Photographs by Aldo Pescatore-Tardioli and Yilma Campbell
After closing their doors back in August 2019, Track & Field, an iconic Toronto hangout for dancing, drinking and indoor lawn games, is once again open for business, but this time, they are in a newly renovated, sprawling two-floor space in Little Italy.
Owners Nickie Minshall, Jesse Borg and Tasha Potter (the same trio behind Bangarang) are ecstatic to introduce their new and improved Track & Field to all their guests, old and new!
Minhsall says, "We've grown up a lot since closing the OG basement Track & Field location, and we think our clientele have too."
Though re-vamped from head to toe, the bar still offers all the same good times, with some exciting new additions. The space has a softer feel with vintage furniture, plants, hand-picked fixtures and decor that will make you feel like you're away on a tropical vacation.
The pink, peachy, and green hues in the bar's colour palette are reminiscent of South Beach Miami. The stunning artwork behind the bar -- by Toronto designer Olga Klosowski -- is the centrepiece and accentuates the open concept, with the exposed skylight at the top.
The main floor features several cozy seating areas, booths, a 30-foot bar, DJ booth, a large dance floor, two bocce ball lanes (one for walk-ins and one for reservations) and the very exciting food pickup window at the back.
Matt Basile of Fidel Gastro's catering has partnered with the team and has curated an outstanding menu of bar bites, perfect to accompany your drinks and bocce ball tournaments.
The Smash Burger is an absolute game-changer. With two house-ground 100% brisket beef patties, American cheese, pickles, chopped onion, shaved lettuce and special sauce, this burger holds up very strongly against the many other smash burgers available in the city and is a must-try. The meat is so juicy; you'll start coming back just for the burger!
Be sure to order a side of fries, which are hand-cut and dressed in lemon, thyme and salt. If you're feeling the heat, opt-in for the Pad Thai Fries, dressed with spicy pad thai sauce, bean sprouts, cilantro and lime.
Don't forget about the Chicken Sammy, a generous portion of buttermilk fried chicken, with lettuce, pickles, vinegar slaw, Buffalo butter and ranch. To order, you'll be able to select your food and pay on your phone using the QR codes on the tables. When your food is ready, you'll get a text to let you know that it's ready for pick-up at the back to avoid having to wait in line.
The beverage program is very similar to the old location, with a few major improvements. The cocktails on tap like the Porch Crawler, Negroni and Spicy Boi Margarita are all crushable crowd-pleasers and are prepared within seconds due to their pre-batched nature.
The experienced bartenders are also happy to fix you up one of their signature cocktails like the Yolanda! (with gin, house garden cordial, lime and green chartreuse), or The Old Kanye, a unique blend of flavours with rum, lime, pineapple, Campari, cocoa and toasted coconut.
As for beer, they are serving up several local options, like a rotating tap from Halo Brewery, Jelly King from Bellwoods Brewery, Lemon Lime Seltzer from Left Field and the Nula Sour from Burdock. If wine is what you're looking for, the bar is stocked with several red, white, rosé and bubbly options, available by the bottle or by the glass.
The upstairs floor of the bar is called 'The Palms' and is an extension of the main bar downstairs. The space features a free tabletop shuffleboard and a tricky cottage game called Ringo, which may look simple, but is a lot harder to play than it looks.
The music from the DJ is piped into a large speaker upstairs, and there is plenty of seating and room to mingle, with a luxurious party booth overlooking the ground floor, perfect for bottle service and large groups. The Palms can be reserved for private functions and parties for up to 40 people, but on normal weekend evenings, the space will be open with an extra satellite bar for when the main bar gets too crowded.
Minshall, Borg and Potter are so happy to see their baby finally reopen and at a time when the city is starting to come back to life. If you and your friends have been longing to dabble back into a good night out on the town, this venue is a perfect option, where you can rest assured that the crowd, food, music and vibes, will be exactly what you were missing.
The brand new Track & Field is located at 582 College Street and is open from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Wednesday through Sunday. Head over to their website to check out the full menu and reserve a bocce ball lane! Stay tuned for some more exciting news coming soon... the team may have some more tricks up their sleeve, which will be announced once the details are finalized.
