Gaurav Kadam, executive chef of Queen鈥檚 Cross Food Hall, and Anthony Walsh, corporate executive chef of Oliver & Bonacini, at Queen鈥檚 Cross Food Hall.听
Toronto’s Eaton Centre has a new food hall. Here’s what to expect
Created and operated by听Oliver听& Bonacini, Queen鈥檚 Cross听aims to be a step up from traditional fast food but less expensive than a sit-down restaurant.听
After four years of sitting vacant, the former Richtree space on the lower level of the CF Eaton Centre is听a food court again. Officially opening Wednesday, the Queen鈥檚 Cross Food Hall听features 16听stations,听serving sushi bowls, build-your-own pasta bowls, steak frites sandwiches, curries听and more.
Gaurav Kadam, executive chef of Queen鈥檚 Cross Food Hall, and Anthony Walsh, corporate executive chef of Oliver & Bonacini, at Queen鈥檚 Cross Food Hall.听
Steve Russell 海角社区官网Star
Created and operated by听Oliver听& Bonacini, the restaurant company behind听such 海角社区官网fine-dining stalwarts as Canoe, Auberge du Pommier and Jump, Queen鈥檚 Cross听has been envisioned as a place for听shoppers, tourists and workers in the underground PATH听walkway to grab a meal that鈥檚 a step up from traditional fast food but less expensive than a sit-down restaurant.听
Two years ago, O&B began construction听on the food court, taking the opportunity to lean more into casual and takeout offerings at a high traffic area. 鈥淲e want to create a space that will have a lounge feeling,鈥 says O&B corporate executive chef Anthony Walsh, adding that because they鈥檙e operating a dozen different stalls, they鈥檒l have an easier time changing menus and swapping out concepts.
Happy Tangle: baos and Asian noodle and rice bowls
Garden Variety: salads
Crossbar: coffee in the morning, wine and beer in the afternoon and evenings
A bowl of mushroom fried rice from the pop-up Lil Rebel at the Queen鈥檚 Cross Food Hall.听
Steve Russell 海角社区官网Star
Local franchise and Lil Rebel,听soup dumplings and rice bowls created by听Eric Chong of Chinatown鈥檚听 restaurant, will听occupy two other stalls for three months as part of a rotating pop-up, though the food will be prepared and served by O&B staffers.
“We鈥檙e running 16 different menus that need to be delivered at the same level of a restaurant but within two minutes,鈥 says Michael Robertson, the O&B corporate events chef overseeing the food hall. 鈥淣ormal doesn鈥檛 live here. There鈥檚 no demographic. This is a space where everyone is welcome and there鈥檚 something that you鈥檒l want.鈥
Swanky Burger is one of the 16 food stalls operated by restaurant company Oliver & Bonacini at the newly opened Queen鈥檚 Cross Food Hall.听
Steve Russell 海角社区官网Star
Walsh says many of the stalls are riffs on existing menu items听at the company鈥檚听restaurants,听with some dishes modified to be better suited for takeout.听听
Empanadas from Lala鈥檚 Cantina.听
Steve Russell 海角社区官网Star
Lala鈥檚 Cantina, for example, serves empanadas ($7 each, with beef, chicken and mushroom options)听similar to those at the nearby Le帽a Restaurante. The recipes come from the Argentinian side of听Walsh鈥檚 wife鈥檚 family.
Red Sauce鈥檚 pastas are similar to the plates at Parcheggio听in Bayview Village. The $19 combo of four-cheese ravioli and roasted red pepper ros茅 sauce is surprisingly good for a food court offering.
A steak frites sandwich from Le Petit Cornichon.听
Steve Russell 海角社区官网Star
Le Petit Cornichon鈥檚 soft bun stuffed with a six-ounce slab of steak and thinly cut fries with swiss cheese, mustard and relish ($18) is a utensil-free version of the steak frites at Biff鈥檚 Bistro.
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Robertson adds that Queen鈥檚 Cross will use thicker pasta shapes like bucatini,听so they don鈥檛 get mushy听if someone has a 20-minute walk back to the office.
While the Eaton Centre isn鈥檛 in the Financial District and on the far end of the PATH system,听Queen鈥檚 Cross was nonetheless full听during the lunch rush at the food hall鈥檚 soft opening on Tuesday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 people coming in on the subway who want a sandwich and a coffee; people who want something before the theatre; students; people plugging in with their laptop; parents taking their kids out shopping,鈥 says Robertson. 鈥淲e designed the menus what that in mind, but we also have to be competitive with the (mall鈥檚 other food court), so you can get a meal for $12.鈥
Karon Liu is a Toronto-based food reporter for the Star. Reach
him via email: karonliu@thestar.ca.
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