Chef Mandar Kulkarni's Scarborough food tour reveals where he eats off the clock

After a day leading the kitchen at Punch—the sultry new restaurant inside Hotel Le Germain—Chef Mandar Kulkarni heads home to Scarborough, where he's lived for the past four years. The drive downtown gives him time to dream up new dishes, but it's the quiet of the suburb that keeps him rooted. "The calmness and rhythm here is so soothing—not hustling and bustling like it is downtown," he says. On days off, he hunts for spots that satisfy whatever he's craving.

At Punch, Kulkarni oversees a 20-seat rooftop patio now emphasizing Canadian snacks with subtle Indian flavours, alongside a main dining room serving British-Indian cuisine through a modernist lens using Canadian-sourced ingredients. Come August and fall, the team is launching a new seven-course tasting menu for $120 to $140 per guest—a value proposition in fine dining, Kulkarni says.

But in Scarborough, he's drawn to places where craft and dedication shine through the details. At La Bastille Boulangerie Patisserie on Birchmount Road, he follows chef-owner Martial Ribreau's work across the full range: butter croissants with a delicate netting and visible lamination that speaks to technique, and chocolate éclairs with rich crème pâtissière and perfectly mastered choux pastry that stays airy rather than soggy. Everything is made from scratch in the kitchen and production facility on-site.

At Northern Smokes on Old Kingston Road, Kulkarni discovered a barbecue spot while browsing the Michelin Guide. The brisket arrives beautiful and juicy, marked by a delicate pink smoke ring and char-spiced crust so flavourful the house tangy apple cider vinegar–based sauce feels optional—though it balances the rich, fatty protein well. The spot is Halal-certified and smokes everything in-house, pulling it all together in a neighbourhood restaurant that rewards the short drive from downtown.