Union Summer

We stumbled on this unexpected FREE outdoor venue with live music, cold drinks and great food. Bravo to the City of Toronto for providing such a great escape from the bustle of the city. Beer and cocktails from Malibu Bar and Chips and Guac from Gus’s Tacos were just what we needed for a few hours of music and people watching in comfy (very clean) outdoor couches.

What a fantastic idea! So many drink and food options. Comfy seating and great musical performances all in the open air. Kudos TD & Union Station on this innovative collaboration! I hope it returns next summer 🌞

Union Summer delivers fantastic summer vibes with its R&B music and free entry, making it an inviting spot to unwind and enjoy. The ambiance is electric, perfect for socializing and dancing. However, the downside lies in the lackluster food and drinks options, which may disappoint those seeking a more satisfying culinary experience. Despite that, if you're looking for a lively outdoor hangout with great tunes, Union Summer won't disappoint.

Every community needs an activation like this. Music and food connect us. This is how we need to celebrate summer and culture.

Must do!! Perfect low cost patio for this summer 🫶 with 🌴 Caribean vibes and great food.

Great place for entertainment with a bite and a pint.

Really nice space to grab some food with friends. The tacos were delicious but a bit pricey. I HAD a drink but they took it away while I was grabbing food despite it being half full, didn’t even ask my friends who were sitting right there if I was done (I was not)

I love coming here! My only lament is that the opening season isn't longer!

This was a great spot to go with a large group where we could all order different things and sit together outside. Not a lot of healthy options but I did manage to find a salad at the Italian spot that was actually quite delicious despite being pre-packaged. A place to go for convenience and ambiance vs the food.

We came here for lunch cause my girlfriend never experienced Union Summer event. So getting out of Union Station and I can already smell the yummy cooking aroma of all the different stores. We were deciding what to eat at first and we both picked Wvrst. I will say, I am so glad I did! We chose Kielbasa-Cheesy sausage with everything on it and Lamb Merguez sausage with everything on it + the melted cheese. Oh my! Both are so good! I can't wait till Wvrst opens their store inside Union. As for the venue, I liked how the Union Station has become more lively in the summer. The bench sitting gives the fancy outdoor feel to it. But can there be something similar in late Spring or early Autumn?

It was my first time at Union Summer and I had a great time! TBH, I really have nothing to compare it to but my colleagues weren't all too impressed with the food on offer this year and kept saying the 2016 edition was much better. (They were on a hiatus last year due to the construction at Union Station). There are a plethora of food stands to choose from but I naturally gravitated towards Mean Bao. Why? 'Cuz I 'bao so hard', that's why. (peep photo) Ordered the pork belly bao and it was comparable to the baos I've had in Taiwan. Note: we arrived at noon and the place was already packed. Limited seating so it was hard to get more than three seats. Arrive early to make use of your limited lunch hour... I ran out of time but really wanted to try the cookie monster ice cream @ Fugo. Better luck next week! 3.5

I'm not overly impressed with Union Summer this year (2018). While they do have some great options like Fugo, Mean Bao, Wvrst and more...the options do seem quite limited. What happened to Eva's Chimney cones? What about Death In Venice gelato?? I came on a weekday evening and the sun was shining. They have live music apparently at some hours, and nice seating underneath patio tents. I decided to get a few things; a tofu bao from Mean Bao, some donuts and ice cream from Fugo, some fries from Union Chicken...and that's about it. The service everywhere is pretty quick, and the food is fairly tasty. I liked my veggie Bao - it was light and fresh. The fries were extremely salty though. Fugo didn't disappoint - it was quite delicious as always and I like how they make the donuts fresh. Union Summer is definitely a fun spot, but if you need to go out of your way to get there this year - you won't miss much if you decide not to go.

The Union Summer Market is a yearly event that runs from the end of May until August, featuring local restaurants/vendors, live music and an awesome outdoor patio. We dropped by on a sunny Sunday afternoon for lunch and marveled at the amazing selection of food and drink available including (but not limited to) Wvrst, Cabano's, Carbon Bar, Union Chicken, El Catrin and TKRE. We ended up choosing tacos from El Catrin and Buffalo chicken wings from Cabanos. Both meals came to around $15 including tax which isn't exactly cheap but given the location, patio and convenience I think it's worth it. The tacos were good but definitely not the best I've tried (that award goes to Seven Lives in Kensington). The "Baja" featured. crispy haddock, coleslaw and chipotle made for an interesting combination and the "Pastor" shaved pork with cilantro, salsa, red onion and pineapple. Both were tasty and well-presented, if not out of this world. The chicken wings from El Catrin were on another level. Huge, plump wings drizzled with buffalo and ranch sauces made for a feast in my mouth. The sauce was perfectly spicy without being overpowering and the ranch cooled things down ever so slightly. I was a little worried that the portion wouldn't be enough but they definitely knocked it out of the park. The chef made a point of putting a fresh batch in the fryer as they weren't very busy which we appreciated. I love visiting the Union Summer market and this year definitely didn't disappoint. I'll be sure to try some of the other offerings this weekend. PS: While you're here be sure to check out the renovated Union Station and new food court and surrounding stores/cafes

Ive been to this pop up market maybe 2-3 yrs ago and they have definitely stepped it up! They now have a nicer wooden bench area surrounded by all the diff pop up food vendors. Well organized and relatively clean. I like how theres so many good options to choose from and theres also music playing / bands at certain times. I opted for the fugo creamsicle drink with the tiny donut on top - honestly so worthy of a picture! Tasted ok - wish it was more of a drink though. The mean bao station was good - soft bun w/ juicy pork belly & got a noodle salad with tofu that was infused with such great seasoning - tofu was the best part. Also shared the OG union chicken sandwich...was delicious and devoured half of it in a matter of minutes!

This was my first time checking out Union Summer. I didn't realize how small it was (seating was kind of a pain, but we managed to find a spot to sit at). It also rained and wet most of the benches available so everyone was kind of squishing around. There's a good amount of food to choose from. I originally wanted to try a burger from one of the stands, but chose to try the food from Mean Bao. I was not disappointed. We ordered the pork and .....I forgot which the other one was but it wasn't the chicken. IT WAS SO GOOD. I'm such a sucker for bao's. We chose to try some of the mini donuts from Fugo as well. And their ice cream? Ugh everything was delicious. I'd probably go back again to try out a few of the other booths food as well. We got lucky and there was a pretty live show going on. Definitely something to experience in Toronto if you're a tourist or even a resident. Go, go, go!

Union summer is a pop-up patio right next to union station. They have a ton of food vendors like Union chicken, Mean Bao, the Carbon bar and more! There are also movie screenings and live music performances to go with your food and drinks. It's a perfect spot to enjoy summer in the city! I had the spicy chicken sandwich from union chicken and it's packs quite a punch!

Union Summer Market brings a punch to compete with its predecessor, Front Street Foods. Conveniently located outside of Union Station, it will definitely attract large crowds but it is definitely not perfect in terms of layout. Here's what I tried on multiple visits to this food market so far: Eva's Original Chimney: Definitely the main dessert place at the market. I tried the original chimney and it was definitely photo worthy and thats all. It's basically a churro filled with vanilla ice cream soft serve. I wouldn't try it again. Loaded Pierogi: I ordered the porky pig which had bacon, caramelized onion, cheese and green onions. I honestly thought the pierogis would be stuffed with those ingredients but they were just placed on top of the pierogis. Everything they put together works and taste alright but nothing too special here. Burger's Priest: Finally, a convenient place to order some Burger's Priest! I still find that they are still the best burger place in Toronto. I ordered double cheeseburger and they make it fresh. Love that they are here at the Union Summer Market. True True Pizza: This was actually quite a surprise for me as I already went back and tried two different pizzas on different visits. I tried the Donnie Brasco and Hunt & Peck. Both pizzas were solid and freshly made. I definitely want to check out their restaurant location sometime. Mad Mexican: Mad Mexican is back from last year and I tried 2 tacos. You definitely have to add guacamole as I find the tacos to be a bit dry without it. The layout is a huge thing that I was disappointed about. All the vendors are all in the middle while there are two aisles on either side of the market. It doesn't provide that market feeling as it did last year when everyone was in the middle and people could look at all the options at once. They seem to like to blast music and I get they want to add entertainment with a stage but I find that it to be a miss. When it's lunch hour, people usually come and go quickly as there aren't enough seats to accommodate everyone at the market.

Union Summer is a downsized version of the previous setup two years ago. The old events company, Front Street Foods, had a much larger selection of vendors with more variety. However seating is now covered to provide shade from sun and rain. So far I've had: Wvrst We had both the bison and lamb sausage. They were delicious, nice bun, good sauerkraut. Duck fat fries were a bit of a disappointment- not crispy, no obvious flavour advantage that they were fried in duck fat. However their dipping sauces for the fries are excellent and made up for the lack lustre potato. Overall portions were good. 4 stars for the sausage. 3 stars for the fries (because of the sauce). Mean Bao Tried their pork belly bao and cold noodle salad. The bao had a smallish piece of pork belly, a couple slices of cucumber and some sauce. They could have been a bit more generous with the portions and added some pickled daikon and carrot for texture. The belly itself had a nice proportion of fat to meat. Taste wise I found it be on the bland side. With so many Asian places offering similar fare you really have to kick it up a notch to stand out. Sadly this didn't. The cold noodle salad fared better. Nice mix of veg, tofu and noodle. Dressing was good as was the tofu, though the noodle was a bit on the soggy side (slightly over cooked). 2 1/2 stars for the bao. 3 stars for the salad. Plant YYZ Here they serve up locally sourced produce and vegan dishes. I opted for the portobello mushroom burger with kale side salad. Overall flavours were good but I found the burger itself slightly under seasoned. Also I would have preferred a 'burger' with more resistance when I bite into it. This one was just mushy. Side salad was lightly dressed and fine. Overall 3 1/2 stars.

Review is mainly for Loaded Pierogi: Had an awesome and wonderfully filling Donald Duck (pierogis, carmelized onions, cheese, duck gravy, tomatoes, and a whole duck confit leg!). Loved it! Duck confit leg is one of my favourites and this was great - especially for one in a good stall. Never have seen it made in a deep fryer before, but worked fine. Was very salty, but that is pretty normal for duck confit leg. The potato periogis were good - fluffy but solid. There were eight in the portion. Generous amount of shredded cheese, carmelized onions (come from a can), and duck gravy. Garnished with sliced grape tomatoes. Hubby had the Ms Piggy - same 8 pierogis & shredded cheese but a ton of Apple smoked pulled pork. He loved it! The service was friendly and efficient. This isn't cheap take out, but definitely higher end food and pricing. Worth it for a treat! And I'll be going to one of their sit down locations soon. Seating in the area is hampered by the odd food stall layout this year. The stalls are in the centre of the court - back-to-back in two groups. Makes it very difficult to check out all the stalls when making your selection and there is no room to line up at the stalls much less wait for your order to be prepared. The seating is spread around the perimeter. Difficult to find open places and the rest of your group. The layout last year was much better with one alley for the food stalls and all the seating grouped together. It should be switched back!

I've been here twice so far this summer. There are a few things I like about this place: -Many choices of vendors to buy food from during the lunch hour and several are well known like Gushi, Momofuku Noodle Bar, Eva's Original Chimneys etc. -Easily accessible since it's right by Union Station -Live music that's actually really good -Alcohol is sold here -Decent portion sizes at some food stalls Cons: -Some places overcharge for their food like $16 for duck confit pierogies which were literally 8 small pierogies with a very salty small duck leg on top at the Loaded Pierogi stall -Narrow space between the back food stalls and some sitting areas, which is a lot more noticeable when it's crowded during the lunch hour - I have yet to be blown away by any of the food at these food stalls. So far, I've tried the beef brisket sammie at the Carbon Bar, duck confit pierogies at Loaded Pierogi, double down beef bacon patties sammie at Patois, Eva's Original Chimney Cones (the one with the brownie chunks and toffee bits) - all were just okay...but Death by Venice's lemon ricotta rosemary gelato was surprising really good! This summer market is worth going to once though (it's summer after all!) if you don't work or hang out in the area.

Union Summer seems much better than last years Front Street Foods in terms of vendor prep and wait times. The most notable vendor is Eva's Original Chimneys! The hype is worth it.. definitely more of a cheat day snack..or an entire meal.. so delicious though.. will def be back a handful of times before the end of the summer! I have also tried the lobster roll from Fresh off the Boat and it honestly wasn't that good, completely not worth it for $15.. I can walk down the street to Buster's at St. Lawrence Market and get something much more amazing for less! Overall, the food is quite pricey and small portioned here, but the availibity of seats seems to be better than last year and they have occasional entertainment nights with live bands, etc on the stage.

The food stall selection is great - the lack of stars isn't at the fault of that. It's the exceptionally poorly thought out layout of this year's market. Trying to walk through the line ups to observe the stalls and decide where and what to eat was an exercise in frustration. They opted to put the stalls back to back this year with tables on either side where people are lining up. This leaves about a 5 meter space between the counter of a food stall and the tables. Once there are people in line there is no room for one to comfortably walk through to decide what to eat. The music was incredibly loud. When I was ordering from the Mad Mexican, I had to ask her to repeat herself twice so I could hear.

Union summer is a neat idea but logistically never quite comes together. They have a series of food stalls, serving quick eats from Toronto restaurants, bench seating, and a small stage with musical performances. The food selection is not bad, they have a decent variety of choices, although there are a few that overlap. I had a jerk chicken sandwhich, the chicken was well seasoned, although could have been better quality meat. The slaw was messy, and kind of watery which made the bun a bit soggy. Not a bad meal just could have been put together a bit more nicely. The real issue with Union Summer is the lack of seating. There is only space for maybe 50 people and during dining hours it gets overcrowded. The musical performances were okay, but could probably go with a smaller performance area and more tables. It was interesting to try it but don't think I will be back in future years.

finally was able to make it out to this food festival this summer, given the space of where it is, and all of the options available, its a pretty good place to come and get some food, or a cup of coffee, or a treat. I can see a lot of people spending the day here just hanging out, which doesn't seem like too big of a problem, but when I went here, you had one person taking up a four person table, or even worse, one person for six people. now...I'm not saying they weren't holding seats, because maybe they were, but when you can't find a seat just to sit down and have a meal, it gets a bit frustrating. between the vendors and the seating area, this square gets packed pretty quickly. extremely transit friendly, as it is right out front of union. most of the vendors I witnessed had a really good urgency in regards to keeping the customer lines to a minimum, Even the star of the square which is eva's chimneys - BAR none! I keep saying square, but its more like a rectangle just a heads up. one of my only complaints about this whole festival is how dirty it is, and how long it takes for someone to clean up, I get that customers make messes, but it would be good if the customers gave a second to clean it up as well, or if the cleaning staff could be a little bit more prompt on it. in the end, I would definitely go back, lots of options and flavors and for the most part, it changes almost every year highly recommend the chimneys!

Friend recommended we check this out and it ended up a nice rest stop but nothing special, with huge lines for the more Instagram-friendly stuff and a lot of mediocre options.

Love these types of events - great opportunity for the vendors and an overall cool experiences for me. The food selection is pretty good, and there were a lot of options for a vegetarian avoiding dairy, which was great. I decided to order the OG Cauliflower bao from Patois, and a vegetarian croquette from anothe vendor. The Cauliflower bao is probably the best thing I've ever eaten. Crispy and very flavourful, my meat-eating friend also loved it. I would eat this everyday if I could, and I will be going to Patois as soon as they are open again. The vegetarian croquette was also really good, for $3 i got a snack size, which is a nice option if you are done work and catching a train. PROS: - good place to try new food before investing the time to go to the restaurant - good portions IF you have a smaller appetite CONS: - poor layout - I wish it was a little bit more open, and more seating - dirty tables - I know it's not a restarant or anything, but it would be nice if the tables were wiped off periodically - lack of seating/organization

True True Pizza: 5-stars Delicious "Donnie Brasko" pizza. Large enough for two sharing or a single hungry guy/gal. Little pricey and slow - I think they need one of those fast high-temp ovens. Will definitely return again. Burger Priest: 3-stars Relatively tasty burger but for $10+tax was expecting more. The Hidden Burger across the street is a better deal, includes burger, drink and fries.

This was my first time at TD Union Summer and I had a great time. First and foremost the location is super convenient for commuters like myself as it is right outside of the Union Station. They had quite a few different vendors including El Catrin, Union Chicken, Carbon Bar and more. I got a Habanero burger from Union Chicken and it was delicious. I'd recommend it if you can handle spice, if not go for the classic. They did have drinks as well ranging from beer to canned cocktails. The pricing on drinks was decent (around $6 for a glass of beer and $5 for cocktails). Like others mentioned it is a smaller space and seating was a little difficult to find but we were there on a Saturday afternoon which might have contributed to that. Overall, I definitely recommend checking out the Union Summer market if you get a chance. It's a great place to grab a bite with friends when coming downtown or even with coworkers after hours.