Research Lunch Club in Toronto
Toronto has quietly become one of the world's AI and research hubs, with talent spread across campuses, hospitals and a booming tech sector. Research Lunch Club matches you into a small group of Toronto researchers for lunch, once a month. No networking event, no name tags — just three people who get the work, over a good meal, for the cost of a coffee a quarter.
📍 Real researchers, real lunch
Who's in the Toronto group
Our Toronto members include researchers from the University of Toronto, York and TMU, teams at Google and Shopify, and institutes like the Vector Institute and SickKids Research. Machine-learning researchers, clinician-scientists, UX researchers, social scientists — Toronto's range is genuinely global.
Researchers from across Toronto
A sense of where Toronto members spend their days — the universities, institutes and companies they come from.
Where Toronto members meet
Toronto groups meet around the research core: the St. George campus and the Discovery District for U of T, the hospitals and Vector; Downtown and King West for the tech crowd; and Midtown for those further up the line. Your group picks a lunch spot — Kensington, Chinatown and the PATH all sit minutes from campus.
Third-wave coffee, Toronto-style
Lunch has a way of running into coffee. A few independent, third-wave spots Toronto researchers gravitate to — chains need not apply.
Quantum Coffee
the Discovery District
Sam James Coffee Bar
downtown
Pilot Coffee Roasters
Leslieville
🍝 Three researchers, one table
How Research Lunch Club works in Toronto
You get matched
Every month we pair you with two other researchers in Toronto — deliberately across disciplines and career stages, so the conversation goes somewhere new.
Your group picks a day & a spot
You sort the time and place together in the member app — a lunch that works for all three of you, somewhere easy in the city.
You meet for lunch
Show up, swap notes, and build the kind of relationship that outlasts a conference badge. Most Toronto groups keep in touch long after.
Your first lunch is on us
Snap a photo at the table and tag us on LinkedIn or Instagram — we'll cover your first lunch. Our way of saying welcome.
Pricing & the 90-day guarantee
The cost of a coffee
£5 a quarter, and you can cancel anytime. The lunch itself you pay for at the table.
A fresh match monthly
Two new Toronto researchers every month you're a member.
90-day guarantee
Not feeling the lunches in your first 90 days? We'll refund your membership.
First lunch on us
Tag us in a photo from your first lunch and we'll cover it.
☕ Lunch that ran into coffee
Toronto researcher FAQ
Usually around the St. George campus, the Discovery District, Downtown or King West — close to where members work. You sort the day and the spot together in the member app.
Other Toronto-based researchers across fields and seniority — U of T, York and TMU academics alongside ML and UX researchers at Google, Shopify, Vector and SickKids. We mix disciplines on purpose.
Each month we group members into threes by city, mixing disciplines and career stages and avoiding repeat pairings. A fresh group every month you're a member.
Yes — Toronto's AI and tech scene means many members are industry researchers, from UX to applied ML. If research is your work, you belong here.
About the price of a coffee a quarter — £5, cancel anytime. Lunch is on you at the table; your first one is on us.
More on meeting other researchers
Join researchers in Toronto
The cost of a coffee a quarter. Cancel anytime. Your first lunch is on us.