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Cast your mind back, and you might recall Richtree Natural Market, the food court located on the lower level of the Eaton Centre that abruptly closed in 2020. The space has finally reopened as another food court, but that's where the similarities end. Queen’s Cross Food Hall is a shiny new outfit from Oliver and Bonacini with 13 permanent food stations, two rotating pop-up stalls, and a licensed bar and café, offering everything from sushi and shawarma to cookies and curry.
Queen's Cross Food Hall: The vibe
Designed to emulate a train station (the name Queen's Cross is a play on London's King's Cross station), and with convenient proximity to Queen subway station, the philosophy here is quick bites done well. While the space, artfully created by Solid Design Creative, has enough touches and whimsy to keep you around for a while, the idea is that you can grab restaurant-quality food without the wait.
You'll see the sign before you see the food hall: The custom signage towers above the escalators, with the iconic CF Eaton Centre Canada geese silhouetted in flight behind. Head downstairs and underneath the split-flap board, a nod to the departures boards found in transit hubs.
The 19,000-square-foot space is nothing like your average faceless food court: Here, uniquely designed stalls are lit up in neon, and there is enough seating for 173 guests across several dining areas. Queen's Cross Food Hall serves food every day of the week, and since the CF Eaton Centre is considered a Toronto landmark, it will also remain open on statutory holidays.
Queen's Cross Food Hall: The food
While the lunch crowd will undoubtedly be Queen's Cross Food Hall's bread and butter, the food court is a full-service, full-day experience. Start your day at Crossbar café and bar, which offers freshly roasted beans from Propeller Coffee and breakfast service from 7 a.m. The rest of the hall is open from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. every day except Sunday (when it closes at 7 p.m.). Crossbar then reopens for signature cocktails, beer and wine.
If some of these stalls seem familiar, it's because they are. Cleverly, Oliver and Bonacini has created spin-off projects for many of their popular Toronto restaurants. French spot Maison Selby becomes Le Petit Cornichon, an "itty-bitty bistro" serving steak sandwiches, poutine and Niçoise salad. Beauty's Fried Chicken, a spot for golden fried chicken and Southern-inspired sides and slaws, is an offshoot of Beauty Eats in North York's Bayview Village.
Lala's Cantina is a snack-sized nod to Leña, the South American three-floor eatery located at Yonge and Richmond. Order empanadas, cheesy quesadillas and taco bowls piled high.
The now-shuttered Babel has been resuscitated: Dig into Mediterranean salads, falafel wraps and tabbouleh bowls at Babel Hummus Bar. Pizzeria Libretto also gets a new lease of life with its first-ever slice shop. Order 18" New York-style pizza by the slice and Sicilian Pizza by the square, plus salads and dipping sauces at Libretto Slice Shop.
Other stalls are completely new and delicious concepts created by Oliver and Bonacini to round out the dining offering. Curryosity is a fun stall that brings together delicious curries irrespective of nationality: Find West Indian Channa alongside Thai Coconut Red Curry.
Swanky Burger is the place to grab a Quickie Smash Burger, an Avocado and Turkey Burger, or an Impossible Burger, plus all the comfort food sides, like onion rings, fries and poutine. Elsewhere, Underground Sandwiches whips up hot meatball subs and cold cut sammies, and all beef hot dogs.
In addition to the permanent vendors, there are two rotating pop-up stalls to give guests another reason to visit. Currently, Craig's Cookies fills one of the slots with their cult-following sweet treats, while Lil Rebel, helmed by R&D chef and the first MasterChef Canada champion Eric Chong, slings Chinese dishes like tom yum soup dumplings in the other space.
The food is priced competitively at Queen's Cross Food Hall, with decent-sized dishes costing between $8 and $18. While you can get a great-sized lunch for under $10, we love the variety on offer. Grab your team, split up, and order a mix of tacos, burgers, sushi, noodles, and poutine for the potluck lunch of your dreams.
Queen's Cross Food Hall: The drinks
The Crossbar is off to one side, giving guests a more sophisticated space to enjoy a tipple or two. However, it maintains a thread with the food stalls: Captain Neon's Fresh Caught Caesar, with a nori-spiced rim, and Uncle Gil's Ginger Mule pair well with provisions from the corresponding seafood stalls, while the Swanky Smash, a gin smash riff, harkens back to the burger concession. Match the tequila-based Tia Lala's Paloma with quesadillas and empanadas from Mexican stand Lala's Cantina.
Happy Hour runs for a generous five hours between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. daily and features house cocktails, like The Metro Express-O Martini ($10), 5-oz glasses of wine from 13th Street Winery ($7), and Lost Craft beer ($6) at wallet-friendly prices. Forget shopping; we'll be making a beeline for Queen's Cross Food Hall on our next trip to the mall.
Queen's Cross Food Hall is now open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Crossbar is open from 7 a.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday.
