Is The Senator Still Open? You Gotta Eat Here! Update (Toronto, ON)
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.
Last verified
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.
- Season / episode Season 4, Episode 4
- Original air date
- Address 249 Victoria St, Toronto, ON M5B 1V8
Interactive map — loads when you ask for it.
Everything on this map is also in the list below.
© 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.
Featured on You Gotta Eat Here!
- Show
- You Gotta Eat Here!
- Original air date
- Episode title
- Toast, The Barley Vine, The Senator
- What was featured
- Toronto's oldest restaurant; no specific dish named in the episode summary
- Role
- Featured restaurant
- Name on the broadcast
- The Senator
More from You Gotta Eat Here!
-
Toronto, ON
Closed Checked -
Toronto, ON
Open Checked -
Anna Mae's Bakery and Restaurant
Millbank, ON
Open Checked -
Caledonia, ON
Open Checked -
Ottawa, ON
Open Checked -
Beamsville, ON
Open Checked
Other TV restaurants in Ontario
-
Toronto, ON
You Gotta Eat Here!
Closed Checked -
Toronto, ON
Restaurant Takeover
Closed Checked -
Toronto, ON
You Gotta Eat Here!
Open Checked -
Toronto, ON
Restaurant Makeover
Closed Checked -
Toronto, ON
Restaurant Makeover
Closed Checked -
Toronto, ON
Restaurant Makeover
Open Checked
Nearest restaurants
-
Toronto, ON · 0.3 mi away
You Gotta Eat Here!
Open Checked -
Toronto, ON · 0.3 mi away
Restaurant Impossible: Last Call
Open Checked -
Toronto, ON · 0.3 mi away
You Gotta Eat Here!
Closed Checked -
Toronto, ON · 0.3 mi away
You Gotta Eat Here!
Closed Checked -
Toronto, ON · 0.4 mi away
Restaurant Makeover
Open Checked -
Toronto, ON · 0.5 mi away
Restaurant Makeover
Closed Checked
Visit info
- Address
- 249 Victoria St, Toronto, ON M5B 1V8
- Venue type
- restaurant
- Official website
- thesenator.com
- State hub
- TV restaurants in Ontario
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
- 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/
See something wrong?
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 · last verified .