Great little place on the corner. Food is delish..service great. Recommend
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dylan Reid
Food is really good, interesting flavours. Beautiful patio shaded by grape vines.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Davor Matovic
Super atmosphere live music grat food
Food: 5
Service: 5
Marcel Suhady
Just came back from Macedonia and the food here satisfied my craving for Macedonian food. The owner is very nice and I am looking forward to be back here soon!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Darko
I gotta say, California Restaurant & Bar is the best spot in Toronto for genuine Balkan cuisine. I tried their Ćevapi (which I personally refer to as Kebapi) and they were truly authentic and tasted just like you'd find back in the motherland. If you're craving real nostalgic flavors, this place delivers. The quality of the ingredients and spices were excellent and the portions were generous. Definitely recommended for the overall value, calm atmosphere and professional service. Check them out! (Oh, and get some fresh bread and kajmak while your at it, trust me!)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dalibor Covic
If you’re craving authentic Serbian cuisine, this restaurant is a must-visit! The meat perfectly grilled, juicy, and full of flavor. From ćevapi to pljeskavica, everything tastes just like back home.
The service is always great with a warm and welcoming atmosphere that makes you feel like part of the family. The staff goes above and beyond to ensure you have a great experience. And if you’re lucky enough to visit on the weekend, the live music adds an extra layer of charm and makes the evening even more enjoyable.
Highly recommend this spot for anyone wanting to enjoy delicious Serbian food and a lively, friendly ambiance!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Robert Novakovic
Delicious food. We had the cevapi, gurmanska plesjavica, and ajvar and everything was delicious. Will definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ethan
Decided to stop here after searching for Balkan food in Toronto. The Cevapi here tastes just like it does in the Balkans, it was worth the 1 hour walk from my hotel. The restaurant was not busy when I went and I got to chat with one of the employees for a couple minutes. Definitely recommend stopping by this restaurant if you're looking for Balkan food in the Toronto area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
George Tedeshvili
The California Restaurant & Bar is one of my absolute favourite spots in East York—a place that truly feels like home. The warm atmosphere, friendly staff, and positive energy make every visit a great experience. Their dishes are delicious, offering an authentic taste of Eastern European cuisine. If I could, I’d give this restaurant more than five stars! I highly recommend it to anyone in GTA. A must-visit!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
James Douglas
Hidden gem with nice atmosphere and great service. Food was very tasty, homemade and fresh with tons of flavour. Amazing homemade bread and fried calamari was awesome! Entrees (Schnitzel & GURMANSKA PLESKAVICA) were also very yummy. Highly recommended and great value.
Great place, great food, great staff. Recommend the Goulash.
Name is a bit deceiving but it's Balkan cuisine and it's worth it.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
White Buffalo
After many months of searching for a new (to me) Balkan-style restaurant to try, I finally made the trek to California Restaurant & Bar, excited to give their various ethnic dishes a try. I don't know if we caught them on an off day- it was dead when we went-, but sadly, the Karadjordjeva schnitzel we were served was very near inedible. The cut of meat used was extremely lean and overcooked + under-seasoned, and further, extremely thick- much thicker than is required for the dish. Frankly, the piece of meat used was downright repulsive. Further, the stuffing inside is a far-cry from what the dish authentically calls for, which is kajmak, though I see they see on the menu they state it's a cream cheese interior, which this was- but it's just not authentic, and makes a big difference. Our shopska salad, which is hard to mess up, seemed to have zero seasoning beyond the low-quality feta scantly sprinkled atop it, with tomatoes which we seriously questioned the freshness of. And speaking of freshness, the complimentary bread served to us was extremely stale. I'm giving two stars and not one, because the cevapi and gurmanska pleskavica we ordered were considerably better than that poor excuse of a Karadjordjeva, but not good enough to salvage the score anymore. Even for those two dishes, there are other Balkan restaurants in the city I much prefer. On the plus, our server was very warm and attentive. Hoping we just hit it up on the wrong day, want to give benefit of the doubt.
Jaysen Francis
Great burger 🍔
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Martin Buckle
The patio space is great, sitting under vines, slightly shaded, watching the world go by. Wonderful owners and staff. Limited beers on tap but well maintained and clean.
Great little place on the corner. Food is delish..service great. Recommend
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food is really good, interesting flavours. Beautiful patio shaded by grape vines.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Super atmosphere live music grat food
Food: 5
Service: 5
Just came back from Macedonia and the food here satisfied my craving for Macedonian food. The owner is very nice and I am looking forward to be back here soon!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I gotta say, California Restaurant & Bar is the best spot in Toronto for genuine Balkan cuisine. I tried their Ćevapi (which I personally refer to as Kebapi) and they were truly authentic and tasted just like you'd find back in the motherland.
If you're craving real nostalgic flavors, this place delivers. The quality of the ingredients and spices were excellent and the portions were generous. Definitely recommended for the overall value, calm atmosphere and professional service. Check them out! (Oh, and get some fresh bread and kajmak while your at it, trust me!)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
If you’re craving authentic Serbian cuisine, this restaurant is a must-visit! The meat perfectly grilled, juicy, and full of flavor. From ćevapi to pljeskavica, everything tastes just like back home.
The service is always great
with a warm and welcoming atmosphere that makes you feel like part of the family. The staff goes above and beyond to ensure you have a great experience. And if you’re lucky enough to visit on the weekend, the live music adds an extra layer of charm and makes the evening even more enjoyable.
Highly recommend this spot for anyone wanting to enjoy delicious Serbian food and a lively, friendly ambiance!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious food. We had the cevapi, gurmanska plesjavica, and ajvar and everything was delicious. Will definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Decided to stop here after searching for Balkan food in Toronto. The Cevapi here tastes just like it does in the Balkans, it was worth the 1 hour walk from my hotel. The restaurant was not busy when I went and I got to chat with one of the employees for a couple minutes. Definitely recommend stopping by this restaurant if you're looking for Balkan food in the Toronto area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The California Restaurant & Bar is one of my absolute favourite spots in East York—a place that truly feels like home. The warm atmosphere, friendly staff, and positive energy make every visit a great experience. Their dishes are delicious, offering an authentic taste of Eastern European cuisine. If I could, I’d give this restaurant more than five stars! I highly recommend it to anyone in GTA. A must-visit!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hidden gem with nice atmosphere and great service. Food was very tasty, homemade and fresh with tons of flavour. Amazing homemade bread and fried calamari was awesome! Entrees (Schnitzel & GURMANSKA PLESKAVICA) were also very yummy. Highly recommended and great value.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Homemade Bread, Pork Schnitzel, Pleskavica, Fried Calamari
Restaurantji Recommends
Great place, great food, great staff. Recommend the Goulash.
Name is a bit deceiving but it's Balkan cuisine and it's worth it.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
After many months of searching for a new (to me) Balkan-style restaurant to try, I finally made the trek to California Restaurant & Bar, excited to give their various ethnic dishes a try. I don't know if we caught them on an off day- it was dead when we went-, but sadly, the Karadjordjeva schnitzel we were served was very near inedible. The cut of meat used was extremely lean and overcooked + under-seasoned, and further, extremely thick- much thicker than is required for the dish. Frankly, the piece of meat used was downright repulsive. Further, the stuffing inside is a far-cry from what the dish authentically calls for, which is kajmak, though I see they see on the menu they state it's a cream cheese interior, which this was- but it's just not authentic, and makes a big difference. Our shopska salad, which is hard to mess up, seemed to have zero seasoning beyond the low-quality feta scantly sprinkled atop it, with tomatoes which we seriously questioned the freshness of. And speaking of freshness, the complimentary bread served to us was extremely stale. I'm giving two stars and not one, because the cevapi and gurmanska pleskavica we ordered were considerably better than that poor excuse of a Karadjordjeva, but not good enough to salvage the score anymore. Even for those two dishes, there are other Balkan restaurants in the city I much prefer. On the plus, our server was very warm and attentive. Hoping we just hit it up on the wrong day, want to give benefit of the doubt.
Great burger 🍔
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The patio space is great, sitting under vines, slightly shaded, watching the world go by. Wonderful owners and staff. Limited beers on tap but well maintained and clean.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Vienna Schnitzel, Fried Calamari, Shopska Salad
Grew up in Skopje and it was so nice to have a taste of home :) Service was great, drinks were tasty and food was delicious.
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