It’s well past the lunch rush one late Friday afternoon, but the vendors at the 1,000-seat Wellington Market food hall at The Well are seeing a second wind from Jays fans en route to the nearby Rogers Centre. Patrons in blue jerseys and caps are lining up to order hot dogs topped with nori from the first Toronto location of Japadog, as groups gathered at central The Pier Bar and ordered pints while waiting for the rest of their group to join. There’s a smattering of people on laptops while a dog relaxes as its owner enjoys a late lunch. Later in the evening, a DJ is scheduled to play a set.
If you haven’t visited yet, you may have seen a tour video on social media by a food influencer when the Market first opened in late May. This isn’t your average mall food court. Rather, it’s one of the self-described food halls that have opened in the city in the last few months that offer a more curated selection of counter-service food compared to the typical fast-food offerings. There’s Queen’s Cross Food Hall in the Eaton Centre by restaurant group Oliver and Bonacini, the third Eataly at the Shops on Don Mills, and the recently opened Waterworks Food Hall, housed in a nearly century-old building, just a short walk north of The Well.
Titan the Irish wolfhound has a lay down while the humans eat in the Wellington Market at The Well.
Civil Works, a cocktail bar by Nick Kennedy of west-end cocktail bar Civil Liberties, will be a part of the Waterworks Food Hall when construction is completed later this summer.