Canteen - Toronto

Disappointed. Ordered basis pizza with a side caesar salad. Expected salad as an appetizer, but it came at same time as the pizza. By the time I finished half the salad (all I could eat of this poor quality caesar a restaurant staple), the pizza was cold. Pizza was no better than a Dr. Oetker frozen pizza...virtually no sauce or cheese. To end the meal, served the worst cup of coffee I have ever had in a restaurant no better than coloured water. This was all topped off by indifferent, inattentive service. Best go to another establishment in the area.

So I went to watch a movie at the TIFF. This place was right next door. They have indoor and outdoor seating. Service was good. Was not crowded for lunch. It's a big airy place. I had the vegetarian pad thai. Potion not that big. However flavourful.

We didn't have a lot of time and hoped this place would be fast and it was. We got a seat right away and out lunches were served very quickly. I had the Avocado Toast with the freshest cherry tomatoes I have ever had. It was delicious. I also tried the Italian Soda which was with cranberry syrup, pineapple juice and coconut whipped cream, it was so tasty. The waiter brought us our check right away knowing we had a show to get to. Would definitely go there again.

I came here to buy something quick as I was hungry and was running late to watch an afternoon movie at the adjacent TIFF Bell Lightbox on a Saturday. I opted for the Smoked Salmon sandwich which had dill goat cheese and arugula on a sesame pretzel bun. It wasn’t bad, but not particularly outstanding either. The salmon and cream cheese were good, but the bread could’ve been better. If you’re in a rush, this is a decent place to get some food. Their grab and go counter was closed during the evening through as I wanted to buy another sandwich to eat before watching another film at the Lightbox, but wasn’t able to unfortunately.

This is a large open space with not much atmosphere. The service was fast but not overly friendly and the food was inconsistent. I had the turkey melt which was delicious. My wife had the portobello melt that was bland with way too much bread compared to the portobello. The sangria was delicious.