Dao's Cafe

Chef Dao is the Lao food champion this city needs! Another brilliant culinary addition to the neighbourhood with unmatched flavours and presentation. Had the real privilege of sitting in on a Sunday brunch and will be back for the very next Supper Club :)

Thanks Dao for an awesome Mother’s Day lunch, and for teaching us a bit about Laotian cuisine and history! Big portion sizes, fresh flavours, and all made to order. We’ll be back for one of your family style dinners soon

Dao is a guy who just really wants to cook his heritage and does a great job at it. He’s been at it since 2019 with good supperclubs and I did a bunch of takeout from him over the pandemic. So I was pretty stoked to be able to finally experience his cooking in a sit down format. Still super love his tapioca dumplings and crispy rice salad. Great flavors and textures. The dessert of coconut pancakes was new to me and also very nice. Do eat that asap to experience all the textures of it. Almost still pop-up vibes. Short menu. Sundays only (because he’s still got a day-job!!). Currently brunch from 11-3 and preorder pickup until 8. Tiny space. Groups of 2-4 is best.

I had the opportunity to come here for the first time during their brunch hours. It's a nice little restaurant and the food is delicious as well! I really enjoyed their pearl dumplings appetizer. The skin was chewy and the filling was very tasty. I had the pleasure of speaking with the owner/chef and he mentioned he is looking to expanding his restaurant hours so I'll definitely come back in the future to try other dishes!

Amazing hidden gem in Toronto. Dao is super passionate about bringing his family's cooking to the table and introducing Torontonians to Lao food, and you can really tell he puts a lot of thought and care into each dish. The restaurant is only open from 11-3 on weekends, and you can either walk-in or make reservations online. It is a pretty small space, so I would make reservations just in case. We tried everything on the menu: pearl tapioca dumplings, papaya salad, coconut crispy rice (naem khao), chicken larb, sausage meal, and the mango sticky rice. The herbs and ingredients were very fresh, and the portion sizes were super filling. Highly recommend the coconut crispy rice - my family and I couldn't stop talking about it! We also tried their pineapple limonade which was refreshing (and helped to put out the spice haha) Dao was very hospitable, and towards the end of the lunch rush, he even came out to chat with all the customers. Apparently the menu changes as well, so I'm looking forward to coming back to try out some more Lao dishes!

This restaurant is a hidden gem! I’m surprised more people don’t know about it. The food and service were absolutely incredible! We had the chance to speak with the owner, who shared his inspiring story and the reason behind opening this restaurant. His passion for Lao cuisine was evident—he wants to preserve and share it because it’s not widely represented. Highly recommend!

This is, by far, the best meal I have had out in a restaurant in a long, long time. Everything was soo fresh, and it looked bigger than it was. We were able to finish the Dumplings, which were sweet, and when you added the hot chili piece to the next bite, it was amazing. The flavors were spot on. For our mains we got the Laap and the crispy rice dish, which was soo good We ended up eating the rest instead of taking a little bit home. We still had room for the coconut pancakes and Mango with sticky rice, and they were amazing as well. We left feeling satisfied and not stuffed or hungry again. You have to eat in the restaurant to really enjoy the food and you should.

Finally had the chance to try out Dao’s tasting menu :) Everything was made from scratch and freshly served. Though all were incredibly tasty, we especially enjoyed the pearl dumplings, spring rolls, sausage and crispy rice. We are truly inspired by the chef’s passion for Lao cuisine and will definitely be back to try other items on the menu. Highly recommend to check out this hidden gem!