Another place Connie and I visited while in Toronto in February was La Merceria. It was Sunday, and we were flying home that evening, so we were wandering down around Queen Street, suitcases in tow. Since our hotel didn’t have a restaurant or cafe, we were on the lookout. A sign on the main street directed us a street up, where there was a vintage-feel diner, and beside it, a cute little cafe. The cafe looked incredibly small when we first popped in – with only three tables visible. Since we had our luggage, we picked the closest one that had a small amount of room out of the way from regular foot traffic, and parked our bags.
Cafe and shop in Toronto
I headed up to the counter first and picked out a tasty Argentinean-style ham and cheese sandwich-like-thing (I forget the name of it) along with a bottled water, and also got a cup of the lemon water on the counter. When my order was placed, I sat down so Connie could place her order. Our dishes both came with a little dish of olives (yum!) and I thought mine was delicious! (Sorry, we were so famished that I didn’t get a photo!)
Cafe and shop in Toronto
When I went to use the restroom though, I discovered how deep the shop was – and that there are little pods of seating throughout the back as well – although it looks very small from the front- there is actually a nice amount of seating scattered throughout the space. This strikes me as a great place to come with a small group – since the little scattered pods allow you to sit with a small group, without bumping elbows with other patrons there too.
The shop also had a delicious array of home ware and bath ware which was tempting… if we didn’t have to think of how to pack things for our flight home! (Especially those adorable mugs with squirrel’s tails!) The decor is beautiful, clean, kitchy, inspiring, and quirky. Think Etsy meets Pintrest meets an Apple store. We also were amused to hear Spanish, French, and English during our short visit in this tiny shop. A Toronto Blogger wanted to keep this place a secret – but photos show how much the interior has changed since he or she posted to when we visited.
So, Calgary readers – have you found a place like this in Calgary? Let us know about it in the comments below! (Oh, and if you know the name of the Argentinean sandwich thing!)
La Merceria
506 Adelaide St W
Toronto, ON
(416) 848-0057
Happy Sushi Belly 