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Tibetan Food in Toronto

Toronto’s Tibetan food is centred on Little Tibet, the stretch of Queen Street West in Parkdale around Lansdowne Avenue, where more than a dozen Tibetan restaurants and momo shops sit within a short walk of each other. This guide is kept by the Tibetan community: it lists every Tibetan restaurant in our directory with the dishes each is known for, and explains what to order.

First time? Start with a plate of momos (steamed beef or vegetable) and a bowl of thenthuk, the hand-pulled noodle soup. Ask for sepen, the house chilli sauce, on the side. Finish with sweet milk tea or salty butter tea.

Where to eat Tibetan food in Toronto

17 Tibetan restaurants and momo shops from our community directory, updated automatically when a listing changes.

Parkdale (Little Tibet), Queen Street West (15)

Roncesvalles (1)

Etobicoke (1)

Details change, so call ahead before a special trip. Browse the restaurants & takeaway section of the Tibetan Directory for photos, maps and opening hours.

Tibetan dishes to try

Tibetan cooking comes from the high plateau: barley, beef and yak, butter, potatoes and warming soups. In Toronto you will also see Nepali, Indian and Chinese-Hakka influences, because many Tibetans here came by way of India and Nepal.

Momo མོག་མོག

Tibet’s best-known dish: dumplings filled with seasoned beef, chicken or vegetables, usually steamed, sometimes pan-fried or served in soup. Many Parkdale kitchens make them by hand every day, and some sell frozen momos to cook at home.

Thenthuk འཐེན་ཐུག

Hand-pulled noodle soup: flat pieces of dough are torn straight into a broth with meat or vegetables. A home-style favourite, especially in winter.

Thukpa ཐུག་པ

The general Tibetan word for noodle soup. On menus it usually means a bowl of long noodles in broth with meat or vegetables.

Shaphaley ཤ་བག་ལེབ

Bread pockets stuffed with spiced minced beef, then fried until crisp. Also spelled sha phaley or shabaley.

Laphing ལ་ཕིང

Cold, slippery starch noodles dressed with chilli oil, garlic, soy and vinegar. A popular street snack in Tibetan neighbourhoods; ask your favourite momo shop if they make it.

Tingmo ཏིང་མོ

Soft steamed bread, twisted into a spiral. It is plain on purpose, to eat with spicy meat or vegetable dishes.

Balep / phaley བག་ལེབ

Tibetan flatbread, eaten at breakfast with butter tea or alongside soup. Several Parkdale cafes serve an all-day Tibetan breakfast with fresh phaley.

Butter tea བོད་ཇ

Black tea churned with butter and salt. It tastes more like a light soup than sweet tea, and it is the everyday drink of Tibetan homes.

Tsampa རྩམ་པ

Roasted barley flour, the traditional staple of Tibet. It is mixed with butter tea into a dough and eaten by hand, and it gave its name to one of Parkdale’s restaurants.

Gyuma རྒྱུ་མ

Tibetan blood sausage, usually sliced and stir-fried. A dish for adventurous eaters and a taste of home for many elders.

Phingsha ཕིང་ཤ

Beef, potatoes and glass (mung bean) noodles in a savoury Tibetan gravy, eaten with rice or tingmo.

Losar foods: khapse and dresil ཁ་ཟས། འབྲས་སིལ

For Tibetan New Year, families fry khapse, crunchy biscuits in twisted shapes, and serve dresil, sweet buttered rice with raisins. See when Losar falls this year on our Tibetan calendar.

Vegetarian and vegan Tibetan food

Almost every Tibetan restaurant in Toronto makes vegetable momos, often with cabbage, spinach, potato or cheese, and most soups come in a vegetable version. Tingmo and laphing are naturally meat-free. If you avoid dairy or eggs, ask about the filling and the sauce; butter is common in Tibetan cooking.

Getting to Little Tibet

Take the 501 Queen streetcar to Lansdowne Avenue; most restaurants are a few minutes’ walk east or west along Queen Street West. From Lansdowne subway station on Line 2, the 47 Lansdowne bus runs south to Queen Street. Several more Tibetan kitchens are in Roncesvalles and Etobicoke, listed above.

Momo crawls and food events

Parkdale has hosted momo crawls in past years, where food lovers try momos at shop after shop along Queen Street West. Community fundraisers, Losar celebrations and Tibetan festivals also serve plenty of home cooking. Watch the community calendar or post your own food event.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Little Tibet in Toronto?

Little Tibet is in Parkdale, in Toronto’s west end, along Queen Street West around Lansdowne Avenue. It has one of the largest Tibetan communities outside Asia, and many Tibetan restaurants, shops and community spaces.

What is the most popular Tibetan food?

Momos, Tibetan dumplings filled with meat or vegetables, are the most popular Tibetan food in Toronto and around the world. Thenthuk (hand-pulled noodle soup), shaphaley (fried meat-filled bread) and butter tea are close behind.

Is Tibetan food spicy?

Most Tibetan dishes are mild and warming. The heat comes from sepen, a chilli sauce served on the side, so you can make your meal as spicy as you like. Dishes with Hakka or Indian influence, such as chilli chicken, are spicier.

Are there vegetarian momos in Toronto?

Yes. Nearly every Tibetan restaurant and momo shop in Toronto offers vegetable momos, commonly with cabbage, spinach, potato or cheese fillings.

What is the difference between Tibetan and Nepali momos?

Tibetan momos are usually larger, with a simply seasoned beef or vegetable filling and a thicker wrapper. Nepali momos tend to be smaller and spicier, and are often served with a tomato-sesame achar or in a soup called jhol momo.

Can I add a Tibetan restaurant to this guide?

Yes. Add it free on our Add your business page. You can even snap a photo of the business card. Once our volunteers check it, the restaurant appears in the directory and in this guide automatically.

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