Vesta Lunch

Vesta Lunch On Wheels — the food truck
Korean fusion Canadian food was the theme of the day for the truck. I got the bulgogi poutine. For $ 10 it was a large serving almost ate the whole thing but was really full & it was delicious — covered in LOTS of gravy the way I like it. They didn’t skimp on the beef and kimchi — which added sweet and spicy flavours. It’s everything you want a greasy poutine to be and it just hits the spot with an asian spin — I would definitely get it again! Their regular burger was $ 8.00 and was solid food truck burger no complaints. The older asian man serving was very nice as well

if you’re looking for an environment where you could probably start crying and not have to worry too much about the reaction from those around you then i HIGHLY recommend it.
a haiku about vesta lunch
public displays of
tears and breakfast consumption.
typical thursday

All I wanted was a poutine, and it was really, really sad. I don’t expect much from a greasy spoon, but decent fries at least! Better to go up the street to the Annex Grill.

I live only 5 minutes walking to get here, but never really get a chance to try it.
Then yesterday they opened a one of the stand on the busker fest at yonge-​dundas. I thought that why don’t give it a try, i bought their pork souvlaki dinner for $ 9. I thought that they would give me a generous portion with roasted potatoes, etc (like most of the souvlaki has) but all i got was a rice, little amount of pork and lettuce.
I think it’s ok if the taste was good, but it was really bland!
I was totally devastated and it wasn’t worth at all!
No doubt there wasn’t many people buy from them. There’s a lot of different greek restaurant that offers better souvlaki than them.

@vestalunchto Food Truck | Bulgogi Wrap with Fries || Unfortunately, a gimmicky wrap with muted Korean flavours and diluted sauce. The sauce wasn’t thick enough and dripped everywhere! They should stick with diner basics and not promote Korean fusion. ||| This food truck was parked at Bloor & Bedford, right beside the Telus Centre for Performance and Learning. It originated from the owners of Vesta Lunch Diner at Dupont and Bathurst. #VestaLunchTO #VestaLunch #foodtruck #fries #bulgogiwrap #bulgogi #lettuce #redonions #carrots #foodie #urbanfoodie #TOEats #TOFood #Toronto #torontoeats #yyzeats #lunch #Korean #KoreanFusion #KoreanNotReally

Went there for weekend lunch. Worst hamburger ever, and one of the old cooks had a really bad Oder. To many better places in T.O. to ever go back.

I’ve been going here for years for their all-​day breakfast and it’s not fancy but they serve an honest bacon and eggs. I was working in the neighborhood this past weekend and with few options in the area on a Sunday afternoon, I popped in. Not in the mood for breakfast that day, I went for the fish and chips. What a mistake! I don’t remember the last time I ordered fish and chips in this city and got served a piece of frozen fish. I don’t go to «fish and chip» places a lot and I don’t know if pub fish and chips are typically frozen or not but this place doesn’t even try to pretend. It’s a straight up rectangular frozen fish patty. And it must have been really frozen because when I cut into it, it was still firm and cold in the middle. The fries were gross and left a brown oil stain on the edge of my plate. I don’t know if the fish and chips were different when the original guy ran it but it seems like the man and woman running it now don’t really care. I write this as I sit on my toilet with food poisoning for the second night in a row thanks to Vesta Lunch.

The Good:
1. Cool looking place it reminds me of a old school dinner out of the states.
2. Great Asian Chef working mostly in the nights who takes pride in his work
3. Friendly people and atmosphere
The Bad:
1. Out dated paying methods; you pay either cash or use their ATM to withdrawal.
2. Not the cleanest place I been too, i noticed it has a weird odour as your sitting waiting for your food.
3. Not the cleanest bathrooms
4. There is a older white male as a chef in there who is in his 50’s and does NOT look clean at all. Numerous times I’ve been there and seen him deal with meat, fish, eggs and touch other foods which leads to cross contamination and which is unacceptable. Im surprised that he still even works here for that long after all the complaints I heard from customers and employees.
The Truth
Its just a place to swing by and get some fast food and pray that you don’t get sick. Its also a nice drunk spot after a night out and you need some type of food in your system. Not a place i recommend on a first date!

I feel like we all know the sign. We’ve past it hundreds of times and up until the other day I never even thought about stepping inside to see what type of food they serve. I ended up going in because I was waiting for a store in the area to open at 12.
It’s a greasy spoon in every sense of the word. You don’t come here for a gourmet dining experience or even a night out with friends. It’s only limited counter seating and everything is made before your eyes. The menu has a fair selection of greasy spoon favourites; you know, sandwiches, breakfasts, souvlaki, etc. and everything is done well. I had a sandwich was toasted to a perfect golden brown. I will admit the accompanying fries had a bit of a strange taste but they were still easily finished. I believe my meal was supposed to come with coleslaw which was replaced by a tomato slice, but I really wasn’t looking forward to the coleslaw anyway.
Service is prompt and despite sitting at the counter, they are fantastic about not hovering over you. Price point is reasonable. It’s ideal comfort food served in a relaxed setting. I will be returning to this location in the future.

This place is frozen in time. Even though I’ve never lived within walking distance, I’ve been here more times than I’d like to admit, at all hours of the night, generally involving a request to the cabbie for a drop off half way home. And they don’t judge, they’re just there to serve you food is hearty, quick and cheap.

Wow, here is a place I haven’t thought of or been to in years. Unless it has changed, my memories are of a true, retro diner – that isn’t actually trying to be retro.
I ate here twice. The food is basic of course. And inexpensive. There are always characters and the like having a meal here. It is a real greasy spoon.
I can’t really complain… no, I can. I remember why I didn’t eat here again. I got sick. But that was a long time ago. I’d go back. I now live pretty far away and have similar places along the Danforth.
Sit at the counter for the real experience! Recommended if you are in the area or working on some check list of «Toronto greasy spoons to try».

REPUTABLE SINCE 1955. Reading their ridiculous sign, I’m overjoyed with this place before I even walk in. What I walk into suits me just fine – the long bar that extends in front of me makes up the entirety of the dining space, and wafting in the air is the faint smell of my grandparent’s kitchen (cooking grease and formica – mmmm).
Two orders of eggs, bacon, potatoes toast and coffee plus a chocolate shake to share are ordered.
The breakfast potatoes were AMAZING.
The scrambled eggs were 30% butter, which, as it turns out, is amazing. If this frightens you, have your eggs fried. My DP’s were fried to perfection.
Bacon was acceptable.
Coffee was good, and refilled promptly.
Choc shake was I think made chocolate with syrup (don’t quote me on this), but it was served with one of those great tins that holds everything that won’t fit in the glass, which made up for it.
Service was perfect.
Everything was absolutely classic except the Sirracha sauce offered– and I’m fully willing to sacrifice theme for Sirracha.
This experience came in at $ 22. Get your tush onto one of these stools, man.

The poutine here is frozen fries, the worst skin-​coated gravy in the city, and a kraft single slapped on top. Do not go here. Not even if you are super tanked.

I really can’t help but laugh at the motto… «Reputable Since 1955». Notice it’s not saying it was established in 1955 — but seems to suggest some ‘irreputable’ in the early 50’s at least.
So it’s a 24-​hour greasy spoon that’s set up like a narrow bar. Really just a perfect place to get a cheap, filling, greasy breakfast. Alongside your usual eggs and meat offerings, there are burgers, pork chop dinner and liver and onions.
I like that it authentic — this place could easily be owned/​run/​patronized by hipsters — but it’s not.
Not the cleanest, best tasting or even cheapest place around. But the kind of place that makes me happy that it still exists.

I think this may be somewhere that needs a star rating for drunk and sober experiences because I’m sure I would have enjoyed it much more had I been too drunk to regret wasting calories on greasy food that doesn’t even taste that great.
The atmosphere has a really cool old diner feel. There is just one long counter with stools, behind which the chef prepares your meal. I was served by a nice older gentleman who made friendly conversation with us while we waited. It is definitely not fancy or even very nice but it has a great old fashioned vibe that I really liked.
My food wasn’t great. I had fish and chips and both were clearly right out of a package and fried. Also the fries were floppy and barely brown which is not my cup of tea. It was served with coleslaw and two little packets of tartar sauce. At 8 bucks I guess it is an ok deal. My boyfriend had the liver special. It was swimming in gravy but apparently satisfying.
So I think this is a great place to check out for historical value and the nice staff but I wouldn’t say that the food is anything to seek out. It also has virtually no vegetarian options which is a little disappointing but not surprising. You could probably get the BLT without the bacon but that’s basically it.

Its a small diner with very little room. Its open 24 hours, and if you’re are looking a place to eat where you can good value for your dollar, Vesta is a great place to go.
The food is very hardy and simple (better value than going to a harveys.)
However I would like to highlight something on their menu that is tops, its the ‘house fries’ they have. Its actually chopped potato mash, that are cooked on top of the flat grill, and its given a sprinkling of salt, pepper, sweet paprika (and will never find its way into the frier.) Wish other places did this.
Anyways, the food is simple, filling, and perfect for those people who are hungry after hitting the clubs/​bars, and they don’t over charge you.
Don’t expect anything gourmet, its a greasy spoon that serves comfort food for those who are hungry at 3am.

I live nearby and have wanted to try this place foreva-​eva, however it looks so grimey that I needed some good excuse to go in.
Welcome statutory holiday an 24 hour diner a few blocks from my crib.
Went there at the wee hours of the morning yesterday knowing only that I was starving and not ready to spend a lot on food.
Being a semi-​part-​time-​vegetarian there was not much option for me (predictable) however my friend got a deluxe burger (which comes with fries) and I upgraded it to greek style poutine and just ate that. We also got a chocolate milkshake which we devoured.
The food was okay-​pretty much what you would expect, but the service was great. They were very kind and being the middle of the night, it was pretty fast, as well.
Not bad for a 24 hour nearby greasy spoon.

This 5-​star rating is based solely upon how fantastic Vesta Lunch is for a hangover on a late Saturday afternoon following a staff party where too many alcoholic beverages were consumed the previous night.
With that clearly out of the way, one has to give Vesta kudos for both its longevity (est. 1955), the sheer volume of its eclectic menu, its price point and the hours of operation cannot be beat. With a waning 24 hour diner scene in the city, Vesta is a welcome sight at 3:30am or whatever other ungodly hour one deems fit to enjoy authentic Souvalaki and a milkshake.
With an all-​day breakfast and light speed service thrown into the mix, Vesta is worthy competition for even the greasiest of spoons.

This place is a godsend on the long trek home after a night of drinking. Let’s be clear, I would not go here if it weren’t on the way. But because it’s on the way home and open 24 hours a day, I find myself squeezed into the tiny place every couple of weeks.
The food itself is not great. It’s greasy diner food. I always order the liver and onions, and it’s always fine… crispy fries, great dairy-​free out-​of-​the-​box gravy. The fact of the matter is, I’m usually so drunk by the time I get there that anything I eat tastes delicious. The husband always gets a BLT, which he seems pretty satisfied by every time.
The service is friendly, jokey and great. I honestly don’t know how people manage to be nice to drunks, but I guess we’re their bread and butter.
It’s a great place for post-​boozedown eats, people watching and overhearing dumb college students’ drunken ramblings about life.

I want to hate Vesta Lunch given the quality of their greasy food, but its so cheap and its close proximity to where I live keeps me coming back. Mind you I don’t think I have ever been to this place earlier than 3:00am and I have definitely never been when sober.
It’s down the road from me so if I am walking past on my way home from a night out then it seems like a good idea, but it usually isn’t. I tend to order things like sloppy burgers with homefries and it always tastes like the most amazing food given my state, but in reality I know it’s probably not. The homefries tend to be undercooked and this concerns me when it comes to eating anything meat-​based. But at least it’s cheap and all the drunks sitting along the tiny counter are likely thinking the same thing.
The place is absolutely tiny. You walk in and hope it’s not crowded because I can’t imagine what it would be like when things are standing room only. I imagine you would have to wait outside for your order. I recommend getting take-​out because you really don’t want to spend more time in here than you have to. Plus the food will likely look less appetizing under bright lights. There’s been some instances where I have been waiting for food and I have to entertain drunken knuckleheads, but if you’re cool with the staff/​cooks then they will have your back in a second if things get out of line.