The Toston located on 35 Karachi Drive in Markham

Yesterday, we tried out The Toston for lunch as we were in the Markham Rd. and 14th area in Markham.  The Toston serves authentic Colombian food.  This place first came up on my radar when I saw them added as a new store on Too Good To Go.

The restaurant itself is fairly small with only 5 tables inside.  Thankfully, we were able to get a table and the whole restaurant to ourselves when we arrived on a Sunday at around 1:30 p.m. (more customers arrived later closer to 3 p.m. but there were still enough seating for them).  It is run by a husband and wife team.

Menu cover

The female owner explained to us the simple 3-page menu once we were all seated at the table.  She explained to us what a “tostone” is (a traditional Colombian dish, flattened green plantain, infused with tropical seasoning and fried to perfection.  It’s gluten-free and can be served with meat, vegetables, and different kinds of sauces) and which dish on their menu was the most popular.  After we placed our order, she brought out sharing plates, bowls, and utensils for the table.

Combos, special dishes, special soups, and arepas

Sides and beverages

Considering it was a small restaurant (with a small kitchen), the food arrived faster than I thought (a great thing when you’re dining out with kids).

3 empanadas (chicken, beef, cheese) – $2.50

The three empanadas (chicken, beef, cheese in that order) for $2.50 came with a mild salsa-like sauce.  The owner taught us to eat the empanada with our hands and then we could add a bit of the sauce to it as we desired.  The empanadas were good.  My favourite was the cheese one because it was so gooey.  The salsa was mildly spicy and tarty; it was tasty and added a kick.

Combo 2 (tostone, pulled beef, salad, avocado) – $21

We ordered the popular Combo 2 which consisted of a piece of tostone with pulled beef, salad, avocado for $21.  The owner explained to us that we could cut it and then eat it with our hands like a pizza.  I was glad that she gave us instructions on how to eat Colombian food as it is still a new cuisine for us (the other time that the husband and I had Colombian food was many years ago at Los Arrieros Restaurante and unfortunately closed since then).

The tostone piled with pulled beef on top was plentiful and the tostone itself was slightly crunchy.  I added a bit of the salsa sauce from before meant for the empanadas to it for more flavour.

The accompanying salad portion wasn’t very big but it was very fresh.  The slice of avocado was fresh and easy and peel too.

Bandeja Paisa (rice, plantain, sausage, pork belly, beans, avocado, beef, egg, arepa) – $24

The special dish Bandeja Paisa was a plater of rice, plantain, sausage, pork belly, beans, avocado, beef, egg, and arepa for $24.  This was a really nice platter of assorted items so we could try a little bit of each.  The pork belly was crunchy and deliciously salty and I liked the rice with the beans.  The arepa was a bit bland and I should have split it open to add some stuffing to it.

Chicken Soup (ajiaco) (rice, sweet plantain, avocado) – $23

The Chicken Soup (ajiaco) is a Colombian chicken and potato soup that was served with a side of rice, sweet plantain, and avocado for $23.  I liked that many of their dishes included a slice of avocado.  This soup had shredded chicken and lots of tender baby potatoes in it.  It was yummy and had a nice umami flavour too.

This was a nice tasty lunch and an uncommon cuisine for us to enjoy.  I definitely would recommend The Toston to people who want to try Colombian food in the Markham area.  I liked the friendly hospitality and service too.

They also provide take-out orders.  They provided a high chair for our toddler, the single washroom is spacious, and there is plenty of parking available in the plaza.

Storefront