People keep discovering Toronto's 1960s-era diner and can't believe how cheap it is
People in Toronto are obsessed with a hidden-gem 1960s-era diner that has unbelievably low prices and a true old-school vibe.
You might feel like you’ve accidentally stumbled upon a film set when you step inside of Gale’s Snack Bar, but don’t be fooled. The Leslieville spot really is an operating diner, and it’s been owned and operated by the same family for the past six decades.
Originally a snack bar founded by the titular Gale, the business was purchased and transformed into a diner in the 1960s by David King Sun Chan, whose daughter, Eda, owns it now — but the signs of the sixties are still, quite literally, written on the walls.
Over the restaurant’s counter, you’ll find hand-painted signs decreeing the diner’s menu, featuring still-popular classics like hamburgers, fish and chips, french fries, and BLTs, alongside bygone staples like hot liver, sardine sandwiches, and minced ham.
A recent post to the Leslieville community Facebook group had people astonished that the restaurant was so cheap.
It’s not just the design of the signs (and some of their contents) that feels like a relic from the diner’s early days, though; the diner’s prices have hardly changed over the past six decades.
To this day, the cash-only restaurant doesn’t have a single item on its menu above $5 — with sandwiches ranging from as low as $1.25 for a fried egg sandwich to $4.75 for a hot beef, turkey or chicken sandwich.
Their fish and chips are another top-shelf menu item, coming in at a whopping $4.25.
For dessert, you can opt to sweeten things up with a slice of pie (seemingly another diner tradition that’s been fading in recent years) for $1.50, to which you can add a scoop of ice cream for an additional 50 cents.
Old-school diner classics are the name of the game at Gale’s.
They’ve got donuts and tarts for 50 cents, sundaes for $1.75 and any and every non-alcoholic beverage under the sun that’ll all cost you less than TTC fare.
Little about the diner has changed, in fact, since its early days. The old-school diner still only offers seating along the counter, which is lined with four bright orange vinyl stools, plus one cozy booth that you’ll likely have little luck beating out the diner’s devoted regulars for a seat at.
You can still go in and expect to be served by Eda Chan, too, which has been the case for the last four decades, ever since she started helping out around Gale’s at 10 years old.
Though unassuming from the outside, Gale’s Snack Bar is a true local gem.
If hearing about Gale’s is all new to you, but its singular facade strikes a cord, you may have simply seen it on the silver screen. The ultra-vintage played the role of Christopher Walken’s joke shop in the 2008 film Hairspray.
While the diner tends not to adhere to a strict opening and closing schedule these days — the hours listed on Google are more of a vague suggestion than hard-and-fast-law — if you have a passion for cheap, simple food (at this point, who doesn’t?) and deep Toronto history, it’s well worth trying your luck with a visit.
Gale’s Snack Bar is located at 539 Eastern Avenue.