King of T.O. Food Courts: Village By The Grange

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With the recent renovation completed of the TD Centre "Food Hall", it has been touted to be the city's best food court. As someone once dubbed the "Food Court Connoisseur", I respectfully disagree.

I hereby decree that the Best Food Court in Toronto should, and always will be, the food court at the Village By The Grange.

From OCAD students to office workers to local residents alike, what Frommer's has dubbed the "International Food Market" offers variety and affordable meals on the go. Try as you might, anyone would be hard-pressed to spend more than $10 on a single meal there.

Village By The Grange is also the same building which once housed Ginsberg & Wong - the unforgettable, if not odd, combination of Jewish and Chinese cuisine. Matzo ball soup and chicken fried rice combo! Those were the good old days.

Many of the same vendors have been there for years, like Sakura. But the court has also seen the inclusion of the likes of Island Foods and McDonald's.

By far, the major appeal is the sheer variety of choices that are available. Hankering for cabbage rolls? Try Magic Kitchen. Feeling for fish & chips? Try Al's. How about a kalbi dinner? Try Sate. There's also Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Greek, Italian and Middle Eastern to choose from. A little ways down the hall, there's a Quizno's and Baskin & Robbins there, too.

The king offers in its courts the unique little family-run eateries, as well as some standard fare found in other food courts. Cheap, plentiful and with lots of seats - some under sunny skylights - Village By The Grange stands undisputed amongst the other cookie cutter food courts in the city.

109 McCaul Street

Reader Reviews and Comments

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Great post! One note for your readers, try to avoid the weekday lunch rush if you can... That way you can linger and really enjoy that meal :-)

Posted by: Andrew Currie at September 28, 2005 5:18 PM

Umm, wasn't this place actually closed a couple of years back for health code violations?

Posted by: brokenengine at September 28, 2005 5:47 PM

i like island foods. there's another island foods at king/dufferin. best roti i've found in the city.

Posted by: Sean Lerner at September 28, 2005 5:53 PM

I agree, not your average "cookie cutter" food court. One of the most interesting food courts in the city because it has character and wide selection.

Posted by: Joeysims at September 28, 2005 8:36 PM

brokenengine:
I think you may be thinking of the food court closure in Chinatown.
I found this page on the Toronto city website.

Posted by: Mio at September 29, 2005 12:32 PM

Nah, that was last year.

I'm pretty sure The Grange got shut down when they first started implementing that new standard(you know, the one with the color coded sign on the door?). Either way, it was a long time ago.

But I do remember The Grange being sketchy enough to make me never want to go back, and when the place got closed down(reports of mice feces and poor hygiene), I wasn't surprised.

Apparently you are saying things have changed.

Posted by: brokenengine at September 29, 2005 3:42 PM

Not true! The grange was NEVER closed down due to hygiene reasons. You are thinking of a couple of restaurants in the china town area, which is an entirely different area to grange town!!

Posted by: G at April 22, 2006 4:01 PM

I lived at 89 McCaul for 10 years, moving west in 2003. The food court was never closed down. You are thinking of places in Chinatown. Also, near the corner of Dundas and University, southeast side on the corner of Chestnut Street I think, was one of the first places the city closed down. It was a Chinese restaurant and it got lots of press because it was one of the first. Maybe that's the one you're thinking of.

When I first moved to Village by the Grange and before they refurbished the main floor and built the condos along part of the street and the extra tower and hallway of shops out to Dundas, I admit it was a pretty dodgy place because of all the wok frying.

Posted by: GabriolaIsland at September 25, 2006 3:36 PM

this food court doesn't win any points for decor or style but it definitely has the best food and best variety. these independent family run restaurants. i used to eat at the Grange when i worked in the area almost daily. i changed jobs last year and now forced to eat in TD Centre or First Canadian Place. they may be nicer to look at but the food is the same cookie-cutter stuff as in any shopping mall

Posted by: sj at May 3, 2007 4:11 PM

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