North York food guide: Persian, Korean and Chinese food along Yonge Street

North York is the northern part of Toronto, a former city of its own that was merged into Toronto in 1998. For food, its heart is the Yonge Street corridor in the Willowdale area, where Line 1 of the subway runs up from downtown. It is not a place of old buildings or postcard views. It is a place where people who live nearby go for dinner, and the restaurants reflect the communities that settled the area.

The Yonge North York Business Improvement Area launched a tourism website in early 2026, with self-guided food tours that ran for a limited time on four routes centred on the subway stations at Finch, North York Centre and Sheppard-Yonge. That gives a visitor a ready-made starting point.

Where is the Persian food?

Yonge Street north of Finch, toward Steeles, is the best-known Persian food district in the Toronto region. Restaurants, bakeries, sweet shops and grocery stores line the street, and kebab appears on almost every menu. The typical order is a plate of koobideh, a seasoned minced meat kebab, or a chicken kebab, served with saffron rice and grilled tomato. Other dishes include ghormeh sabzi, a herb and kidney bean stew, and fesenjan, a walnut and pomegranate stew.

Persian bakeries sell pastries, and some places make ice cream, including saffron flavour. For a snack, a takeout counter with a kebab wrap is a quick and cheap lunch. Persian groceries are also worth browsing for saffron, dried limes and sour cherries, if you cook.

Is North York the place for Korean food?

Yes, partly. Around Yonge and Finch, the cluster of Korean restaurants, cafés and bubble tea shops has grown steadily, and a short walk off Yonge there are small places for rice cakes and Korean-style sushi. The area is a good place for kimchi stew, Korean fried chicken, barbecue and snack-style food. For a bigger set of Korean options, see the guide to Koreatown on Bloor.

What about Chinese and other food?

The Finch area also has many Chinese restaurants, including Cantonese and Sichuan places, and a number of Japanese and Vietnamese spots. Bubble tea is everywhere, and a few Korean-Japanese fusion cafés have opened. Because the area's population is varied, you also find Russian, Middle Eastern and Italian shops nearby.

How do you plan a visit?

Take Line 1 to Finch, North York Centre or Sheppard-Yonge. The stations are underground and connect to malls and offices, so you can start dry in winter. Walk along Yonge Street and compare menus in windows. Each of the three station areas has a slightly different feel:

• Finch: Korean, Chinese and Persian, with plenty of bubble tea and late opening hours.
• North York Centre: A civic centre with the library and government offices, quiet at weekends, with lunch places for office workers.
• Sheppard-Yonge: Casual dining, chains and a mix of cuisines.

When is the best time to go?

Lunch on a weekday is easy, and many places offer lunch specials. Weekend dinners at popular kebab and Korean barbecue restaurants can need a wait. Several Persian places close in the afternoon, so check hours.

What does it cost?

Prices are lower than downtown for the same type of food, and portions are generous. In Ontario, HST of 13 percent is added to the bill, and at table-service restaurants a tip of 15 to 20 percent on the pre-tax amount is standard. At counters, a tip is optional.

What about halal and dietary needs?

Many Persian and Middle Eastern restaurants use halal meat, but not all do, so ask. Korean barbecue is meat-heavy, though many restaurants have vegetable and tofu dishes. Persian cuisine has a lot of rice, herbs and yogurt, so vegetarians do well with salads, dips and stews, though the stews often use meat stock.

What is the difference between Persian kebab styles?

Koobideh is minced meat, shaped on a flat skewer. Barg is thin sliced meat, often lamb or beef. Joojeh is chicken, marinated in saffron and lemon. Most menus offer a mixed plate, which is a good way to try two or three.

A simple plan

1. Take the subway to Finch and have a Korean or Chinese lunch.
2. Walk north and look into a Persian bakery for a pastry.
3. Browse a Persian grocery.
4. Have a kebab dinner at a restaurant on Yonge, then take the subway home.

How do you keep up with a long strip of restaurants?

Yonge Street through Willowdale is a lot of doors in a short walk, and a rating by the dish is how you remember which one made the kebab you liked. In the Mosey app, rate the koobideh, the barbecue or the noodle bowl by name, add a tag such as Group Dining or Late Night, and keep a list with one section for Persian, one for Korean and one for everything else. A friend with the invite link can add the place they rate highest on the strip.

The Dishes page shows the dishes people are loving near you, which is a useful prompt when you are standing at a subway exit and cannot decide which way to walk. Follow friends who eat here often and their picks appear in the Friends' picks layer of the map.

More guides to read next:

• Mississauga and Brampton food guide: Punjabi, Pakistani and Caribbean food in Peel Region
• Best restaurants near me in Toronto: a neighbourhood guide (2026)
• Kid-friendly restaurants in Toronto: how to eat out with children (2026)

More in the Canadian food guides and the ranked lists of places.

On your next trip up Line 1, open the Mosey app and rate your first plate by name.