Harbour Eats by Mercatino
Harbour Eats is cross-Canada chain Mercatino’s first food hall concept and first-ever project in Toronto.
Encompassing six grab-and-go dining concepts that include a taqueria and raw bar, the fully licensed court is mobbed by local workers at lunch.
The airy 10,000-square-foot space puts a serious upscale spin on a typical food court, dripping with white and black marble and modern light fixtures, moveable tables perfect for organizing large group hangs and cozy booths suitable for more privacy.
Chef’s Table is the first “dining destination” you encounter upon entry to the hall, and one of the most popular due to its ever-changing menu of homestyle hot table items that introduces the market’s theme of total customizability.
There are always four bases to choose from: rice, potatoes, veggies or pasta. From there you select a protein of veggies ($9), pork ($10), fish ($12), chicken or beef ($11) and can add sides for $1.50.
Today we do a basa roll stuffed with peppers and asparagus and dressed with balsamic that flakes apart at a slight touch. To go with that we have some wild rice pilaf, pasta salad and a green broccoli salad with dried cranberries.
At the Taqueria, build similarly customizable burritos, quesadillas, burrito bowls or tacos with protein options like ancho carnitas ($10) and arrachera flank steak ($11).
The day’s special is an order of three Baja Fish Tacos ($11) with battered cod, slaw, avocado spread, chipotle ranch and your choice of flour or corn tortilla.
At FRSH GRNS, choose from signature bowls, like the Viet-Bowl ($11) with vermicelli and spring rolls, or salads such as BLT and Feta ($11) or Spinach Pecan Heaven ($10).
A Coffee + Wine Bar is there for all your energy ball, pastry and caffeine needs with coffee by Fratello in the morning.
Starting at 11 a.m., Junction beers ($8 for a 20-ounce pint), red and white wine ($7.50 - $15 per glass) and Hakutsuru sake ($4 for an ounce pour) are served throughout the hall.
The Raw Bar starts serving sushi and poke bowls to order at 1 p.m. and before that has grab-and-go trays.
The Dynamite bowl ($10) isn’t so much a poke bowl as a kind of sushi-poke mashup, a hefty base of warm white rice topped with a giant scoop of imitation crab, neon red tobiko, avocado, lettuce, carrot, cucumber, shrimp tempura and spicy mayo.
Panino does custom panini like roast beef and cheddar ($8) or allows you to build your own with an order form with over a half dozen options for bread, sauce, cheese, protein, and veggies.
There’s also seating on a south-facing terrace during warmer months that brings the serious epicness of an Insta-worthy quick lunch.
Hector Vasquez