Weekly Lunch Pick
Mercatto
With build-your-own antipasti platters and creative daily specials, this new Italian restaurant brings affordable lunching to the Queen’s Park area By Renée Suen
The daily special at Mercatto
Image credit: Renee Suen
The place: Bright, refreshing and spacious, the newest member of Jack and Domenic Scarangella’s casual Italian chain occupies a glass-encased corner on the main floor of the MaRS Centre on College Street. The Munge Leung design features an open kitchen, espresso bar and take-away counter. The melding of wooden columns and fixtures with marble emphasizes the posh-yet-informal feel that is all the rage in restaurant design.
The crowd: A scientist and his crew mix with biotech gurus, business ladies and Bay Street condo dwellers before heading back to work looking for a cure for heart disease. A couple of interns take the time to embrace a fresh alternative to their hospital cafeterias.
The deal: Midday options range from antipasto plates ($5–$10 each), fritti (fried items available only at the College Street location), unpretentious but hearty salads, and the staple three Ps: pastas, pizzas and plates. Besides the delicious antipasti misti ($13)—a build-your-own platter of veggies, salami and cheese—appetites will be sated by the daily specials of sausage, risotto, gnocchi or porchetta.
The dish: We order the Friday special of penne pompadour al forno ($13), a simple, rustic dish of softened pasta smothered with chopped stewed tomatoes, sweet diced onions and a toasted layer of cheese. Showered with a tableside dusting of cracked black pepper and parmesan cheese, this feel-good dish shines—unlike its aromatic but semi-bland wild mushroom pappardelle ($13). To further entice, the special is sided by a simply dressed dish of fresh mixed greens.
The time: 95 minutes—not quite the grab-and-go concept that its name implies (“Mercatto” translates to “marketplace”).
The cost: $25 for an antipasto and pasta, including tax and tip.
Mercatto, 101 College St. (at Elizabeth St.), 416-595-5625, mercatto.ca.
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