Toronto's newest Portuguese restaurant is hidden in a back alley shipping container
Portuguese restaurants in Toronto have been getting a lot of attention this summer, but the latest one to open is going to require a little extra digging if you actually want to eat there.
Curb appeal does wonders for driving foot traffic to restaurants in the city, but Elvira's, a new spot serving Portuguese comfort food, doesn't need any of that to draw a crowd. As it happens, the itsy-bitsy restaurant is nearly invisible from the street.
It's not exactly a restaurant, either, but rather a firetruck red shipping container situated in a back alley just off Queen East.
The definition of a hidden gem, in that it's quite literally hidden from view, the restaurant officially opened in late spring 2026, and, despite its off-the-beaten-path locale, it's had no problem filling its (admittedly limited) seats since then.
Eagle-eyed foodies might notice that the location looks familiar, and your instincts are correct. In the summer of 2025, the very same shipping container made a splash as the home of Com Nuoc, a casual Vietnamese eatery, which vacated the space after closing for the season last winter.
Now, helmed by chefs Luis and Carolina Lima, the shipping container restaurant specializes in a suite of Portuguese comfort foods, like steak sandwiches, cod fritters, and Portuguese hot dogs, which are served under a sheet of melted cheese and smothered with "secret sauce."
Easy grab-and-go items, like puff pastries filled with the likes of shrimp, beef and chicken, are also available if you don't manage to score a seat on the restaurant's cozy rooftop patio.
It's the sort of spot that defines "if you know, you know," and there you go: now you know.
Elvira's is located at 639 Queen St. E.
Elvira's
