Hamilton has caught up with Toronto in the last decade for serious restaurants while keeping its cheap, ethnic-immigrant food culture intact. The strongest concentrations are on James Street North (Portuguese, Vietnamese, contemporary), Locke Street (cafes and brunch), and Ottawa Street (Italian delis, the original Tim Hortons). King William Street downtown has a recent run of high-end restaurants.
For something distinctively Hamilton, get a Portuguese chicken from a churrasqueira on Barton Street, a banh mi from a Vietnamese cafe on Cannon, or a panzerotti from Bertolo's. Brunch on Locke Street on a Saturday is essentially the city's main social ritual.