Supermarket Restaurant and Bar

The service here is terrible. It used to be so much better, the club at least. In terms of restaurant service, it’s terrible. I arrived with a group of friends and sat at a table. No one came to give us menus or take our orders for 30 minutes, even when we switched tables. We had to flag a bartender and wait more for a server. When the server did finally show up, whom we flagged from our table, I informed her that I was upset with the service. Instead of providing us with menus or taking our orders, she questioned us as to who our server was because a friend who arrived earlier than us had a beer with him. She kept pressing us, asking who had served us even though it was irrelevant. She then walked away and another server came to provide us with menus after 10 minutes. There was no manager available that I could discuss my concerns with. Our food also took longer than usual to arrive.

Really sweet place! For both food and night happnins. I’ve been here for an open mic and dancing before, and more recently for food. Both times I had a really enjoyable experience.
For the food, I tried:
Curried lamb spring rolls — thin crispy outside filled with curried ground lamb. It was very good.
Jerk pork — it came with a spicy dipping sauce. This was a hearty and filling appetizer for sure! Delicious as well.
Shrimp and crab tacos — two of them, came on hard square shells. I really liked it (could taste the eggplants in there) Mmmmmmm. Great flavour combo.
Thai mango salad — this was my least favourite of what we ordered. Still good, but wasn’t sure of the sauce that was on it. Sweet and spicy at the same time. It was a generous portion size.
All in all, great food. And of course I have to mention that our server was fantastic.
I certainly have respect for this establishment, as it hosts lots of cool events, AND has a solid menu. Don’t forget to check in on Unilocal for 25% off your bill!!!

Performed here at the open mic, watched numerous shows here, had dinner/​drinks with many different friends here over the past few years. Never fails to entertain me and whoever I’m with. It’s a huge plus that it is literally the entrance to Kensington Market. For food only had stuff like tacos and nachos but for pub fare it was pretty tasty. Sometimes they got good beer prices when they feature. And the shows they have playing are awesome and chill. See you guys soon!

Never had food here but we come here often-​ish for drinks and dancing. Had my 23^rd here and just came here last night for my friend’s 26^th. Great choice if you want a chill place to celebrate your being-​born-​day or just wanna go out on a Saturday without putting on heels. Cover is like $ 5, sometimes $ 10. Bouncers are mad nice. No coat check. I would suggest bringing cash because you need to rack up a minimum of $ 20 to charge a credit card and the machines aren’t exactly reliable. They have an ATM in the back that is overpriced duh. It’s pretty sick cause often the bartenders get confused and undercharge you for drinks. Bathrooms aren’t disgusting even near 2am. Crowd is not aggressive at all, just fun young people looking to dance and hang out. Music is random as fack — 2000s pop hits, current Top 40, reggae, hip hop, rock ‘n roll, but it’s all fun to shake it to. No more smoking on the patio as per Ontario bylaw. Smell a lot of weed around because hello it’s Canada and you’re in Kensington.
Wear: minimal make-​up, maybe a cute blouse, beanie if you’re gay or if it’s cold, statement necklace, jeans or skirt. Not a short black dress kinda spot.

Supermarket is a «super» fun dance venue. It’s such a breath from all the clubs dt where it’s crammed w people trying to grind up on u constantly: and I love how the music is fun and bouncy and not dub step like. The phrase «oldies but goodies» comes to mind! It is a small venue, but cover is cheap and it’s always a fun crowd!

Always here on those weekend nights when you can’t find anywhere else to linger.
The food here is actually pretty dope. Had the steak and it was actually played quite nicely. The taste isn’t mind blowing, but I’m honestly not complaining! It’s always crowded here, so either make a reso, or come at an awkward time for food.
As for their later hours, the bar has never failed to impress me. I’ve gone more than three times and each time I’ve always had fun. They have a split bar/​dance floor in the back with a live band or either a honestly amazing playlist.
This is the place I always default to if I want to have a good time in the evening (there’s $ ⁵⁄₁₀ cover!).

Popped in here today for a late lunch, we were very tempted to order some of the tapas but we were so hungry we decided to go with an entrée instead.
I ordered the Argentian style flank steak which came with house cut fries and salad. The steak was cooked perfectly to my medium order and served with chimmichurri. It was excellent, very tender and melt in your mouth texture. The fries were perfect, crisp on the outside, not soggy on the inside, and salted perfectly. I asked for just a mixed greens salad as I don’t like mushrooms and it came with a balsamic vinaigrette on the baby greens. It was a perfect sized serving and I would order it again.
My friend ordered the chicken and shrimp pad Thai. The bowl was HUGE! It could easily have served two or three people. Amazing amount of food for the price. And it included a lot of chicken and shrimp, which he said was excellent.
It was a very hot and humid day in the city and my friend had a pint of the Market Pale Ale, which was very refreshing, not too hoppy, but very flavourful. I tried the Kensington Market Watermelon Wheat, which came in a tall can and was very smooth, with the watermelon flavour on the finish.
Definitely plan to visit again and try some of the tapas next time.

Friendly staff. I had the house red and was surprised it’s served in a regular glass cup, not a wine glass. but oh well, it’s still good wine. Ordered the mango salad with shrimp. It’s a small dish for $ 10. My fellow friend had the burger and he wasn’t impressed with it either. I’d come back still to try other things on the menu but will need to be prepared that it’s nothing spectacular compared to other restaurants in the area.
Overall, it’s an okay place.

This is one of the staples in Kensington market and for that reason it is usually packed on a Friday or Saturday night. I meet up here with some friends on Friday for a couple of drinks and some dancing. The DJ are pretty good here and the dance floor is usually packed.
If you are looking for a place to have a good time Supermarket should be on your list.

My friend and I loved this place. When you first walk in we were a little discouraged because the place looked a little run down, but we stayed because the place was referred to us as a «must eat». We were happy that we stayed as everything we ate was spectacular from the dumplings to the salad.
The Resturant also hosts live music and the band was setting up while we were eating; however, we didn’t stay for the show because we were tired after a long day.
If you’ve ever been to New York City’s Greenwich village and enjoyed yourself, then you’ll love this place as the neighborhood is very similar.

Top place in the market for food, top place for live music and top place for drinks.
Great place for adults or meetings and a great place to take the kids for dinner.
Staff if friendly and nice.
I have never had a bad meal here.

Been here a few Sunday nights for the live music and it’s really good.
As far is the place is concerned, we’ve done mostly drinks there. Pick up your drinks at the bar and hang out for a good time. You can sit far from the stage to actually be able to chat with friends without shouting. If you want to get into the music, you can in the performance area.

It’s too bad what happened to Supermarket. We used to go all the time years ago and the service was fantastic. I recently moved back to Toronto and was excited to go back to Supermarket last night. We got there around 9 and we were a large group that got an awesome table. The drinks were flowing and we were having a great time until our waitress told us that she didn’t charge us for a bottle of wine. She had charged the table beside us instead and said «they weren’t going to pay for it».
At this point in the night we were paying for our drinks at the bar so none of us remembered not paying for a bottle of wine. I mean, we were all paid up. The server had settled with us half an hour earlier. I know mistakes happen, but this server didn’t even have the bills we paid before to show us. She just showed up to our table and demanded that we look for the bill we just paid.
Anyways, her tone was condescending like we had done something wrong. I literally could not believe the way she was talking to us. Notice to the management — hire servers that are professional and know how to treat customers.
My friend ended up paying for this extra bottle of wine just to get her off our case.

A friend organized a little get-​together at Supermarket on my suggestion. I like the general vibe of Supermarket on the whole.
They gave us the whole front room for a party of about 12 – 14 which was very nice but lacked any atmosphere as it is kinda separated from the bar and general dining area imo.
Dishes of note that we ordered was the calamari (light and crispy), tuna tataki (great texture and flavour), and Guiness beef shank poutine (warm and filling).
Crowd is 25+ from my judgement and the dancefloor is quite generous for the size of the entire space. There is live music on the weekends and the DJ rocks the house thereafter.

The place has evolved a lot over the years and it’s still not quite hit the mark just as yet, but i think that’s what i like about Supermarket. It’s maintained this tiny bubble of imperfection-​perfection that truly affords it a spot in kensington (which is obviously being gentrified like yorkville went through in the 70’s).
When it first opened, you didn’t think food when you thought of supermarket. You thought about what unique music set/​production/​show they have going on this week. Everything from live jazz, to hard house, to classical brazilian. It was like a kinder surprise going to Supermarket.
Then it got too popular for it’s own good. Line ups all the time and charm diminished. Then the hipsters took over. And in that transition, they figured out food would also make them money. So they turned the place into resto lounge during the day, serving interesting but not exceptional food.
Today, the place is ignored by the locals, forgotten by the 905ers, dismissed by the hipsters, and so what you have left is a spot that is frequented by a new yuppy crowd for dinner looking for something different, and music sets that attract a specific type of crowd. So Supermarket no longer has it’s regulars. It’s in a sense in another period of redefining itself.
But the fact still remains — this is a place that has evolved, succeeded to exist in a tough transition. It’s always going to have a great space, a great stage and a great location… and maybe one day some really great food too.

This place has little star power.
Although it’s been around since 2004, Supermarket is a perfect example of the changes that have been happening to Kensington for quite a while now. This place is ridiculously expensive. But I guess majority of the stores on Augusta are. Kensington Market is transitioning into Yorkville — going from hippy to hipster to high-​end. And it sucks, but that’s just how it is. Neighbourhoods develop, evolve and change, I guess. *Sob*
And yes, the food is good. But the portions are tiny. You can’t even fill the appetite of a newborn baby with those portions. I like that the chef has his own space at the bar and you can spy on him while he makes your food. I know I sound like Debbie Downer, but I don’t like the bar. It’s so high and as a self-​proclaimed midget (5’2), I feel like one of Santa’s little helpers when I’m ordering a drink! :(:(
I ordered a pitcher of sangria yesterday. Silly me, I didn’t ask about the price. I watched the bartender make it and I almost died. No fruit. He threw in two, sad little cherries. Not real cherries, but the cherries that you find in No Frills packaged Birthday cakes. The worse was yet to come. I settled my bill straight away and the total — for the sangria alone — came to $ 28. WTF. I was so so so angry. If you’re going to charge me 30 bucks for a shitty, fruitless pitcher of sangria, at least throw in a free appetizer OR A SMILE… Ugh.
At least Supermarket has a nice patio. There are shopping carts on the outside and plenty of room in between tables so you’re not conscious of other people. The music is also great. In fact, I love the music they play. I’ve been here a few times and each time, the thing that pulled me in and made me stay longer, was the muzak.
In the back, beside the washrooms, there’s a big open space with a stage and seating. I’ve seen people reading excerpts from their short stories there or putting on plays. It’s a cute venue for performing.

We walked in when the doors opened for dinner on a Saturday night and it was utterly deserted. Service was sarcastic and rude even though there were no other patrons. The food consisted of fake Asian influenced pub food and deep fried everything.
Kind of admired the concert space in the back but it’s the usual dingy, painted black walls and sticky floors.

Got there at opening on a nice day wanting to sit on the patio, but it was closed (with no reason or apology given, only a shocked look that we even had the audacity to ask). The place looks a little rundown on the inside and a bit of a hipster vibe on the outside. Despite having a bunch of staff working and being the only customers there, service was slow. Food was decent, but not worth it compared to the large variety of places nearby that are both tasty and have proper service. Was about $ 60 for a dinner for 2.
Apparently it turns into a club/​dance party if you stay long enough, but we didn’t.

Came here on the weekend for a little team outing. I must say, this place was a surprise, but a very pleasant surprise.
My party of 5 got to the line at about 10:30pm. No one was in front of us and the place looked far from packed from the outside, but I think this place wanted to build some hype, so they made us stand outside for 5 mins before letting us in. When we got in, it was pretty empty– tons of tables available, but at about 11:30, the place really started to fill up. Drinks were pretty reasonably priced at this place, but they were also kinda weak. I got a couple SoCo limes, and it was really sweet, mostly because the majority of my drink was bar lime and not SoCo. Whateves, good thing I pre-​drank.
As for the music, I loved it! They were playing an eclectic mix of motown, 80’s pop music, and some 90’s hip hop, rap, and hood faves… hahaha (yeah, that stuff that white girls love to bump to.) Very danceable, great time, great energy on the dance floor (even though it was really packed).
Anyways, I really liked this place. The crowd was really good and the bartender let me cash out immediately on my credit card although she said that they don’t usually allow it. Great service. I’m def going to be back.

Who doesn’t love Kensington market?!
I checked out Supermarket this passed weekend and it was a hip place, maybe too hip for this non-​hipster. They had live bands on Sunday night and had a great crowd.
My crew and I went for drinks and dessert. The menu is Asian Fusion and seemed to go well with the crowd… not wholly evident when you are outside of this place. As for dessert, I highly recommend the grilled pinapple, a little steep for the price but it had a great mix between the grilled pineapple, the home churned ice cream and this wafer/​thin pie crust décor.
They could really hold off on all the mint leaf stylings. Added nothing to my dish.
Hipsters unite!

J’ai eu l’occasion d’aller à ce bar car un mes amis y joue régulièrement.
Le principe est simple, les artistes s’inscrivent sur la liste et ont droit à 2 chansons sur scèné.
Le bar est tout en longueur et très spacieux.
I had the occasion to go to that bar because of of my friends is a regular singer here.
How it works: singers just put their name on a guest list and then can sing 2 songs on stage.
Very wide bar with a lot space.