Great ambience, wonderful food and great staff. Looking for an old style diner? Here it is!

August 18/2015: A solo breakfast. Tiny little diner. Less than 50 seats for customers with an old style 50' theme. I ordered the Eggs Benedict ($17.25). Small serving but not bad taste wise. My server was very nice but wouldn't allow me to take advantage of the breakfast specials because I was there at 11:10 & the specials expired at 11:00, which I kinda understood. I found that to be a rather chinchy move in my opinion. Nothing to write home for food. It didn't really offer anything special but it was good. Peameal bacon was nicely done. I doubt I'd go again, there's not enough of a uniqueness to warrant another visit. read more

See all

Great breakfast. Fast and good. The service was great. I will be back the next time I am in the area.

Nice little diner. Good proportions and the food was delicious. Staff is friendly and helpful! Enjoy coming back every time! Highly recommended! read more

Great spot to stop for breakfast especially if you're by the airport. The restaurant is super cute with its retro theme and the staff is very lovely and welcoming as well. I highly recommend for anyone wanting some breakfast. read more

Service was great. Excellent place for a simple breakfast by the airport. Small but tidy and clean. read more

Nice diner. We just arrived in Toronto exhausted and hungry. The waiter was fabulous. It was such a pleasure to be treated so well. Food was prepared exactly as we requested. read more

Good home cooking...always a joy to have Great service...love eating here...it is always a pleasure coming here... read more

Food service atmosphere waitress and owner ambiance location location location was very close to my home

me and my girlfriend went there for vacation from America, great American food, and the server heard we from America and will not let me tip him because he want we to have a good trip , good people read more

The Homemade Potato Pancakes were a delicious surprise. The pancakes turned out to be crispy, tasty and crunchy on the outside, and moist on the inside. The bacon was nice, and the cheddar cheese with sour cream was a great way to top it all off. Definitely will be back soon. read more

Route 401 Diner - Homemade Potato Pancakes - Diners Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

A tiny restaurant in an obscure location, but the food, decor, music and staff made the 30 minutes I had to sit in traffic because of an accident on Martin Grove Rd worth it. On a whim, I decided to stop here before heading to the office to get breakfast (the most important meal of the day). I got a breakfast sandwich (pea meal with 2 eggs, very hearty) and an iced coffee. The food is freshly prepared and while I waited, I perused the tchotchkes behind the counter and enjoyed the sounds of the 60s. Apparently I wasn't the only one digging the music; I heard someone behind me singing along to the Beach Boys', Help Me Rhonda. Service was excellent. read more

I was staying in one of the hotels close to the airport and was looking for a good Brunch place around the area, thanks to Yelp I found this place. Don't let the outside look fool you, inside the decor is super cool, giving me 60's vibes, cute menus with Elvis and Marilyn, cosy booth areas. The staff were super nice and friendly, top notch service that definitely exceeded my expectations. Their menu is surprisingly great, they had my favorite Benedicts, as well as, steak and eggs and many more delicious choices. Very affordable too, if you compare it to Montreal prices. Overall, I really enjoyed this brunch and would definitely visit again if I were in the area. read more

Route 401 Diner - a wall full of framed photographs - Diners Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

See all

Very nice little spot. We were staying close to the airport, wanted a good breakfast and found this little place. Clean, bright and the staff were very friendly. The food was very, very good; served fast and hot. Great find. read more

Route 401 Diner - Diners Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Throwback interior Great old style booths, Monroe/Dean/Presley theme The area is dismal, fortunately the service and food very good! Liked the 401 club and regular club sandos read more

See all

Visited for breakfast after seeing it from the highway. Was expecting a trucker type place, in a good way. It's actually a Euro style joint. Very clean, a little overpriced, server (manager ?) had a $60 haircut. Food is not greasy. To be honest, the name is deceiving. I wanted to hear blue collar dudes talking sports and chicks, big slabs of back bacon and Toronto Sun to read. Probably will return but I wanted more character from a place called 401 Diner. read more

service is ok, but the food is way overpriced, 30 dollars for a club sandwich, save your money go to subway read more

Route 401 Diner is located near Kipling and the 401 on the north service road also known as Ronson Dr. With a name like Route 401 it makes me think it's out of the city far away in some place like Port Hope or Gananoque but nope it's right smack dab in an industrial area on the north side of the 401 in Etobicoke just west of Kipling. The location is a bit of a thing because maybe you can see it from the highway but if you did you'd already be past it. The place has seating for maybe 40. The booths along the front don't seem big enough for 4 as much as they seem more suited for 2 (one on each side). The décor would have you believe that the place is from the 50's and has a very retro feel. There's what I can only gather is a mini Coca Cola museum behind the counter with photos that include Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe and such. So that being said there's definitely a theme going on here of the old 50's type diner. The menu has a decent but expected type of menu for breakfast. While my wife ended up going with French toast I went with the more traditional "Traditional Breakfast" which included 3 eggs, choice of bacon, ham or sausage along with home fries and toast. I ended up getting bacon with a side of sausage added on. Coffee is included before 11am. Basically the traditional breakfast is barely 9 bucks before I added sausage. The same went for the French toast without meat. The breakfast is a nice sit down staple of a place in a place I wouldn't expect there to be a restaurant. For me bacon and eggs never really gets old for a weekend breakfast and while the place had plenty of seating when we first arrived before 10 it started to get much busier afterwards. This place serves a good sit down hot breakfast and it's not too far and very reasonably priced as well. read more

See all

Great old school diner. The food is great and service is too. Wonderful 50's 60's decor!

We stayed near the airport and wanted to grab a quick breakfast. Not only is this just a few minutes from YYZ, but perfect spot to jump on the highway too. Cute interior with a ton of retro photos and decor. I got the house 2 egg breakfast with toast and homefries. This runs you around $6 bucks. Friendly waitress and host as well! I've had a hard time finding grilled potatoes for homefries in Canada, most i come across are the fried cubes but they were well seasoned. read more

Route 401 Diner - Diners Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Great food/service, very friendly. Remembered us from earlier in our trip (3 days ago).

Best food I had while in Toronto. Very clean and reasonably priced. They have gluten free bread but no non dairy milk. read more

Route 401 Diner - Comes with gluten free bread - Diners Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Great place for simple meal. Clean. Great to have meetings. Tucked away in a great spot.

Great ambiance. The food is what you'd expect. Good, wholesome diner food. Had a very nostalgic feel.

Was looking for a small, local place to have a traditional "nothing fancy" breakfast. This place was great! Small (_maybe_ fits 50?) and definitely locally-owned. Staff was prompt and friendly but not overly sappy or disingenuous. Most surprising was the fact I sat down, had coffee, ordered and had my food delivered in what had to be less than five minutes. Ridiculous fast. Had eggs, bacon and cubed potatoes. All was pretty good - but the potatoes were perfect-crisp and delicious. Atmosphere is 50's vibe and eclectic- but good. I would easily recommend this place. Normally wouldn't expect a chef to be in a place like this, but he was there today and the rest of the menu/specials would indicate they have a pretty good non-breakfast offering as well. read more

Was on my to try list. This place is very deceiving from the outside as it really looks like nothing special. Once inside, that is an entire different story. The place is an old school dinner which was spotless with lots of cool decorations. The owner Milan served us and was a fantastic guy. He bought the business about a year ago and absolutely cares what customers think. He was super friendly and took time for a good chat. I had the chicken club and my wife had the potato pancakes which they altered to her liken. We both really enjoyed the meal and will most definitely be back. Recommend a try. read more

See all

Normally I would go to Zet's for my near the airport food fix but they were closed so I decided to try Route 401. Solid traditional breakfast diner. Nothing crazy. You get what you expect read more

I was in the area for a meeting and somehow ended up down this road. I spotted Route 401 Diner, and I was instantly curious. It sounds like an American, trucker diner... and I had a suit on. I contemplated on going in, but since it was 11:30 and I hadn't eaten yet.... It was a simple choice. Disclaimer, I love diners. So I am always excited to spot them! Walking in... it wasn't really a trucker style diner...more like a neighbourly joint. Elements of a New York theme? Very cozy. Couple of retired guys hanging out having coffee. They had a sign for the specials (smoked salmon & spinach omelette) and overall, very classic! Thursday 11:30 - it was empty. I picked a booth by the window and got some coffee. I ordered a traditional breakfast (I asked for 2 eggs instead of three) with turkey sausages. The coffee was very good! And the meal hit the spot. The potion of home fries was much smaller than what you would expect, but I didn't mind it at all. I finished it all, and didn't feel like going to sleep right after. Thank you for not overflowing my plate with fries. The bill came out to about $8 with taxes. Not a bad deal at all! Considering a breakfast sandwich combo at Tims is close to $7. If you stumble down/up here... drop in for a bite. You won't be disappointed. read more

Found on Yelp when looking for a new breakfast place and decided to try this place. It didn't look like much from the outside and is surrounded by other industrial type places so is definitely a hidden gem. The inside is much nicer though with classic 50s style decor and all the classic food you'd expect. Staff were all very nice and very friendly, talking to the kids and complimenting their hair, etc. We all got our orders in fairly quickly since we already kind of knew what we wanted (breakfast). Drinks came quick, food not long after it and was a good size and quality. Nothing overly gourmet but very tasty! Pancakes were awesome...some vanilla in there or something that made them really yummy. Definitely a good place to check out and now I want to try lunch! read more

Solid diner with great service. Hope you like Elvis, Marilyn, and James Dean. Bathrooms downstairs can be tricky for elderly patrons. Diner was very clean, well lit. Conveniently located near the airport. read more

Very nice, clean old style diner with 50's decor. Free parking available. Not too busy on a weekday morning so service was fast and friendly. Coffee was decent. I had the Hungryman's Breakfast and was happy with the eggs, sausage, bacon, home fries, and (fluffy) pancakes. The cheese and mushroom omelette was also pretty good. Coffee is included on standard breakfasts on weekdays before 11am. read more

Route 401 Diner - Interior view, not showing booths along one wall. - Diners Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

See all

Service and food are both excellent, this is actually our second time here during our weekend stay in Toronto from SoCal. Will have to come back on our next trip! Hot Breakfast read more

Great find for a simple breakfast. Fresh, hot and great service. And, they get Gluten Free. The chef (he's more than a cook in my opinion) was cautious about transference. We could hear the discussion with the waitress who was extremely helpful. Good find for a good value breakfast read more

Great cozy place for breakfast with ample parking on site. The food is prepared fresh, quantities are "ok" at best. The food tastes good, the staff is not particularly rude, however could be a bit warm and welcoming. The owner/manager seems to have a bit of OCD but if quite sweet. read more

See all

This by far is the best diner I've ever visited! The ambience is like stepping back in time to the 50's. The staff is friendly and they make you feel like family. The food is absolutely amazing. Everything is homemade with fresh ingredients. I had the best burger of my life here. This is mine and my husband's new favourite restaurant. Even if you don't live close by, this place is well worth travelling to for a meal. read more

Quite simply the best dining experience I've had in the city of Toronto. An immersive and cozy retro themed atmosphere, complimented by warm, friendly, helpful staff and service that very much deserves the praise so many of us have already shared on here. This is very easily my favourite diner ever. The best. read more

Route 401 Diner is a pleasant surprise. I had contacted them via Yelp messaging to ask about gluten free options and received a quick and cordial response so we ventured in. The front lady and chef are both very caring about the customer food experience and we appreciate that each of our meals were individually prepared to order. Our server guided us honestly about the menus choices in order to accommodate our food allergies, so she made us feel at home comfortable in a very clean but nostalgic diner atmosphere. We enjoyed the CBLT on GF bread and enjoyed it so much that we had another. Also enjoyed the French toast made with GF bread and Club house on GF bread and an eggs Benedict on GF, loved that the egg yolks were orange and perfectly prepared. The side salads and fruit cups were all nicely presented with fresh and crisp ingredients, thank you for fresh cutting to order! So we've back a few times now and has consistently been delish! Conveniently located in the 401/409 triangle and ample parking. Looking forward to another visit soon. read more

A great find! Good food, reasonable prices, great atmosphere and the owner is delightful! read more

Route 401 Diner - You feel like you have stepped back in time - Diners Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Nice aesthetic, like a real trip back to the eighties. Has good coffee and good music to keep the vibe going.

Service was quick and my coffee kept getting refilled. Overall, a nice diner with memorabilia from the 50s and 60s. Parking can be limited during busy times but you can always park nearby on the curb. read more