5 essential East African restaurants in Toronto you need to try at least once

East African restaurants in Toronto are go-to spots in the city to tuck into the flavours of Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and beyond.

In a city with nearly 100,000 residents of Southern and East African backgrounds, it's only fair that Toronto would have an equally representative food scene, brimming with restaurants specializing in the distinct cuisines of countries across the eastern side of Africa.

And, indeed, it does.

While Somali and Ethiopian restaurants tend to get a large portion of airtime in the city when it comes to East African restaurants, there are still spots in the city you can visit that are putting cuisines from a variety of other countries on display.

Here are five East African restaurants in Toronto that you should try.

Simba Grill

Named after a famous restaurant in Tanzania, this East African-Indian restaurant in East York has garnered considerable acclaim of its own during its more than 20 years in business. 

Here, Tanzanian and Indian cuisines join forces to pack a particularly flavourful punch. Think pili pili mogo, grilled nundu, and ugali with spinach coconut curry alongside channa bateta and samosa.

Xawaash

This Etobicoke restaurant (which has a sister location in Mississauga) is among the city's most popular spots for Somali food.

Here, an extensive menu spans an impressive variety of dishes and flavours, from mbogga to suqaar. You can even order stews large enough to feed up to 40 people to spread the wealth.

Muufo platter at Xawaash. Photo by Hector Vasquez.

001 Grillz

One of the younger additions to Toronto's East African food scene, the hype around this Swahili barbecue stall at Yonge and Dundas' World Food Market has more than cemented its status as a local staple, to say nothing of the utterly droolworthy food itself.

Specializing in Kenyan barbecue favourites, like nyama choma (short ribs) and mishkaki (grilled beef skewers), this business has even gotten the seal of approval from former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Rendez-Vous

There's no shortage of representation for Ethiopian and Eritrean food in Toronto, but this Danforth stalwart is among the longest-standing and best-loved in the city.

Perched in the unofficial jurisdiction of Little Ethiopia, here, you can scoop up flavourful, vibrant meat and veggie dishes with your fill of unlimited injera.

Ethiopian coffee is among the offerings at Rendez-Vous. Photo by Jesse Milns.

Wanaag

Located on the borders of Cabbagetown and Moss Park, this Somali restaurant serves a full suite of East African eats, including some specialties that are harder to find in the city.

Juicy T-bone steaks atop Somali pasta, lamb shoulder (Garab), goat soup and suqaar are all among the must-tries here.