Queen Mother Cafe, Toronto

The venerable Queen Mother has been holding court in her 150-year-old quarters on Queen Street, just west of University Avenue, since 1978. Although the walls are decorated with royal paraphernalia, the menu looks firmly in the direction of Laos and Thailand, and it’s the Wasabi Guacamole and the lemongrass-drenched Ping Gai chicken that have us coming back over and over and not the British fare that the restaurant’s name might suggest. Locals know to ask for a table on the patio. What patio, you might ask, on looking round the room full of wooden booths and chattering diners. Make your way down a flight of stairs, along a long passageway, and up another flight and you’ll find yourself in a bright, sunny patio, crammed with tables and contented diners feasting on Nam Jeun Laotian spring rolls, Miso Soba salmon and quinoa salad.

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