Sunnyside Grill — Restaurant in Toronto

I moved away from the area a few months ago, and the one thing I truly miss is Sunnyside.

I live in easy walking distance of the famous Fran's Diner, in downtown now. And it's my usual weekend stop.

But I still miss Sunnyside.

It's an ultra-friendly stop, filled with chill families, cute kids that the staff all know the names of, police officers (who are bloodhounds at finding a great breakfast place and keep out the bad of a sometimes iffy intersection) and pretty much host all the best folks of the area.

Then it takes that great crowd and stuffs them to the gills with generous, tasty, unpretentious, across-the-board high quality food, clearly made with love and care.

I've never found another restaurant I've felt so at home in. They learn your name. Greet you with a big smile. Keep your coffee warm without asking. Happily make changes and alterations. They're all helpful and knowledgeable. I would bring an e-book, chill out and feel utterly zen and cozy.

Also, I have no idea how you can manage to make fried eggs, the simplest thing in the world, addictive. But every other egg I have feels utterly anemic in comparison. I eat my eggs at Fran's and daydream of Sunnyside, crying a singly manly...

Two stars for the food. Hate to do this to a restaurant in these times. However, deciding to go and eat in a restaurant versus ordering in or take out deserves some effort on part of the restaurant. Walked in around 1 pm to find the restaurant not too busy. Server was prompt with coffees and taking the order. However, it took them 45 minutes to prepare eggs, bacon, sausages, toast and pancakes. That is supposed to be the only thing they do- breakfast! We had 3 cups of coffee waiting for our breakfast and the server realized the delay and apologized. She took off the coffee from our bill. So far I would have given this a 3 star experience. Our food arrived and we started eating. While we were eating another staff came twice to ask us if he could clear our plates!!! While there was still food and we were clearly eating! This person was clearing the tables and there was no sanitizing that I noticed him doing. It’s a bad idea to keep salt and pepper shakers and ketchup bottles on the table during a pandemic. If you don’t bother wiping it down then it is worse. No contact tracing will happen here either as no one took your name/ number. Price is good and food is decent but will not...

Update, 5 years later: Still the best place in the city to go for breakfast. The staff still remembered me and my order, 5 years after I moved away. I can't reccomend this place enough. Best breakfast joint in the city, especially in this area of Toronto. I reccomend you visit multiple times if you can because the staff will recognize you and your experience will only get better every visit.

Don't let the nasty bars on either side scare you away from this gem of a diner, it's worth a visit!

Excellent, basic breakfast food with veg options. Lunch options too! Great serving sizes and prices. Staff are amazing, especially the managers Mel and Gord!! They've been there quite a while and run the place fantastically. Even the kitchen staff, whom you can see from the dining area, are very kind and do their best to make your food the way you like it.

There may be a line if you arrive at a peak time (~10:45-11:30) but you'll never have to wait long. Bathrooms are maintained and quite clean but are not...