Is The Senator Still Open? You Gotta Eat Here! Update (Toronto, ON)
You Gotta Eat Here!, Season 4 Toronto, Ontario
Current status
As of October 2026, The Senator is listed open on thesenator.com, reviewed by our team on October 20, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.
What the source shows: The restaurant's own website, read 2026-10-19, lists current dinner and brunch hours, reservation and ordering links, and menu files dated 2026-07-05. How we decide a status →
- Episode Season 4, Episode 4
- Aired
- Address 249 Victoria St, Toronto, ON M5B 1V8
- Website thesenator.com
- Show map
© OpenStreetMap contributors © CARTO
What happened after You Gotta Eat Here!?
The Senator is a restaurant at 249 Victoria Street in Toronto's theatre district. It appeared in season 4, episode 4 of You Gotta Eat Here!, which aired on 2015-02-20 as "Toast, The Barley Vine, The Senator." TVmaze's episode summary (read 2026-10-19) says host John Catucci visited Toronto's oldest restaurant; it names no dish. Heritage Toronto's undated history page says the site began as the Busy Bee Lunch in the late 1920s, took the name The Senator Restaurant in 1948 under George Nicolau, and was bought by Robert Sniderman in April 1984, and it calls the restaurant among the oldest continuously operating in Toronto.
The restaurant's website (thesenator.com), read 2026-10-19, lists dinner Tuesday to Saturday from 5 pm to 8 pm and brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 am to 2 pm, with reservation and ordering links. Its brunch, dinner, and drinks menu files carry a 2026-07-05 date.
The episode
Synopsis (tvmaze.com) : John has breakfast at Toast in Ferndale, Mich.; tries pierogies filled with pork belly at a Canadian bistro and pub; and visits Toronto's oldest restaurant.
Also in Season 4
Season 4: 41 of 78 still open · 4 renamed, moved or under new owners
- Open
-
Ep 3NuBurger
Open -
Ep 3Poutineville
Open - Open
-
Ep 4Toast
Open -
Ep 5Iron Skillet
Open -
Ep 5Roy's Place
Open -
Ep 5The Wren
Open
Nearest restaurants
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You Gotta Eat Here!
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Restaurant Impossible: Last Call
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You Gotta Eat Here!
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You Gotta Eat Here!
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Restaurant Makeover
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Restaurant Makeover
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Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.
Sources we checked
- api.tvmaze.com https://api.tvmaze.com/shows/15676/episodes
- heritagetoronto.org https://www.heritagetoronto.org/explore-learn/restaurants-food-toronto-history/senator-restaurant-diner-food/
- thesenator.com https://www.thesenator.com/
We work hard to keep every status accurate and dated, but restaurants change fast and our sources aren't perfect. If something here is wrong — a status, a name, an address, anything — tell us what you're seeing and where you saw it, and we'll check it.
Record ygeh-221 · checked by Cal Marchetti.