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Johnny G's
Category: Restaurants Diners Diners [Edit]
478 Parliament StToronto, ON M4X 1P2
Neighbourhood: Cabbagetown
(416) 928-1358
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 9 am - 9 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Breakfast
- Alcohol:
- No
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
14 reviews for Johnny G's
14 reviews in English
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Review from Gabi C.
7/17/2011
Johnny G's offers a great all-day breakfast deal--you get tea/coffee, juice, eggs, toast, hash browns, and sausages for under $10. It's good diner food but nothing super special (maybe just the good price). My friend had the alexander burger (beef patty, your regular toppings and a thick slab of cream cheese) and it was AMAZING!
We went for an early dinner at around 4pm on a weekday so it wasn't busy at all. Service was great. The environment is super laid back.
Makes me wish I was back in Toronto just kicking with a breakfast plate and the crosswords! -
Review from David M.
Toronto, ON
8/23/2011 2 photos
I joined my two regular diner-mates and a surprise first-timer here this a.m., and on a beautiful day with the huge "garage door" windows open, it's a great space with the morning sun washing in. It looks hip and trendy from the outside, but don't worry, it's just a greasy spoon. ;-)
My breakfast special was A-OK, but with nothing exceptional. (Typical diner coffee, boring "Wonder" brown toast, and cubed and deep fried - but home made, methinks - home fries...see Connie T's photo). 2 of my friends had the Corned Beef Hash which they pronounced, "meh". Our lovely newcomer had one of the breakfast specials which was very good. I forget what it was called.
Sooo, the space is great on a nice day, the service is friendly, attentive and quick, and the food is average. Good value for a typical diner meal.Listed in: Breakfast places, Diners, Greasy Spoons and…
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Review from Evelyn W.
7/4/2011
Diner breakfast at it's best!
$6.50 gets you coffee, juice, 3 eggs, hashbrowns, toast and your choice of breakfast meat. SAY WHAT?! That doesn't exist anywhere else in Toronto in the same authentic diner way.
Growing up in Halifax I'm used to the mish-mash of breakfast joints lining Quinpool Road and this one would rival them all.
BONUS: None of their mugs match, and mine had a wannabe care bear on it with the slogan "I follow happenings". Perf. -
Review from Jack W.
Toronto, ON
5/12/2011
Best of the Diner Squad.
I love it here. Sure, it's not like eating at an el fancy joint for High Tea, but that's not what I want in a diner. The family running Johnny G's is so great, I just want to eat here every day just to see them and how they interact with all their customers. I see business folk, kids, families, weirdoes like me, and just about any combination of people here and everyone is welcome.
English Breakfast with beans makes my day, and oatmeal as a more slimming selection is fantastic. The prices are right, the glasses of water are huge, and if you forget to ask for your orange juice, you get reminded. =D Love it. -
Review from Danielle F.
Toronto, ON
11/30/2010
Johnny G's is the place to be's!
Expect them to be busy for breakfast time. Expect free coffee or tea AND juice with the entire brunch menu. Expect your mug to be like no one else's. Expect them to take care of you.
I've had samplings of various breakfast combos but a standout for me was the homemade burger. I'm not used to being asked how I want mine done! So Canadian. It's a juicy burger with perfect portions of all the standard burger topping. I've never been able to finish more than half of it and if you get there during brunch hours, you will still get the harshbrowns, coffee or tea and juice despite it not being a breakfast-y dish.
They do have slipups sometimes but it is such a charming place that whatever happens is always forgiven. You can just tell that they are honestly trying and sometimes only one server is working so come what may. Expect to leave full and expect a good time!Listed in: The Town of Cabbage
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Review from Jay C.
12/8/2010
Standard breakfast.
Awesome woman who gave the homeless free coffee.
Overall, great laid-back place to eat breakfast and lunch. -
Review from Chris E.
Toronto, ON
10/21/2009
By 4 stars, I mean that Johnny G's is great as a greasy spoon. It's by no means a fine restaurant. But if you're looking for a cheap breakfast with good quality ingredients, this is a great place. Helen, the waitress (for the past 3 years anyway) is an absolute DEAR. She's Greek, as is the ower, and really cares about your experience. If you don't like something, tell her, and she'll make sure you're either not charged, or given something else. This is a place where "regulars" convene. The little old lady and her husband in the corner...always there. I think they must have a room somewhere!
Best burgers? I'm not qualified. GREAT burgers? Yes.
Brunch is the biz. All day, every day. Soups are quite good, if often too salty.
If you want to immerse yourself in a bit of the city, no pretensions, try this place out. Young, old, gay, straight...this is a city crowd, in a city restaurant.Listed in: Restaurants
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Review from Angela L.
5/20/2009
When I go to Johnny G's, I expect and get nothing other than genuinely friendly service and decent food for a very good price.
Breakfast is their unofficial specialty. I ordered my usual eggs florentine today. The $8.50 meal came complete with a tiny glass of questionably watery orange juice (which I obligingly gulped down) as well as a very tall mug of tea (or coffee, if you'd rather). The hollandaise is by no means the best in the city, but the eggs are most expertly poached to your specification of soft, medium, or hard, which in my experience, hardly any other restaurants bother to ask.
The laid back atmosphere, dated murals (the sign above the painted cafe says SMOKING), open air prime pedestrian watching window seat, and the good old fashioned menu makes me happy. I'll probably never try the hot liver with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies ($8.50), but it for some reason makes me smile to see on the menu.
My brunch date, on the other hand, had a very different experience and would be giving a very different account were he a yelper. It was his first (and very likely last) visit to Johnny G's. He ordered the French dip ($8.95 including a side of fries) and simply refused to touch it. Seriously. He took an apparently unsavoury bite and then poked at a few fries before declaring the whole thing inedible. After our poor server stopped by to inquire if everything was okay, he decided to ask for a take out box to be nice, but ended up tossing it right away.
So there you have it: Johnny G's is not for everyone, but I reckon you'd be more than pleasantly surprised though, if you go with a friend who is more open-minded (and doesn't have incredibly high expectations from the $10 he has in his pocket) and just stick to the breakfast options. -
Review from Connie T.
Toronto, ON
10/31/2008 1 photo
Like every place that owns a diner, Johnny G's claims they have the best burgers in Toronto (a cursory look at my neighbour's plate did make me pant a little bit). However, the main reason to go to Johnny G's is to chomp on their cheap, no-frills breakfast plates, which run you in the $6 range for three eggs, meat, potatoes, and toast, and not much more for their "fancier" fare (but let's not get ridiculous here; no capers or caramelized onions in sight).
It's down-home comfort food, with no frills on the service or the presentation (coffee and drinks are served in whatever cups they have available, chips and all). And the flies buzzing around our heads were a slight annoyance, but all of this is, in essence, its appeal. If you want pretension, go to the other hipster brunch marts -- Saving Grace, Aunties + Uncles, which are great in themselves. Otherwise, for your regular mom and pop fix in the Cabbagetown 'hood, Johnny G's does a fine job.Listed in: Morning eats
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Review from Isabel R.
Toronto, ON
7/24/2010 1 Check-in Here
I love a greasy diner! And I found one! This place has a great family owned and operated vibe....I'm not actually sure if that's accurate, but I'm gonna go with that anyway. The staff is lovely and attentive, and there's no shortage of coffee refills.
The quantities are large...do not expect to easily finish a breakfast. They run in the 6.50 to 10 dollar range...which isn't the cheapest, but the quantity makes up for it for sure.
I had a the big breakfast, and my only complaint was in the quality of the bacon...could have been a little higher and less fatty. The sausages looked delish though...will be trying those next time instead. My companion had the eggs benny, and was loving it.
I feel like I might become a regular. -
Review from elise s.
Toronto, ON
8/7/2010
I went to Johnny's this morning.
You can tell this is a family owned business, grandma, mum, dad, daughter and son I'm pretty sure. They have nice touches like mints and toothpicks and my coffee was served in an old mug which read "my mum's the best" which was so touching.
The atmosphere is very relaxed, there's a nice breeze from the open windows and strong fans going at the top. Service is quick - I got my breakfast in about 4 minutes after ordering with table service.
food....The coffee was soooo good. I'm a coffee lover, very much so this was a surprise to me. I've had a few eggs benny in my time so I'm spoiled. The eggs were perfectly cooked. The english muffins were below average, so was the hollandaise, and the home fries. It made me feel a bit sick but I hardly have an iron stomach. I didn't see anything wrong with the orange juice, it was just cheap.
I have this friend, he eats in food courts in malls, he never complains about food and he would eat things I would otherwise turn my nose up at. But that's him and I've eaten some very good food in my time so that's an important factor here.
If basically get what you pay for here, the food is so cheap, and the service is great, and the atmosphere is nice. I haven't tried the burgers yet but they could be fantastic. The poutine the lady was having next to me looked a bit sad.
The thing is, yelpers are critical that's why they are here. If you like nice food, the eggs benny is not for you. If you are fussy about service and atmosphere, then it is. Its a great place to feel like you've gone home to mums house for breakfast or just to have a coffee or a cold drink. -
Review from Alejandro A.
Toronto, ON
12/16/2008
Johnny G's is one of the best breakfast spots in the city. Often packed during weekend breakfast hours (ie all day), you probably won't find better quality for the cheap price.
For about $7 after tax and tip, you get a full breakfast, plus coffee and a small orange juice. The woman who seems to always be there is one of the friendliest breakfast people in the city. Very momish in all the best ways.
Service here is great, and the food always comes quickly. The place has a very homey feel, with things like their huge variety of coffee mugs (almost every single one is different) making for fun conversation.
It's also worth noting that they have a sign on the window that states 'Best Burgers in the City,' but I've never tried 'em. I just can't turn down the breakfast. -
Review from Philip K.
Toronto, ON
7/18/2010
Open ambience, homely service, splendid breakfast and reasonable rates. There's nothing not to like about the place. Try their Egg Benedict.
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Review from Li C.
Toronto, ON
9/22/2010
the bf and i went here for dinner tonight. he ordered the philly steak and cheese sand which i'm pretty sure was just made from the steak-umms frozen meat that you can buy in the frozen foods section of any supermarket--no kidding, steak-umms--nothing special here for sure. i ordered the double pork chops which, in fact, were quite flavorful and tasty but, at the same time, were about 1/2 the size of what i expected for the price of CAD 9.95. my dinner came with (instant) mashed potatoes and a less-than-generous serving of previously frozen carrots, peas, and corn. pretty disappointing overall. we both drank tap water with our meals so the total check came to CAD 18.20. we gave the waitress a $20 and left never to return. sorry johnny g's.
