[This is a continuation of my Canada October 2025 posts]
If you love food (eating, shopping, cooking) then a visit to St Lawrence Market is a must. Having previously visited the Farmer’s Market (open only on Saturdays), we made a separate visit to the market proper with its mix of market vendors, cooked food stalls and retail shops set over two floors.
As we don’t live in Toronto, I only looked out for the cooked food items. There are also meat, fish, vegetable, cheese and other food ingredient stalls.
What we ate on-site
The top item that everyone tries is the Peameal Bacon Sandwich from Carousel Bakery. This video explains its origins. We shared a sandwich and enjoyed the bacon which was tender. The current price is CAD 9.49 including tax.
Another stall which had long queues was the St Urbain Bagel Bar/ Bakery.
I had not heard of Montreal-style bagels before researching the city of Montreal, to which we would be heading at the tail-end of our Canada trip. In case our schedule didn’t go to plan, we shared one bagel from St Urbain. The distinctive feature is that the bagels are baked in a wood-fired oven.
The ordering system at St Urbain is unnecessary complicated, leading to long queues and even longer collection times. You have to choose the type of bagel or roll, filling, extras and so on. I wanted a sesame bagel filled with cream cheese and smoked salmon. Honestly that would have been simple and adequate. However there is a choice of cream cheeses and salads/ pickles to go with the bagel.
Whilst it’s nice to customise an item, sometimes (don’t you feel it too?) I am tired of thinking and would prefer that someone else makes the decision for the best combination in anything.
Our filled bagel cost CAD 11.92 including tax. It was perfectly fine but nowhere near as delicious as the one we would later have at Bobino Bagel in Gatineau (Quebec). I think the long wait took the edge off my happiness.
We did make it to Montreal, where we would be invited by Boston-Florida Cousin to sample and compare sesame bagels from the St. Viateur Bagel Shop and Fairmount Bagel. More on this in a separate post.
Whatever happened to just plain cream cheese?
For the next time: a cheese craigel which is a croissant + bagel hybrid
What we ate off-site
If I lived in Toronto I would be visiting Blackbird Baking on a daily basis. As our time here was limited we bought a box of treats to eat in our serviced apartment.
Having shared one canelé on-site, we bought another four to share with our cousins later. If you like canelés, you will cry with happiness at how perfect these are.
Pastry perfection: canelé in the centre, bottom row
Bread perfection
What to Shop
If you are after a foodie souvenir, St Lawrence Market has a number of shops that offer uniquely Canadian items. As we had a lot more travelling to do, I couldn’t bring the mustard or pumpkin puree back to London, but we did get some maple syrup in Montreal.
There are many more food souvenirs e.g. maple tea than the ones I have listed here. You will certainly find something to suit your tastes and budget.
Over 36 varieties of Canadian mustards from Kozlik’s. Canada is one of the world’s top producers and exporters of mustard seeds
As the world’s largest producer of maple syrup, Canada accounts for over 80% of global production, with the province of Quebec being the largest maple syrup-producing region in the world
Pumpkin puree from E.D. Smith, which has recipes for its use on their website
If you love cooking, Placewares on the upper floor of the market is the kitchen equipment shop of your dreams
THE LOBSTER DINNER
During our stay in Toronto one of my cousins invited us to his top floor apartment for a lobster dinner. I am slowly running out of nicknames for my cousins, seeing as I have a few who are doctors. I could say ‘Doctor Cousin’ but it would have to be ‘Doctor Cousin 1’, ‘Doctor Cousin 2’ and so on (there are around 10 cousins who are doctors). So I am going to call this particular cousin (a doctor) St Lawrence Cousin, seeing as he lives a stone’s throw from the market.
The views from the large patio overlooking St Lawrence Market (foreground) and Downtown Toronto (background)
I cannot think of a better dinner, or location, than this. Live lobsters from the market were simply dropped into a large pot of salted boiling water for nine minutes. This was accompanied by the sweetest of corn-on-the cob and various salads.
We finished off with a traditional pecan pie and an apple cake from Eve’s Temptations, located on the ground floor of the market
If you are in the area and would like a coffee, I can recommend Balzac’s Coffee Roasters (10 Market Street, facing the side of the market). In the area you can also visit: Union Station, Gooderham Building, Cathedral Church of St James, Dineen Coffee (original site at 140 Yonge Street), St Michael’s Cathedral Basilica and perhaps if the weather is particularly wet, the Eaton Centre shopping mall.
In the next Canada post I will give a round-up of eating out (and maybe transport) in Toronto, and then we head to the Niagara Falls at the end of our first week in Canada.