If you haven’t downloaded Too Good To Go yet, consider this your sign. The European based app from Denmark connects customers to restaurants, grocery stores and bakeries to offload unsold food at the end of the day in order to reduce food waste and bring patrons some of the city’s best bites on a budget. Think of it as a last-minute goodie bag of quality goods at a fraction of the price. While you may not get to choose exactly what’s inside, the surprise is half the fun. The thrill of the haul hits just right when it feels like gaming the system. Users beware: the goodie bags often mimic snowflakes in that no two bags are alike, and the best ones sell out fast.
We did the work so you don’t have to. Here are the Toronto spots that pay off.
1. Oretta Caffe
This King West cafe is consistently offering up one of the most reliable savoury bags in the city — the perfect afternoon pick me up to brighten even the darkest work day. Previous hauls have included Italian sandwiches and baked goods like margherita calzones, truffle paninis, meat-filled pastries and loaded turkey sandwiches stacked high on a poppy seed bun with avocado, tomato, and aiolis. At $6.99 for a bag valued around $21, it’s one of the most consistent lunch upgrades on the app.
2. Courage Cookies
If you’re going to gamble, do it with butter. Courage Cookies is baking up thick, decadent cookies that are intentionally slightly less sweet than some of the overloaded cookie styles we’re seeing around the continent. With rotating daily favours, you never know what you’re going to see in your bag. Everything from matcha or s’mores, peanut butter and banana, classic snickerdoodle, or even the occasional rice crispy cookie thrown in the mix. Bonus: there are often gluten-free and vegan options. At $6.99 with near-perfect ratings, it’s one of the safest bets on the platform.
3. Nord Lyon
Nord Lyon is proof that budgeting can feel luxurious. The surprise bags can skew a little higher in price, usually between $7.99 and $9.03, but the payoff is very real. Indulgent desserts that feel like a first-class trip to France: eclairs, brioche donuts, pistachio croissant wheels, smoked salmon croissant sandwiches and more.
4. Golden Patty
This Kensington Market institution is consistently overstuffing their goodie bags. Golden Patty is known for its generous portions, often packing bags with multiple flaky, freshly baked Jamaican patties in flavours like beef, jerk chicken, curry shrimp, callaloo, and ackee and saltfish. At $6.99 for roughly $21 in value, this is one of the best quantity-to-price ratios in the city.
5. Forno Cultura
With the sheer amount of locations, Forno Cultura can be a hit no matter where you’re located. Whether your bag is stuffed with sandwiches, pastries, cookies, jarred items, breads, or focaccias, this third-generation operation focused on traditional techniques and organic flours is a reliable entity in this city with consistent quality across all locations. Now with Too Good to Go, at $6.99 for a $21 value, it’s one of the most balanced options between sweet and savoury.
6. Summerhill Market
For the meal preppers, the organic eaters, and those committed to nourishing their body — Summerhill Market’s surprise bags, produce bags, and more may just be the easiest way to dedicate yourself to your health in this city. This upscale neighbourhood grocer is known for their prepared foods. It’s less about treating yourself and more about fueling yourself, with actual meals made from scratch you may just get lucky and find your fridge filled with items like chicken pot pie, soups, salads and the occasional pantry staple.
7. Eataly
The one that started it all. The bag that inspired this story. Eataly’s Too Good To Go drops are among the most coveted in not just this city, but New York’s as well and for good reason. With multiple bag types ranging from bakery to prepared foods to mixed grocery, you might walk away with focaccia, pasta, sauces, sandwiches, produce or pastries. Prices typically land between $8 and $15, but the value regularly exceeds $24. The only catch? You have to be fast. These sell out almost instantly. Consider this the prize in the city’s best scavenger hunt.
8. Atelier Pasta
Normally, a choose-your-own-adventure in pasta form. On Too Good to Go — choose-someone-else’s-adventure. Atelier’s bags lean into the fun of their concept: fresh pasta tossed in anything and everything, a parmesan wheel, or rotating sauces like truffle, pesto, tomato, or wicked toppings like mushroom, beetroot and spinach. The surprise element works here because everything is good. Bags range from $5.99 to $7.99, with values up to $24, and often include generously portioned pasta or even a secret pizza.
9. Bloomer’s
Too Good to Go hasn’t excluded our celiacs or vegans. Bloomer’s consistently ranks amongst the best baked goods in the city, despite their inventive ingredients and continues these high rankings on our budget friendly app. Often packing seven to eight full-sized vegan doughnuts into a single bag for around $7.99 and over 50 rotating flavours, Bloomer’s has earned their reputation for quality. Pro tip: their treats are known to hold up even after freezing, making this one of the best deals in the city.
10. Prince Street Pizza
One of the few gourmet pizza names on the app, and it delivers. For $6.99, you’re typically getting around $21 worth of thick, square slices from one of the city’s most talked-about pizza spots. It’s a rare chance to try an indulgent spot without committing to the full price (or the full line).
