Ronaldo's family dined at this Toronto restaurant before the Portugal-Croatia match
Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo's family has been making the most of their time in Toronto by visiting the city's swath of impressive Portuguese restaurants, and the latest to get a surprise visit says it was just like "serving old friends."
Hindsight is 20/20, so, though we now know that Portugal would go on to win its match — the last of the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be held in Toronto — against Croatia, Cristiano Ronaldo's sister, Katia Aveiro and mother, Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, were almost too nervous to eat before kick-off.
At least, so says the team at Castlefield Design District Portuguese staple, Mercado, who were treated to a visit from Ronaldo's family before the hotly anticipated Portugal-Croatia match on July 2.
According to a representative from the restaurant, the visit from the Aveiro family came as a complete surprise, but even more surprising was just how down-to-earth they actually were.
"They are super humble, super simple," the team member says, "no frills and very comfortable."
In the hours leading up to Ronaldo's biggest game of the World Cup so far, the team member says that both Maria Dolores and Katia were extremely nervous for their son and brother, but still managed to tuck into a selection of the restaurant's most popular classics and shareable dishes.
"For us, it's an honour and pleasure, being their first time in Toronto and for such a short time, passing by to visit means a lot," the restaurant tells blogTO.
"Since we have started out main goal has always been to showcase Portuguese [cuisine] and do it the best we can, so when we get high profile visits, it confirms we're doing right."
And, if any more confirmation was needed, the restaurant received a considerable shout-out on Katia's Instagram story following the meal.
Whether or not the visit and subsequent publicity end up yielding a surge in business remains to be seen, but to the team at Mercado, it's ultimately inconsequential.
"I don't think it's about a surge in business; it's more about validation," the restaurant says. "What I found lovely was the amount of messages we received from our regulars, cheering us on and being truly happy for us. I think that was the best part."
Mercado is located at 682 Caledonia Rd.
