The hottest restaurants in Toronto right now are in surprising places: above rumbling subway stations, on glamourous hotel rooftops, hidden behind convenience store facades, and tucked into majestic castles.

Here are my picks for the hottest restaurants in Toronto right now.

Brothers

A constantly overturning menu of spare three-ingredient plates is the day-to-day at this hallway of a restaurant above Bay station. Throw in a recent New York Times review and it's almost impossible to get a seat.

La Palma

It's tough to get a weekend dinner reservation at this Italian spot on Dundas West from the same folks behind Campagnolo but thankfully they keep a lot of tables exclusively for walk-ins. It's open all day for coffee, Italian-inspired cocktails, and sharing-style pizza, veggies, and what just might be one of Toronto’s best lasagnas.

Pinky’s Ca Phe

Just off of College on quiet but restaurant-heavy Clinton, this spot continues to win over guests with their Asian snacks of bone marrow beef, Korean squid, and ceviche. They don't take reservations but you can usually snag a seat with about a 30 minute wait.

Kiin

One of the most breathy and delicate projects from the team behind Sukhothai and Pai, this Entertainment District restaurant has a royal take on their menu. The most intricate handmade dumplings combined with the nostalgia of DIY lettuce wraps are what to get here.

Mahjong Bar

Expect to see some of your favourite chefs and bartenders from other restaurants around Toronto on their off hours at this secretive snack bar hidden behind a bodega on Dundas West. Beyond that the space opens up to a sort of sixties Hong Kong time warp where you can order watermelon cocktails, wontons and smashed cucumber salad.

Rooftop at the Broadview Hotel

The view alone atop this new boutique hotel in Riverside is enough to make guests clamour for a table. The food from the folks behind nearby Gare de lest might be hit and miss but there's no mistaking this space has become a scene with weekend revellers clamouring for ceviche, jerk ribs and neighbourhood-inspired cocktails.

Kost

The view from this restaurant atop the Bisha boutique hotel in the Entertainment District is as stunning as the food which takes on a Baja flair. Fine wines accompany refined plates of tuna tartare, steak, roasted tofu and tres leche cake in the beachy, breezy setting here.

Cafe Cancan

From the same owners as Piano Piano across the street on Harbord, this spot is winning over diners with its whimsical French fare like its multiple takes on foie gras.

Aloette

This just opened modern diner near Queen and Spadina is already the place to be in large part because its from the same people as Alo upstairs.

BlueBlood Steakhouse

Located inside Casa Loma, massive steaks and towers of seafood are just some of the showstoppers on the menu of this restaurant with a raw bar. Andy Warhol art hangs on century-old walls here: there’s not much more baller than that.