Where to get doubles in Toronto

What doubles actually are, how to order them the way a Trini does, and how to spot a stall that makes its own bara. The Caribbean kitchens to try, with their own number to ring.

Doubles are the great Trinidadian street breakfast: two pieces of fried bara, a soft turmeric-yellow flatbread, wrapped around curried channa, and dressed with pepper and chutney to order. They cost a few dollars, they are meant to be eaten standing up, and a place that makes good ones is almost always worth trusting on everything else it does. In Toronto they turn up at Trini kitchens, Caribbean groceries and takeaway counters, often sold out by early afternoon.

How to order like you have done it before

The dressing is the whole art, and it is called out fast at the counter. Worth knowing before you get there:

• "Slight" or "plenty" pepper. This is the only question that matters. Trini pepper is scotch bonnet and it is serious. Start slight if you do not know the stall.
• Cucumber, tamarind, mango, kuchela. These are the chutneys. You do not need all of them. Tamarind and a little pepper is the classic.
• Order more than one. Doubles are small. Two is a snack, three is a breakfast, and nobody orders one.
• Eat it now. Doubles do not travel. The bara goes from soft to soggy in the time it takes to drive home, so this is a stand-on-the-pavement food, not a takeaway-for-later one.

How to spot a good stall

• The bara is made there. A stall frying its own bara fresh is the real thing. You can smell it, and the bread is warm and soft rather than cool and dense.
• The channa is spiced, not bland. The curried chickpeas should have real depth, a bit of heat, and hold together without turning to paste.
• There is a queue of Trinis. Doubles is a dish the community keeps honest. A stall with the right crowd at the right time of the morning is telling you something no review can.

The kitchens to try

These are the Caribbean kitchens in the directory. Doubles are a Trinidadian speciality, so the Trini kitchens are your best bet, but not every one makes them and the good ones sell out early, so ring ahead and ask.

The wider Caribbean food guide for Toronto covers roti and the rest of the Trini table too.

Before you go

Go in the morning. Doubles are breakfast, the bara is freshest early, and by mid-afternoon the good stalls are cleaning down. Bring small cash, order at least two, and say "slight pepper" the first time. You can always go bolder on the second round.

Written by See The Six · kept current from the directory, last checked 2026-08-24