where jess ate

Having launched earlier this month, The Gallery Pop Up (@TheGalleryTO) brings something a little different to the Toronto pop-up scene.

This pop up series is brought to you by the personable Toronto realtor Kenny Shim (owner) and Corwin Miller who has extensive experience in the entertainment industry. They wanted to put together something new and exciting while showcasing different venues and neighborhoods around the city.

Their goal is to make The Gallery a recurring dining series with the theme, chef and location changing on a monthly basis. The first set of dinners (held throughout December) is held inside the Samuel J Moore restaurant at the historic Great Hall and features a comfort food menu.

I attended a media dinner on Tuesday and was impressed to hear that the pop up was organized and put together in a span of only eight days! That explains why I hadn’t heard about it earlier. Truly impressive!

They are open for various days throughout December – including Sundays for brunch. Here’s a list of the dates:

Sunday, December 15th – 10am to 11pm (brunch until 4pm)
Monday, December 16th – 5pm to 11pm
Tuesday, December 17th – 5pm to 11pm
Friday, December 27th – 5pm to 11pm
Saturday, December 28th – 5pm to 1am
Sunday, December 29th – 10am to 11pm (brunch until 4pm)
December 31st at the Great Hall

Now let’s get to the food. The comfort-themed menu is short and sweet with a handful of tempting options for each course. Here’s a look at what Mike and I decided on:

The Hangover Caesar ($8 for 1oz/$12 for 2oz)

Bread – with butter, roasted garlic and hummus

Beet Salad – with greens, ricotta and house-made vinaigrette ($9)

Caesar Salad – with bacon, croutons, parmesan and lemon ($7)

Braised Short Ribs – slow braised beef ribs with garlic chips, mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables ($20)

Olive Oil Poached Haddock – with celeriac puree, fried kale and salsa verde ($19)

Five Cheese Mac n’ Cheese ($6)

Chocolate Terrine

Americano

Highlights for me included the beet salad, braised short ribs and chocolate terrine. The beet salad consisted of delicious golden beets on a bed of arugula and light ricotta. I love beets so ordering this was a no brainer.

The braised short ribs were fall-apart tender (no knife required) and made for a comforting winter dish with the generous portion of mashed potatoes.

We went with the chocolate terrine for dessert based on our server’s recommendation. She didn’t steer us wrong as it was the perfect ending to the meal. It wasn’t too sweet and surprisingly wasn’t too heavy – especially delicious when paired with a steaming hot Americano!

The Gallery Pop Up is only operating out of the Samuel J Moore until the end of December, so check ’em out before they’re gone!

*This was a complimentary meal. The opinions in the post are my own.*