The story
Alma is the home-away-from-home that chef and owner Anna Chen has created on Bloor Street West in Toronto. It’s a place where she cooks, nourishes, and shares her experience of food — drawing on her Hakka-Chinese upbringing in India and a deep love for making fresh pasta, noodles, bread, and cheese.
The restaurant describes itself as a place where you come when you just want someone else to cook for you. Whether that means catching up with friends over a glass of wine and a small dish, celebrating a special occasion by ordering everything, or dropping in weekly for something familiar and comforting — like the staple pork wonton and noodles — Alma aims to be a regular part of your life. The menu changes frequently and seasonally, so the classics remain alongside new dishes that keep things fresh and surprising.
Alma’s cooking earned it a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2024, a recognition that highlights good quality, good value cooking in a welcoming setting. The Asian cuisine here is personal and direct — think scallion bao with stracciatella cheese, chili chicken wings, and larger plates like grilled skirt steak with beef fat potato and sauce bordelaise, or char siu pork steak with turnips and caramelized rice wine kasu. The wine list is thoughtful and interesting, with bottles from Germany, France, Italy, and beyond.
Chef Chen sums it up simply: “This is my home away from home and I hope you’ll feel that way too.”
Recognition
Ambience
Details
Location
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