Queen West’s Come and Get It: The Name Speaks For Itself

It’s nice to feel at home. And after an eight-month lease extended into a two-year pop-up shop on Spadina, Come and Get It has finally moved into its own permanent space on Queen West (676).

At the pop-up shop it was all take out. There were Nintendo games and a distinctly 90s feel. The new space stays true to its beginnings but presents itself as a more mature option. For instance, food comes on actual plates now. The design is still fun but it’s also stylish – more deliberate. The decals on the wall reference the nostalgia we have for many years, including the 70s, 80s, and 90s. There’s professional graffiti and actual fencing to make the space feel like a schoolyard. As owner Jon Polubiec says, “this is the post-puberty version” of Come and Get It, the “natural evolution” of the old space. Here, metaphor is the medium of choice. Items such as school cafeteria chairs, and a bar that, from the right angle, appears to be a giant boombox, help the restaurant remain playful without actually making it silly.

The menu is a simple grid formula that leads to a plethora of tasty dishes. The way it works is easy: you pick a format (sandwich, poutine, wrap, or salad) and then one of their seven ‘flavours’ to go with it. These flavours include the likes of chipotle short rib, mango jerk chicken, coconut shrimp, and winter veg, among others. The trick is, every format and flavour combo offers a completely unique dish. The mango jerk chicken salad will be different from the mango jerk chicken sandwich. It doesn’t take a mathematician to realize that you’re very quickly looking at 35 different options to choose from. 

We opt for the fried chicken Caesar sandwich, the coconut shrimp wrap, the ol’ El Paso taco poutine, and the winter veg salad. The chicken in our sandwich has been marinated for 24hrs and is crispy and light, delivering on Jon’s promise that this is a premium sandwich, something to savour and enjoy rather than rush through. The wrap is literally bursting with flavour and flesh ingredients while the poutine is a hearty beast we wouldn’t recommend tackling on your own (well, at least finishing on your own). But it’s the salad that actually stands out. There’s no doubt that Come and Get It is a great place to enjoy a pint, a late-night snack, or a full meal, but by providing an approachable high-end salad that includes roasted squash, sweet potato, and ancient grains, it means you can come and get a delicious and healthy option as well. Something you won’t find at many other spots. 

Open from noon until 2am every day and serving a full cocktail menu (they’re currently oak-aging their own bourbon) to complement their menu, Come and Get It offers an experience where you, the customer, get to choose your own adventure. There aren’t reservations and there’s no pressure to have your appetizer and entrée as quickly as possible so you can make room for the next table, which is a good thing ‘cause with 35 food options you’re probably going to want to linger. Especially when brunch service starts up in April…    

#LYNL | (Live Your Notable Life)

Want more updates on the most Notable things happening so you know before your colleagues do? Get our exclusive newsletter here and follow us on Twitter for all the latest.