5 huge food halls opening soon in Toronto

Food halls are, slowly but surely, emerging as the new standard for communal dining in Toronto – just like they did in New York circa 2013.

Not to be confused with food courts, which are made up largely of individual chain restaurants like Manchu Wok and Subway, food halls are fancy (or at least fancier than your average mall atrium.)

These stylish, open-concept markets offer up things like fine fromageries, artisanal coffee lounges and international street-food carts, all under one roof. Often, they're built in cool, reclaimed industrial spaces or around historical buildings in urban centres.

Here are just five of the highly-anticipated new food halls set to open in Toronto sometime soon.

Campo Food Hall 

Opening in mid-November, this "all-day food hall and restaurant" is inspired by the markets of Spain. Campo will take up about  3,500 space at 433 King St. W. near Spadina. Expect plenty of grab-and-go meal options, specialty groceries and a full service restaurant from Spanish chef Rob Bragagnolo.

Assembly Chef's Hall

This Financial District food hall is slated to open sometime this winter at 111 Richmond St. West. It will include a cafe, market area and beer hall, according to PR reps, and has been designed with the intention of bringing Toronto's top chefs together, all under one roof.

Eataly 

We learned last year that a Toronto location of this famed Italian food palace would be opening in the renovated Manulife Centre some time in 2019. Rumour has it that the project is a bit behind schedule, but when it does open, it promises to be spectacular - and huge, covering 50,000 square feet of space.

The Well

This ambitious mixed-use development along Front Street West, where the Globe and Mail building used to be, will include a sprawling European-style market hall with 89 stalls offering everything from fine meat and cheese to luxury cookware. Developers only broke ground on the project this year, so we might have to sit tight for a bit.

Waterworks

The former Waterworks building at Richmond and Augusta will include a massive new food hall (alongside condos, a YMCA and other cool things.) We don't know much about vendors at this point, but concept drawings for the space show that it will be located on the ground floor of the existing historical building.

by Lauren O'Neil via blogTO