Marche: Interactive Food Experience

Marche

181 Bay St., Toronto, ON

I’ve always loved coming to Marche. I don’t even actually like buffets but the great thing about Marche is that the food is prepared right before you so it’s fresh, customized and made-to-order.

Everyone gets a Marche guest card upon entrance and you just scan the card as you order and pay at the end of the meal. A bunch of us met up at Marche for a much-needed gossip fest and a snack. Of course, since all four of us loved to eat, we ended up eating a whole dinner before we knew it.

I ordered a crepe that was cooked and wrapped up right in front of me. I got to pick out which ingredients I wanted and watched as the veggies sizzled on the flat top grill and the cheese melted on top of everything. My mouth was watering the whole time.

We ordered a lamb shank too, which was surprisingly moist and juicy and extremely flavourful. Slathered with sweet and smoky tomato sauce, I couldn’t stop eating this dish. And I didn’t even order it.

As a side dish, we ordered some crispy hash browns with a big dollop of sour cream. I also loved this dish and I admit I ate most of it.

Since we were craving something salty, we opted for a pepperoni pizza too. The pizza dough was tossed and the ingredients placed on the pie as we watched (and drooled!).

The pizza totally hit the spot for us. And I loved that we got to watch it being made. There’s something infectiously energetic and exciting about the atmosphere inside Marche. The fact that we can interact with cooks, pick and choose our food and smell the food as it’s being cooked is a great experience. It beats any plain old sit-down dining room experience at any restaurant. It’s also a bit like being in the middle of a Top Chef challenge, hopping from food station to food station.

Never send two people with sweet tooths to the dessert bar because we came back with too much dessert! Not pictured, but the most disappointing of the bunch was a hazelnut chocolate cake that turned out to be more dry than rich and dense. I did love the creamy cheesecake. It didn’t have a crust, which was perfect for me.

We had to order a big fluffy waffle and top it with lots of chocolate sauce and sweet fruit. We also got a side of sweet and cold ice cream to put on top.

We were stuffed to the max by the end of our gabfest and I can’t wait to go back!