Small, but filling, and also packed with a lot flavour, deviled eggs are becoming more and more prominent in Toronto's food scene. You can find this savoury and jammy treat popping up in restaurant menus lately, like And/Ore, Miss Aida and Mira Mira Diner.

But why have they been making a comeback?

"A lot of the deviled egg is nostalgia," says Missy Hui, the chef at And/Ore and an avid deviled egg fan. "It's one of those things that I grew up eating and at the time if mom and dad had a party they were always there."

Deviled eggs have never really been the main character in Toronto, unlike Montreal, where a lot of restaurants — like the Cardinal Tearoom, Joe Beef and Marconi — are known for the menu item.

Now though, Hui says, "it's just having a moment" in the city. 

"Maybe people are now more open to something like this in a different iteration," she says.

It's similar to a sandwich, says Hui, because while it's a classic dish, there are many takes on how to make one.

In Toronto, it's clear that the restaurants that have deviled eggs on the menu are steering away from the classic take on the dish, which typically is made with a hard boiled egg, mayonaise, mustard and salt and pepper.

Mira Mira Diner for instance, has the Truffle Deviled Eggs, which is made with truffle oil and paste, and topped with salmon roe and topiko. Hanmoto is also known for its take on the dish, which uses shredded chicken skin, salmon eggs, and tiny rice balls.

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And at And/Ore, Hui whips up a deviled egg dish that pays homage to jian bing, a Chinese crepe, which she grew up eating as a kid and now makes at home when she can.

The flavours [and textures] go together so well," Hui says about jian bing. "It's got the creaminess of the egg and the crunchiness of the lettuce. It's got the salt and the spice So we just took those components and sort of flipped them on their head."

And/Ore's deviled eggs are made with soy, scallions, chili oil and crispy wontons that are then cut up into tiny pieces and then fried.

"We call it wonton confetti," she says.

So while deviled eggs are having their moment in Toronto, it may not be made or presented in the traditional way that you would normally see them at parties and gatherings back in the day.

"It's an adventure," Hui says.