You can travel the world via the flavors of delicious foods all in a few small pedestrian-friendly blocks of Toronto’s historic Kensington Market. It isn’t a traditional market like Vancouver’s Granville Island or Detroit’s Eastern Market. (You’ll want to head to Toronto’s St Lawrence Market, if that’s what you’re after.) Instead Kensington Market is a quaint neighborhood that’s been transformed into a boutique village with vintage shops, bakeries, fresh fruits/veg shops, and a ton of great little eateries and cafes. You can basically experience a good chunk of the whole globe on your tastebuds without the jetlag. There’s over 240 small, local businesses crowded into these little streets, so the options are far and wide for pretty much any country you crave. The international experiences below can all be explored in a 5 minute or less walk, starting with Kensington Street as your center point.
Hot tip: Park at the “Green P” public parking garage at St Andrew between Spadina and Kensington OR the “Green P” just outside Kensington in Chinatown only a block or so from the Art Gallery of Ontario, which you should also visit! The Green Ps are easy and pretty cheap. You want to park your car and leave it while visiting pretty much everything in the various areas of Toronto. You definitely do not need to rent a car if you fly into Toronto tho. There’s lots of great public transport here.
Japan
There are several Japanese foodie places to delight in at the Kensington Market. We started our day at Little Pebbles Cafe with lattes. Yes, they have traditional coffee ones and plenty of matcha options, but they also have a unique black sesame latte, which was charcoal colored and uber flavorful.
Jamaica
I had heard Golden Patty was one of the best cheap eats down here, so we had to go. Their offerings are perfectly portable, which makes for perfect eating on the go as you get an overview of the area. I rec the Jamaican jerk chicken on coco bread!
Chile
My son fell in love with empanadas while in Lisbon, thanks to an Argentinian stall at Lisbon’s famed flea market. I’ve loved them since I was little, growing up in Texas, where Mexican style ones are popular. You could try these pockets of flavorful meat from many countries in Kensington, but we loved the Chilean version at Jumbo Empanadas. We had the veggie and chicken versions plus a plain cheese one. We also tried their take on a Southwest U.S. favorite Mexican restaurant desert: sopapillas. They serve them up different from what we’re used to, but fried sweet dough is pretty much always a winner.
Sweden
The Sweden-inspired coffeeshop Fika has delightful lattes with their signature cardamon flavoring. But don’t skip their house-made cardamon ice cream affogato while relaxing on the lovely back patio, tucked away from the bustle of the city.
France
C’est cheese (literally, there’s a sign to pose with out front) at Cheese Magic. They don’t just have French cheese here. It’s actually an international cheese market, with local varieties plus others from Spain, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, and more. The owner, Ping Chiu is the self-proclaimed cheese queen of Toronto, owning this small business for three-plus decades.
Mexico
I Love Churros has some pretty good churros. They have all sorts of dips for them and other churro concoctions to delight in. Especially great right before or after an espresso, if you ask me. Of course, there’s also taco joints in this area too.
Canada
It would be messed up to not include a “Canadian” eatery here. And while everything above is Canadian in its own way, I’m going to say Blackbird Baking Co. is a good stop to represent Ontario just on the basis of their classic cinnamon buns alone.
Your tastebuds can also make stops in China, India, the US, India, Italy… the list goes on and on.
Travel Muse Magazine 
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