Phillips Square Montréal

Phillips Square is a historic public square located in Downtown Montréal, Québec, Canada. Established in 1842, The Square was a gift from Alfred Phillips to the city of Montreal in what was then a wealthy residential area in the city. The first downtown stores were actually located around this Square including the famous Birks jewelry store and The Bay department store that still exist until today. 

Nestled in the middle of tall buildings, you can find greeneries and dry deck fountain at this charming square making it a nice area to walk or sit around at. I was there during early fall on a Thursday around noon and spotted a lot of people enjoying their lunch breaks at the Square. (There are a couple of restaurants around the area including Pizza Il Focolaio where I had the best pizza in recent times and probably one of the best food I had during my Montréal trip). There are plenty of seatings and a couple of tables with umbrellas that are spread out around the area which serve as an encouragement for people to spend more time at the Square. This is the perfect place to go when you want to walk around, get some fresh air or sunbathe for a bit, especially on a nice weather day.

“The square features a bronze monument of King Edward VII, who ruled from 1901 to 1910. He visited Montreal in 1860, while he was still the Prince of Wales, and opened the Victoria Bridge. The statue was designed by Louis-Philippe Hébert and was erected in 1914. The four allegorical figures at the base of the monument represent Peace, the Four Founding Nations, Abundance, and Liberty.” — Wikipedia

 

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Cibo Wine Bar King West

Cibo Wine Bar is one of Toronto’s popular Italian restaurant. Their menu focuses on old-school rustic Italian dishes featuring traditional and modern staples along with a vast variety of wine that are displayed in their glass cellar in the middle the room. The modern and casual atmosphere of the place has made it one of Toronto’s popular nightlife spot. 

Grilled Octopus CA$24 | 8.5/10

Mixed Greens, Raddichio, Purple Potato, Green Beans, Fried Capers, Lemon Juice.

The octopus was nicely cooked with firm texture but still soft and tender. The meat was very easy to cut and chew and has that hint of smokiness from the grill. The seasoning was also nicely done with the flavors blending together quite well. For the veggies, the purple potato and green beans were also well cooked and seasoned. The highlight of the dish for me was the fried capers. The crispy, salty and vinegary capers gave a really refreshing kick to the dish.

Pizza Americana CA$22

Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella, Pepperoni, Mushroom, Green Peppers.

My friend ordered this pizza and I didn’t get to try it. But he finished the whole pan so I’m guessing it’s probably good.

Seafood Linguine with Tomato Sauce CA$30 | 7.5/10

Fresh Clams, Mussels, Calamari, Tiger Shrimp, Light Tomato Sauce.

The pasta was al dente, the seafood was fresh, and the sauce was light and not too heavy.

Seafood Linguine with White Wine Sauce CA$30 | 7.5/10

Fresh Clams, Mussels, Calamari, Tiger Shrimp, Light White Wine Sauce.

The pasta was al dente, the seafood was fresh, and the sauce was light and not too heavy. The pasta portion was pretty generous too. I ended up having some leftovers pasta because I was so full. 

Service was pretty great at this place with the food being served not long after our order was placed. Our server was friendly, periodically checking in with us if we need anything. The place is a bit loud though with music blaring in the background (it’s a bar after all), but the ambience of the place is pretty nice with plenty of seatings available around the restaurant.

 

Cibo Wine Bar King West

Address: 522 King St W, Toronto, ON M5V 1L7, Canada
Telephone: +1 416-504-3939
Hours: Mon-Wed 11:30am-12:00am | Thu-Fri 11:30am-02:00am | Sat 11:00am-02:00am | Sun 11:00am-12:00 am

Instagram: @cibo_winebar
Menu

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Indigo at The Well

Indigo at The Well aimed to be the go-to spot for every book-lovers in downtown Toronto with the 40,000 curated books that are on display on the library shelvings that are in and around the 16,000² ft space. Not only they sell an extensive collection of books, they also sell lifestyle products, home décor, toys, stationery, music, audio equipments and gifts. Indigo is Canada’s only major English-language national bookstore chain with now over 200 superstores and small formats stores all around Canada.

“The store’s innovative design, crafted by the UK-based brand innovation studio Dalziel & Pow, promises to be a visual delight. It will revolve around a curated selection of Indigo’s books, with a newfound emphasis on lifestyle products and immersive in-store experiences,” shared the brand. —retail-insider.com

The massive store is designed with different sections and seating areas that are well spread out through out the space. The layout is very pleasing with ample rooms in between each shelves, making browsing the store a delightful experience. One of the coolest area of this store is their all-red manga section which they self-proclaimed as “The coolest manga shop in the city with a manga-inspired lighting installation”.

There’s also Propeller Coffee Co., a Toronto-based gourmet coffee roaster that sells beverages, pastries, and snacks that you can enjoy inside the store.

With the copious amount of books and lifestyle products that they sell in store, Indigo at The Well makes it a perfect place for visitors—book-lovers and non-book-lovers alike—to do some retail therapy or window shopping.

 

Indigo at The Well

Address: The Well Upper Ground UG04 | 486 Front St W, Toronto, ON M5V 0V2, Canada
Telephone: +1 647-254-2169
Hours: Mon-Sat 10am-8pm | Sun 10am-7pm

Instagram: @indigo.thewell
Directory: Indigo at The Well

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Mr. Surprise at The Well

Mr. Surprise is a specialty toy store where you can find various high-quality blind boxes, designer toys and trendy collectibles. They also work with local and international artists for collaboration projects as well as providing them with a space to exhibit and sell their artworks. 

“Founded in 2019, Mr. Surprise has grown to one of North America’s leader in designer toys, art, stationary and lifestyle goods. We are dedicated to continuously bringing you happiness, entertainment and amazing surprises everyday. We have collaborated and will continue to work with many Canadian and International artists to create phenomenal pop up events in order to cultivate the designer products market.”—thewelltoronto.com

Free Drop Off / Pick Up Service 

Mr. Surprise also offers 14-days free in-store storage for customers to do a Drop Off / Pick Up service for the toys they sell on social media platforms. How it works is if you’re a seller, after you find a buyer for your toys on social media, you can bring the sold toys to the store for storage. They will provide clear bags to pack you your toys in and labels for you to fill out. 

For the labels, you can write either ‘Paid’, ‘Unpaid’ or ‘Trade’. If the toy is unpaid, the store will make sure that the person picking up the toys show proof of payment before the hand off. If the toy is a trade, the store will make sure that the person picking up the toys must do a drop-off in return.

After you packaged everything, take a picture of the package and send it to your buyer. The staff will then store the package for you until the buyer come to pick it up by showing the picture you sent over to them as proof. 

If for any reason your buyer cannot pick the toys up within 14 days, storage extension is possible as long as you notify the store via text or call. 

So essentially, Mr. Surprise is playing middle man for these transactions, making it a little safer and convenient for the community to buy, sell and trade toys. Plus, it is a good marketing strategy for them since it gives them additional foot traffic of people who’s highly likely to buy something from the store.

The main reason I visited Mr. Surprise at The Well was exactly for this reason. My friend bought two Labubu from a seller on Facebook Marketplace and the seller has dropped off the items at the store. We came in, she showed the picture the seller sent over to the staff and they located her packages soon after. And since she only paid for half of the transaction, she then paid the remaining owed amount and showed the proof of payment to the staff before they handed both of the purchased Labubu boxes to her. On top of that, she also ended up buying a DIMOO Bear Dad from the store. So the complimentary service is really beneficial for the customers and the store as well. 

If you’re looking for toy collectibles and blind boxes like the currently internationally hyped Pop Mart collections in Toronto, certainly check out Mr. Surprise at The Well or at their Scarborough location.

 

Mr. Surprise at The Well

Address: 486 Front St W LG08, Toronto, ON M5V 0V2, Canada
Telephone: +14379831823
Hours: Everyday 11 am - 7 pm

Instagram: @mrsurprisethewell

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The Well Toronto

The Well is Toronto’s biggest mixed-use downtown development that was opened November last year. Located in between Front, Spadina and Wellington, you can find retail shops, food services, office space, and residential units in the massive 7.6-acre mixed-use complex they occupy. The 11-years in the making project is a joint venture between two top urban developers RioCan REIT and Allied Properties REIT and recently has become the newest addition to Toronto’s iconic landmarks.

The architecture of the The Well is nothing short of impressive. Seven different world renowned architecture firms were responsible for designing three condominiums towers, three residential rental towers, one office tower and a 3-level retail area nestled at the bottom of these towers. Their goal was to create a a people-focused property that foster human connection and community building which resulted in this huge pedestrian-centric and easy to navigate complex. 

One of the most stunning part of The Well is the glass-covered passageways that are connecting the seven towers. This German-engineered glass canopy was shipped piece by piece from Germany to Canada which then assembled at The Well.

“Follow the light and you enter the The Well’s namesake space: the three-story deep, block-long concourse, crisscrossed by bridges, lined with shops and topped with a diamond-mullioned glass vault. Bridges aside, The Well’s form references that of urban arcades built from the 1850s, including the most famous, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan. Since the dawn of the department store era, that combination of dark compressed entry and soaring glass roof has unleashed spending dopamine.” —Bloomberg.com

“The most literal inspiration for The Well’s covered mall can be found in many parts of the U.K. “This idea of having a roof like an umbrella, rather than an enclosed space, is something we’ve done in the U.K. a lot,” says Adrian Price, a London-based principal at BDP.

The canopy—designed collaboratively by Hariri Pontarini, BDP, and Adamson, working with RJC Engineers—extends between seven buildings. It is held aloft by V-shaped supports, relying on what Price calls a “continuous walk-in gutter” that extends around the edge of the structure to provide stiffness. The supports, in turn, are designed to have enough give to accommodate building movement, while the panels of engineered glass sit atop the lattice. “It’s the largest structure of its type in North America,” says Price.” —canadianarchitect.com

If you are a visitor, you can find plenty to do around The Well. For dining, there are 12 curated restaurants and bars as well as the recently opened Wellington Food Market with 50 F&B vendors serving cuisines from all around the world you can choose from. For shopping, you can find local brands as well as world-class brands around their 320,000² ft open-air retail walk. Or even if you don’t want to do either, you can always come to just see the impressive architecture and walk around the complex. 

 

The Well

Address: 486 Front St W, Toronto, ON M5V 0V2, Canada
Telephone: +1 416-203-7777
Hours: Sun-Tue 11 am-8 pm | Wed-Sat 10 am-8 pm

Instagram: @thewell_to

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