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This New Virtual Food Hall Shines a Light on Local Toronto Restaurants

Kitchen Hub Food Hall in Longo's
Chelsea Brimstin

Adam, Oren and Mat created Kitchen Hub out of a love for diverse local food. Located within the Longo’s in Toronto’s Liberty Village at 1100 King Street West, this new virtual food hall offers ready-to-eat items from beloved local hot spots like PAI, Tecolote, Cabano’s and more.

Using state-of-the-art technology, Kitchen Hub offers easy, restaurant-quality takeout at the touch of a button. It almost feels like an elevated, high-brow food court, giving diners access to restaurant delicacies and local food on the quick.

@slicedotca Lunch while you shop, anyone? 👀 This partnership is the first grocery store food hall in Canada ✨ #kitchenhub #longos #libertyvillage #torontolife ♬ dumb dumb – sped up – mazie

Longo’s itself is a family-operated Canadian organization. In 1965, brothers Tommy, Joe and Gus opened their first fruit market. Beginning as a small, family-run store, Longo’s now has a whopping 37 stores across Toronto and the GTA.

It only felt natural for Longo’s to partner up with Kitchen Hub in an effort to make local food more accessible than ever. Now, you can access a tasty meal from your favourite restaurant, all while grabbing your groceries for the rest of the week.

You can order food for tonight and get ingredients for something to cook tomorrow

See also: The best spots to experience Toronto’s diverse food scene: a local’s guide.

PAI brings the ‘Best Pad Thai in Toronto’ to Kitchen Hub

PAI Northern Thai Kitchen has long been viewed by Torontonians as one of the best restaurants the city has to offer. Run by wife-and-husband team Chef Nuit and Jeff Regular, the pair first made their mark with Sukhothai on Parliament in 2008 before opening up PAI a few years later in 2014.

Chef Nuit and Jeff actually fell in love in Thailand, after meeting on the back of an elephant in the town of Pai. Thus, the restaurant is a celebration of the city that is so close to their hearts, and they’re bringing their love for Thai food to more Torontonians than ever before.

Now, PAI has expanded through Kitchen Hub. In fact, their location in the Liberty Village Longo’s serves as their third location in partnership with the virtual food hall.

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See also: Canada’s first edition of the Michelin Guide is now out (for Toronto).

Thai Chicken Wings from PAI
Chelsea Brimstin

“It’s very exciting for us because we’ve done this concept with Kitchen Hub at just standalone buildings, but when they came to us and said there’s an opportunity to do that same thing in Longo’s in Liberty Village, you know, it’s just such a great opportunity,” Jeff says through a smile. “Something we’ve never thought about is to combine the concept with a place that already has its own traffic and [we can] work together with Longo’s. You can order food for tonight and get ingredients for something to cook tomorrow. So it’s this really amazing blend of both worlds.”

Their food at Kitchen Hub may be a quick and easy solution for Torontonians, but it still boasts the same high-quality eats that you can find at any of their restaurants.

You can find fan-favourites like the Thai Chicken Wings, made up of fried chicken topped with crispy shallots, magrud lime leaves and crispy chilies, tossed in a sweet tamarind sauce.

We also got to taste the Chef Nuit Pad Thai, which has been voted Best Pad Thai in Toronto by BlogTO and View the Vibe. Packaged and presented in a handheld banana leaf cone, the sweet noodles packed a punch of texture and spices. The red-flame stir-fried rice noodles came tossed in a homemade tamarind-palm sugar sauce with chicken, bean sprouts, tofu, egg, chives and long leaf coriander, making for a delicious (and nutritious!) dinner.

While it’s a pretty notable start, PAI isn’t the only Toronto business located in the new Kitchen Hub.

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Three kinds of tacos from Tecolote
Chelsea Brimstin

Tecolote wants Torontonians to experience the flavours of Mexico

Tecolote is a family business, owned by the Herrera Sisters, Elia and Marlene, who were born in Cordoba, Veracruz in Mexico. They learned everything they know from their grandmother, who taught them to prioritize the passion and love behind the business. Ultimately, their mission is to bring the authentic flavours and colours of Mexico to your plate — and now they can bring those unbelievable flavours to more mouths with Kitchen Hub.

“We are so happy and thrilled to be partnered with Kitchen Hub inside Longo’s as well,” Elia Herrera tells us. “This is an amazing experience where we’re going to be able to share our food, our culture, traditions from Mexico here into Canada.”

We tried Tecolote’s Pork Al Pastor taco, made with pork shoulder, pastor adobo, refried beans, pineapple pico and salsa verde, all packed onto a handmade corn tortilla. The melt-in-your-mouth meal boasted such unique spices, making for a perfectly rich and flavourful dish.

You may also like: Cooking for one? Try these delicious hacks to maximize your food budget.

Burgers from Cabanos
Chelsea Brimstin

What else can you find at Longo’s and Kitchen Hub’s virtual food hall?

Another standout in the new Kitchen Hub is Cabano’s, which offers American comfort classics, but with a big-city-after-hours edge. Striking the perfect balance of crispy, juicy and delicious, the burgers come made with fresh (never frozen) meat and an array of homemade sauces.

If that’s not enough, you can even round out your takeout order with food from Mandy’s Gourmet Salads, a buzz-worthy new spot that recently expanded to Toronto from Montreal. We got to taste their crunchy sesame salad, which boasted a delicate amount of fruit for a fresh meal bursting with flavour.

Related: 5 salads loved by celebs that you can make at home.

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Cannoli from Longo's
Chelsea Brimstin

If you place an order at Longo’s Kitchen Hub, you’ll be able to mix and match items from all four restaurants alongside grab-and-go items from The Cheesecake Factory Bakery, Elle Dee Bakery and Longo’s ready-to-eat items, such as their pizza or cannoli.

So, next time you find yourself in a crunch for some food, head to Longo’s in Liberty Village to try out some of the best restaurants this city has to offer – all while shopping for your groceries for the week.



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