Toronto’s restaurant scene would look a lot different without this iconic Chinatown supplier. Since 1989, the Tran family has been supplying chefs, restaurateurs and home cooks alike with hard-to-find kitchen gear. The sheer number of options is boggling—there’s at least 40,000 items in the store at any given time.

Nella Cutlery started as a knife rental service in the 1950s before transitioning to making bayonets for the Canadian Armed Forces. Today it’s supplying fridges, meat slicers and packaging. Head to North York, Scarborough or the 55,000-square-foot store in Corktown. 

The Danforth’s go-to for cookware, bakeware and appliances is filled to the brim with stylish items to upgrade your kitchen with. You’ll find Le Creuset products and other cast iron skillets for really great prices. Their storage options are also pretty stellar.

Roncesvalles’ kitchenware store-meets-cooking class studio has expanded with two other locations—one by Yonge and Eg plus another in Bloor West Village—since first opening in 2014. Expect a standout collection of baking dishes and stand mixers that are as useful as they are aesthetically pleasing.

Sitting amidst the weed shops and cafes on Queen West is this popular specialty shop with its shiny display of pepper mills, carafes and espresso cups from Croatia. Owners Louis Nikolaou and Larry Solakis have been running the business since 1978.

Stainless steel mills, spice blend mills, mills with crank handles: as the name implies, this kitchen supply store at Yonge and Eg prides itself on its pepper mill collection, particularly the ones by Peugeot. Roasters, high-end cookware sets and bakeware are also aplenty.

If you’re hunting for an espresso machine, look no further than this Etobicoke landmark. There are scores of Jura and DeLonghi machines to puruse plus other Italian cooking essentials like pasta-makers, tomato machines and Speducci grills.

A neighbourhood treasure through and through, this tiny space holds a surprisingly large selection of products. Cook It doesn’t have a website, meaning you’ll have to visit the shop in the Beaches to shop internationally-sourced equipment at this independent business.