Actually at a diner now that I like to go to as often as I can in Dundas called Jax sweet shoppe, retro diner style small menu but everything they do is amazing, it's in the corner of the old Collins hotel.
But yeah anywhere you go on James Street north these days are new restaurants, Mesa authentic Mexican is great, salt lick smokehouse is amazing (go for brunch and in a word, the coffee is ridiculously strong) charred rotisserie is delicious as well as knead pizza, the nice thing is they work together, you can go to knead pizza and get a pizza with any variation of smoked meats from two doors down at salt lick