Best of Toronto
The Best Ribs in Toronto
The best ribs in Toronto, like the city itself, cannot be placed to one region, ethnicity, or culinary style.Each establishment on this list adds a distinctive, intangible quality, which makes their version of the dish stand out. There's no right recipe or sure-fire road to authenticity - heck, you'll find disagreements down in the barbeque belt of the South. The one thing most any folk will tell you though, is you gotta do it slow - you gotta let it simmer and stew in itself for awhile and let all the meat break down.
Now, how you do that is up to you. Some places smoke, steam, boil, roast, grill, bake, sear or fry their ribs - most of them will use a combination of methods. In the end though, the very best ribs touch on all the tastes your tongue can take - bitter, salty, sour, sweet and savory. So whether they're taking cues from the Mississippi delta, the heart of central Asia or somewhere in between, Toronto knows how to put together a plate of delectable ribs.
Here are the 10 best ribs in Toronto.
Stockyards Smokehouse & Larder
Say there was an actual Rib Scene that you could be a part of in Toronto, and say you were part of that ultra exclusive, super hip crowd. If there were a Mecca – a home base – for this underground community, it would be The Stockyards. This unassuming establishment on St. Clair West not only serves up the absolute most letter “A” perfect, sticky sweet pork ribs you can find this side of the 49th (43rd?) parallel, but their dipping sauce is about the best thing you’ll taste anywhere. More »
Phil's Original Barbeque
Phil’s Original Barbeque has been a staple in the west end for years now. Whether you’re looking for brisket, pulled pork or chicken, Phil’s got your number. But truthfully, it’s the ribs that will truly win you over. There's something so satisfyingly primal about getting a messy, red smear all over your face, gnawing on the bone of the animal that's feeding you. More »
Universal Grill
Universal Grill is the kind of unassuming place you could walk by everyday and never know it existed. You’d be missing out though because this secret spot at Dupont and Shaw serves up beautiful, fall off the bone dry ribs that succeed because they don’t need sauce, they’re perfectly seasoned to peppery perfection and served with a side of chunky sweet potato fries and creamy coleslaw and you just don’t need any more than that. More »
Highway 61
The walls at Highway 61, at Bayview and Eglinton, are adorned with the images of long dead Blues musicians. At any given time you can either hear Bob Dylan bleeding through the speakers, or the sounds of live music wafting from the upstairs bar. These guys take their music almost as seriously as the take their barbeque, and that’s saying something. More »
Churrasco Villa
Churrasco Villa is warm both in temperature and atmosphere. Whole chickens turn slowly over an open flame, while thick pieces of pork and beef ribs absorb the flavours of a hot grill. This Portuguese churrasquiera has made a name for itself, not only in it’s Bayview and Eglinton haunt, but city wide, as one of the places to go for your flame-kissed-meat-fix. More »
Lou Dawgs
Lou Dawgs’ semi-subterranean storefront on King West might push their southern sandwiches, but this joint should be boasting about their full on barbeque. Their pork ribs come juicy and slathered in sweet, sticky homemade sauce. But I knew the place was good even before the first bite – both the chef and counter person had a faint ring of barbeque sauce smeared around their mouths. More »
Memphis Smoke House
The folks at Memphis Smoke House got the inspiration for their joint from a month long pilgrimage to the holy land of barbeque. In that time they devoured that inspiration for breakfast, lunch and dinner and what they found was slow smoked enlightenment - complete with all the fix’n’s. More »
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Its called RIBFEAST and that shit happens once a year!
whats the deal with Toronto Rib Fest?
Ribfest is a great experience in many cities that happens in the downtown core and is great for tourism.
Toronto Ribfest on the other hand, should actually be called the GTA Ribfest as its held in Centennial Park all the way in Etobicoke.
To travel to the utter outskirts of what could even be classified as Toronto seems like such a waste of opportunity.
Think about how much money could be made by doing it on Front St where Buskerfest is, or somewhere more all around accessible.
ps: There is probably a Rob Ford joke that could be thrown in here somewhere about pork products and Etobicoke, but I'll leave that you guys.
I doubt there is a spot downtown to accomodate this.
Also, +1 to the Swiss Chalet ribs vote!
Once you go to a smokehouse in Texas and taste proper ribs, you'll realize how bland Swiss Chalet is.
Yeah turns out they PAID the Lions Club to have them win the Festival as that year they were introducing the new ribs on their Menu........since then, I would never EVER order ribs from Swiss "corrupt" Chalet
GOOFS!
"fantastic ribs at Swiss Chalet"
"Swiss Chalet has good ribs"
Good? Fantastic? I didn't realize that these words could be used as synonyms for mediocre. The portions they serve are pitifully small and the flavour is reminiscent of mayonnaise and paprika. Ugh, no thanks.
there is a scarborough ribfest as well: http://www.scarboroughribfest.com/ i have never been, but plan to in the future.
everything in between them, Toronto.
Stockyards are the best I've tried in Toronto. Cluck, Grunt and Low was pretty decent too when it was around.
GTA includes anything in commuting distance.
Etobicoke and Scarborough are the city of toronto.
Please take your skinny pants and jump in a lake.
IVE TRIED RIBS AT SWISS CHALET, BATON ROUGE, MEMPHIS SMOKEHOUSE, STOCKYARDS AND VARIOUS OTHER ESTABLISHMENTS BUT NOTHING COMPARES TO THOSE OF MEMPHIS BBQ ON ISLINGTON IN WOODBRIDGE
"HANDS DOWN THE BEST RIBS IN THE GTA ARE AT MEMPHIS BBQ IN WOODBRIDGE."
While the info is appreciated, Woodbridge ain't the GTA!!!
I disagree. They lost my business over the years. The last few times I was there, the ribs were average. Their burgers, which used to be outstanding, now suck.
The best ribs are the ones you make at home. Try boiling them (gentle boil) in Coke (yes, Coke) for about an hour. Place them in a bowl, and cover with a GOOD quality BBQ sauce (eg. the ones made with Jack Daniel's or Southern Comfort). Cover with plastic wrap, let the sauce soak in for about an hour, and barbecue them. Delicious! The Coke breaks down the tissue, and gives the ribs a nice touch of sweetness. If you want to jazz it up, add some finely-diced onions and garlic to the BBQ sauce.
As for the rest of this list; meh.
P.S. Haters - Woodbridge IS in the GTA, although many people seem to be geographically challenged and think that Etobicoke or Scarborough make up the GTA. In fact The stockyards is actually on the border of the pre-amalgamated Toronto.
And that's as Toronto as it gets, whether you're from Etobicoke, Woodbridge, or downtown.
Woodbridge on the other hand is NOT part of the GTA. It has a different mayor and area code. It is part of the city of VAUGHAN.
Back to the topic, the best ribs are at Ribfest and Stockyards. "Average" ribs are Swiss Chalet and they are not average at ALL. Just stop.
Look it up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Toronto_Area
By the way, having the ribfest downtown, really???? Maybe the Rogers Centre could handle it.... what a beautiful venue that would be.