Restaurants are now offering discounts to offset tariffs in Toronto
Published March 24, 2025 at 4:15 pm
There have been many different responses to the threats of tariff and trade wars between the United States and Canada, and Ontario businesses have come up with their own unique way to fight back.
Food businesses and restaurants all around Ontario and Toronto are now offering discounts to attract customers to their Canadian offerings.
Caribbean-Asian fusion restaurant Patois in Toronto is now offering a limited quantity “Shebang For Your Buck” meal with off-menu dishes made using Canadian ingredients, available Tuesday through Thursday for just $25 all in.
The meals are served on retro cafeteria-style trays, and the menu changes up regularly: just because this offer is budget friendly doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. For example, a recent plate consisted of cabbage rolls, mashed potatoes, creamy cucumber salad, house sauerkraut and maple cake made with Canadian maple syrup. Patois is also offering $5 Red Stripe from Tuesday to Thursday to pair with the meals.
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“The response has been phenomenal, and it’s not just a great response from our guests. It’s also empowering our cooks and kitchen because our chefs are the ones that have been taking the lead and cooking their favourite dishes,” chef and owner Craig Wong tells YourCityWithIN.com.
“I know what it feels like to be bullied and it’s easy for us as a country to take that stance, but I prefer to think of this as a moment to celebrate all the great ingredients that we have access to. We’ve done a very big focus on our favourite Canadian products and are really trying to push them to the forefront with ingredients like Ontario cabbage, Canadian maple syrup and buying as much local as we can.”
Ontario-based Crafty Ramen also launched an initiative offering 25 per cent off select ramen bowls in their restaurants and off boxes and subscriptions for their at-home products.
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“The response has been great! I wasn’t sure what to expect at first, as this is an important and sensitive subject for all of us right now, but our community has really shown its support both at our shops and online,” Crafty co-founder Miki Ferrall tells YourCityWithIN.com.
“It’s been really great hearing the feedback from our guests and seeing them enjoy a comforting bowl of ramen. Our community has always shown up for us since the beginning, and I’m so happy we could show up for them now and give back to them in this way.”
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Italian chain restaurant Il Fornello has also leveraged this issue into a discount program. They’ve been offering 25 per cent off dine-in food bills Monday through Wednesday, and 15 per cent off pickup orders placed through local app Ambassador.
“The goal of this project was and is always to do what we do best and cook for people we care about during tough economic times,” says Wong.
“The Shebang For Your Buck initiative has been a great success at getting people to come back to restaurants on weeknights in a very friendly and casual way. ”
No matter what’s going on in the world, it’s always nice to get a discount on a weeknight meal out in Toronto, so hit up some of these local restaurants to take advantage of these deals.