Restaurant in Toronto, Canada
Pastrami, aged beef, and Gibson Martinis done right.
David Schwartz's 80-seat deli steakhouse on Ossington Avenue is one of Toronto's more considered openings: house-smoked pastrami, aged beef in an overfired broiler, caviar service, and a menu grounded in Ashkenazi cuisine. Book if you want a full-format dinner with genuine kitchen ambition. Easy to book compared to most Toronto restaurants at this quality level.
Eighty seats is a meaningful number for a restaurant concept that could easily have coasted on nostalgia. At Linny's on Ossington, David Schwartz (the operator behind Sunnys, Mimi, and Mimi Miami) has built something with more structural ambition than a deli revival: a dramatic dining room where Gibson Martinis, caviar service with smoked white fish and crispy chicken skin, aged beef, and hand-sliced house-smoked pastrami all share a menu grounded in well-researched Ashkenazi tradition. The result is a Toronto deli steakhouse that earns the hybrid descriptor rather than just wearing it.
The room matters here. The visual experience at Linny's is the first signal of intent: this is not a counter-service throwback or a casual sandwich spot dressed up for dinner. It is a proper dining room built for the full arc of an evening, from aperitif to dessert, with hard bop jazz setting the tempo. For a food enthusiast looking for context and depth rather than novelty for its own sake, that framing is worth noting before you book.
The menu's strongest throughline is its commitment to house-made and house-cured product. The hand-sliced house-smoked pastrami is the clearest expression of what Linny's is doing: a labour-intensive preparation that puts the kitchen's technique on display in a single dish. Chicken liver toast and challah are the kind of dishes that reward a slower pace through the menu rather than a rushed order. The aged beef, grilled in an overfired broiler, is the steakhouse anchor that justifies the dining room scale.
From a seasonal perspective, the Ontario chops are the item most likely to reflect what the kitchen is doing with local supply at a given time of year. If you are visiting in spring or early autumn, when Ontario's lamb and pork programmes are at peak quality, that section of the menu is worth prioritising. The caviar service, by contrast, is a year-round proposition: it reads as a deliberate positioning statement rather than a seasonal feature, and it works as a standalone way to open a meal at the bar or at the counter before moving to a main course.
Linny's sits on Ossington Avenue, one of Toronto's most active restaurant corridors. The 80-seat capacity means the room can absorb walk-ins more readily than many comparable Toronto destinations, and booking difficulty is rated easy. That said, weekend evenings in a room of this size and profile will fill; if you want a specific table or time, booking a few days ahead is sensible rather than strictly necessary.
No dress code is listed in available data, but the room's scale and the Gibson Martini-and-caviar framing suggest smart casual is the right register. This is not a jeans-and-t-shirt room, but it is also not a jacket-required one.
Book Linny's if you want a full-format dinner that moves through cocktails, bar snacks (the caviar service with smoked white fish and crispy chicken skin is the obvious candidate), and a main-course anchor in a room built for the experience. It is a stronger choice for a two-hour-plus dinner than for a quick meal. For solo diners or pairs who want the full menu without committing to a larger table, the bar is worth considering as an alternative to the main room.
For broader Toronto dining context, see our full Toronto restaurants guide, Toronto hotels guide, Toronto bars guide, Toronto wineries guide, and Toronto experiences guide. For other Canadian destinations with similarly focused kitchen programmes, Tanière³ in Quebec City, AnnaLena in Vancouver, and Jérôme Ferrer - Europea in Montreal are worth comparing. Closer to Toronto, Restaurant Pearl Morissette in Lincoln and The Pine in Creemore serve different profiles but reward the same kind of attentive diner. Internationally, if the steakhouse-plus-caviar format appeals, Le Bernardin in New York City and Atomix in New York City show what adjacent ambition looks like at a different price tier.
| Detail | Linny's | Alo | DaNico |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cuisine | Deli steakhouse / Ashkenazi | Contemporary | Italian |
| Capacity | 80 seats | Small (tasting menu format) | Not listed |
| Booking difficulty | Easy | Hard | Moderate |
| Format | À la carte, full evening | Tasting menu | À la carte |
| Neighbourhood | Ossington Ave | Dundas West | Not listed |
Come expecting a full-format dinner rather than a deli lunch. The room is dramatic and the menu is built for the arc of an evening: start with the caviar service or a Gibson Martini, work through the challah and chicken liver toast, and anchor on the pastrami or aged beef. David Schwartz's track record with Sunnys and Mimi gives this kitchen credibility beyond the concept's novelty. On Ossington, it sits in Toronto's most active restaurant stretch, so the neighbourhood rewards a longer evening out.
Bar seating in an 80-seat room of this format is almost always available, and the caviar service with smoked white fish and crispy chicken skin is exactly the kind of item designed to work at the bar rather than requiring a full table. If you are coming solo or as a pair and want a shorter, more flexible visit, the bar is the sensible call. No confirmed bar-seating policy is available in current data, so it is worth confirming when you book.
No dress code is listed, but the room's scale, the Gibson Martini-and-caviar positioning, and the hard bop jazz backdrop all point toward smart casual. Think of it the same way you would dress for a serious Toronto restaurant on Ossington: put-together, but not formal. A jacket is not required; trainers and athleisure would feel out of register.
The menu is anchored in meat and cured fish, with aged beef, pastrami, smoked white fish, and chicken liver as the headline items. This is not a menu that naturally accommodates vegetarian or vegan diets. If dietary restrictions are a factor, contact the restaurant directly before booking. No phone or website data is currently available via Pearl; check Google or OpenTable for current contact details.
The hand-sliced house-smoked pastrami is the kitchen's clearest technical statement and the most-cited reason to book. The caviar service (with smoked white fish and crispy chicken skin) is the leading way to open the meal. Challah and chicken liver toast are strong supporting items. For the main course, the aged beef grilled in an overfired broiler is the steakhouse anchor. If Ontario chops are on the menu during your visit, they are worth considering as the item most likely to reflect current local supply quality.
Booking difficulty is rated easy, and at 80 seats the room has meaningful capacity. A few days' notice should be sufficient for most nights; weekend evenings may need a week's lead time if you have a preferred time slot. This is considerably easier to book than Alo or Sushi Masaki Saito, both of which require significantly longer lead times. Walk-ins are plausible on quieter weeknights.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| LINNY’S | — | |
| Alo | $$$$ | — |
| Sushi Masaki Saito | $$$$ | — |
| Aburi Hana | $$$$ | — |
| Don Alfonso 1890 | $$$$ | — |
| Edulis | $$$$ | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Dietary accommodations can vary. Flag restrictions in advance via the venue's official channels.
Linny's is David Schwartz's Toronto take on the classic Jewish American steakhouse — 80 seats on Ossington, with a menu anchored in Ashkenazi cuisine: challah, chicken liver toast, hand-sliced house-smoked pastrami, and aged beef from an overfired broiler. Come expecting a full-format dinner with cocktails and bar snacks built into the rhythm of the meal. The room is dramatic enough that the experience rewards leaning into it rather than rushing through.
The 80-seat room and the emphasis on Gibson Martinis and caviar service suggest bar seating is part of the intended experience, not an afterthought. The caviar service with smoked white fish and crispy chicken skin works well as a bar-snack format, making a counter seat a reasonable entry point if you want to keep the spend tighter than a full dinner.
Linny's is described as a dramatic dining room with hard bop jazz and caviar service, which signals a step above casual without requiring formal dress. Think the kind of outfit you'd wear to a New York-style steakhouse: put-together but not stiff. Ossington Avenue runs young and relaxed, but the room's ambition earns a little effort.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
