Why is Philadelphia food culture suddenly invading Toronto?

Seemingly overnight, Toronto's food scene has been inundated with food fancies from Philadelphia — be they cheesesteaks, soft pretzels or whatever a "water ice" is — and I'm not complaining, but it does raise the question: what happened?

Scientists say that, before a tsunami hits, the tide pulls out unusually far — so far that it looks like the ocean has disappeared entirely — before a wall of water devours the entire city. That's kind of what happened with Philly cheesesteaks in Toronto.

A year ago, anyone in the city craving a decent cheesesteak had to quite literally travel for it. Virtually nowhere in Toronto or its surrounding area served them, let alone served them right, so a road trip to Philadelphia was required.

It didn't really make sense to me. The Philly cheesesteak occupies the same level of fame as the Chicago dog or the New York slice, but could only be found as a seldom-ordered afterthought on greasy spoon menus.

Then came Hayden's Cheesesteaks. On a local food scene dominated by pop-ups (no one can afford real estate anymore, not even a sandwich shop), founder Max Solomons, by my tracking anyway, single-handedly revived the Philly cheesesteak's street cred in Toronto.

The Cheez Whiz wave

Devoting himself to serving Philly-style cheesesteaks as authentically as possible in Canada, Max struck gold with Hayden's, regularly selling out of sandwiches at his sporadic pop-ups.

Then, the deluge. Philly cheesesteaks began appearing on menus at trendy spots in the city, like the recently opened Sonny Can't Dance, which makes it with wagyu. Over in St. Catharines, Michelin-recommended chef Zach Smith is putting the finishing touches on his own "steak and cheese" spot (he's careful not to call them Philly cheesesteaks so as not to ruffle any feathers, even though, with the sum of all parts, they are).

Marcello, the food reviewer behind popular Toronto Instagram account @marcelloeats has also thrown his hat in the ring with his pop-up Cello's Cheesesteaks, which launched to rave reviews earlier in the fall of 2026.

For Marcello, his decision to start serving Philly cheesesteaks in Toronto didn't come from a growing trend, but from a long-time infatuation with the sandwiches and the relative inability to find them in Toronto.

"The main reason I wanted to bring [Cello's Cheesesteaks] to Toronto is [that] most Canadians haven't tried an authentic cheesesteak," Marcello tells blogTO. "A lot of restaurants here will use mozzarella and load a bunch of veggies when, in reality, in Philly, the sandwich is quite simple, being mostly sharp American, provolone, or Cheez Whiz and fried onions."

It's not just Philly cheesesteaks that have been making the pilgrimage from Pennsylvania, though.

Pretzel-vania

Second to cheesesteaks, Philadelphia is known for its penchant for pretzels. The capital of the American pretzel industry, roughly 80 per cent of all pretzels sold in the United States are produced in Pennsylvania.

Soft pretzels, in particular, hold an important place on Philly's food scene. And while you've always been able to find a few here and there in Toronto, they're usually, well, not that good. 

Alex Marcus, founder of Toronto's Gemini Pretzels, set out to fix that, giving the soft, chewy delights the Philadelphia-style attention to detail they deserve, while putting a spin on them that's quintessentially Toronto. (The spin being a rotating series of internationally-inspired dips meant to represent Toronto's diversity.)

"I started to make pretzels because I discovered there was this hole, I guess you could say, in the Toronto pretzel scene," Alex tells blogTO, "and I discovered that while I was living in Philly and eating amazing pretzels on the regular."

After having what he describes as the "best pretzel of his life" just outside Philadelphia, Alex, who was looking to move to Toronto at the time, stumbled upon a post in a Toronto food subreddit lamenting the lack of options in the city when it came to proper Philly-style pretzels. 

Upon moving to Toronto, Alex made rescuing Toronto from its soft pretzel drought his mission.

The Philadelphia food takeover of Toronto isn't limited to just pretzels and cheesesteaks. The city just got what is ostensibly its first and only spot serving Philly water ice — a dairy-free frozen treat akin to sherbet — in Eglinton West's Holy Batter.

Welcome, but why?

In a city that's known first for its diversity, it never comes as a surprise when the food favourites of another culture find their way to Toronto. But where members of any given country's diaspora are usually to thank for their foods becoming available in Toronto, the story is a little different with Philadelphia.

Yes, plenty of Americans now call Canada home, but the people leading the charge of this particular movement are, by and large, not from Philadelphia. Both Max Solomons and Marcello are from the GTA. Alex is from New York, although he did have a stint living in Philly.

Still, both Marcello and Alex chalk the growing popularity of Philly food items in Toronto up to the city's diversity.

"We're in what is probably the most diverse city in the world. There are people from more or less everywhere, and a lot of those people are from the States. We're right next to the States, so the food culture there is going to show up here," Alex says.

He also adds that, much like it is in Toronto, Philadelphia's food scene is also gaining growing recognition in the rest of its home country.

"The food there is spectacular; it's easily the best food city I've lived in in the States," Alex says.

Marcello echoes that statement. "I think Toronto is a city that loves celebrating different cuisines and cultures, and we've been lacking an authentic Philly scene for years, so I think it's much needed," he says.

But there's another element to consider, too.

Historically home to a large working-class population, with Pennsylvania's industry largely built on manufacturing through the 19th and 20th centuries, not to mention a large population of Pennsylvania Dutch or Amish people, Philly's food scene has largely grown to reflect that no-frills identity.

When you look at cheesesteaks, pretzels or even water ice, it's simple, cost-effective foods honed to a masterful degree that have defined the city's food scene for decades. Alex notes that, from his perspective, that's an approach that many Toronto residents are growing increasingly inclined towards.

"I think if you look at the dynamics of the economy now, or just the vibes in society, people are probably sick of 'tweezer food,' to some degree. I think there's some comfort in something that is simple, something that is humble, and something that is honest, executed really well."