Discussion
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BWV gets dissed again!
Remember the Huevoes Rancheros debaucle? (leaving out Dr. G's)
it's naaaasty. and not in a good way.
The food and service there are god-awful.
Have our culinary standards sunk that low??
But wha? - it's not on blog's burger list? hmmm...
Agreed about A&W, at least from what I remember from the 70s (when they were momentarily near-extinct in Toronto, but still going in the West); and actually, the paprika-or-whatever spice was what "made" their rings. But they *may* have changed the formula over the years; and besides, prices rose, portions shrunk, and I don't bother with fast food anymore...
Other "non-foodie" reviews at http://girlswholikefood.blogspot.com/
Best fast food onion ring by far.
I do have to say that Craft Burger, although their burgers are great, their onion rings are the least impressive thing on the menu. They are frozen. There's no love.
Prague Deli's rings should have 10000% been on this list