Harvest Noon

This place is a hidden gem — cozy, intimate, cute, great for lunch with friends or SO. I like how they serve food that isn’t your typical college food (they had cobbler peach pie the last time I went there) and everything is so affordable! My only complaint is that they’re cash only.

Went the Harvest Noon for the first time today and loved it! The food is local, tastes good and is cheap! Definitely recommend the $ 5 number meal that comes with a main dish, side salad and bread with hummus.

This place is amazing… Though you have to know what you’re in for. It is not a typical restaurant, but the best place to get food on campus. They make 1 meal a week and every ‘bumper’ comes with the main, a salad, a piece of delicious bread, and some bean dip. It’s simply, casual, cheap, delicious, local, organic, sustainable, and really the best place.
You get to use real plates and cutlery and it’s a quick to be ready, but you can stay as long as you want. In the summer you can use the patio :) —
Sometimes it’s a miss (I’m not a fan of the white bean dill potato salad) but most often than not it’s totally bomb!

You come for the food, you stay for the cause (and okay, the food too).
Located on the second floor above the GSU pub, Harvest Noon is awesome for many reasons. One of them is their ridiculously cheap and noms vegan food ($ 5 for a full meal with sides and errthing), which to my knowledge is unparalleled elsewhere for the quality: cost ratio. And their daily fresh-​baked (vegan, often gluten free) desserts are delicious, only $ 1.50(?!) and not too sweet, which I really appreciate.
But beyond that, they have countless opportunities to get involved in a warm community with a great cause. They do potlucks, cooking workshops, and lots of outreach concerning sustainability, environment, social justice, etc. — often for free or extremely cheap. And they are largely volunteer run, use local produce, and are based off of a completely not-​for-​profit model. I mean, how could you not love these guys.
A few things worth noting: a lot of the previously mentioned issues of inconsistent quality or size have been ironed out from what I can see, and every meal I’ve had here (for the past… dozen times?) has been great. Also, they are open for the summer this year Tuesdays to Fridays, with lunch service 11:30 until about 2 (with iced tea+coffee!). And it’s definitely worth noting that they are attentive to dietary restrictions, and are nut-​free and mostly gluten-​free.
Harvest noon has successfully pulled me in. From eating (mostly) veg to involvement in its initiatives, I am and will continue to be a Harvest Noon regular.

I was so disappointed with Harvest Noon. I love vegan cooking and had heard good things about this place and thought I’d give it a try. The cashier was nice, and I’m not a member so I had to pay an extra 50cents, but that’s fair enough. To take my food to go it was another 50 cents, and no cutlery! When I asked for a plastic fork I got a disappointed look from the staff and a short lecture (as if I was single-​handedly destroying the environment).
Now, the food.
I had the chickpea peccata, which I was pretty excited to try… but it was so bland! The chickpeas were undercooked (way too crunchy), the mushrooms and celery were over-​cooked beyond belief, and there was just no flavour. No flavour at all.
The bread was pretty good, and the «dip» (for which they provided a minuscule amount), was awful. Basically, just blend canned black beans with cumin and that was it.
I might give this place another try if people are raving about the dish of the week, but my first experience here at harvest noon was definitely a huge disappointment.

I just came from having lunch at this cozy and adorable vegan (I think!) café. Located on the second floor of the Graduate Student Union building, it’s not something you would ‘just happen to walk by’ if you didn’t know where it is.
Entering the café is like getting a warm hug with a burst of sunshine (literally!). Everyone is very friendly there. The food came really quick. I have to say, the meal I had is probably the highest fibre meal I’ve had in a while — leek stew (mostly beans), bread, garlicky bean dip and shredded red cabbage/​apple salad. I loved the garlicky bean dip, but was disappointed by the leek stew which was a bit bland for my taste. Prices are higher here if you don’t have membership ($ 5). However, for ~$ 11 for lunch for two, this place is well worth the visit. I’m an omnivore and I’d still love to upgrade this place to four stars, if not for the stew. I’m definitely coming back for my healthy eating and dose sunshine again soon.

I stopped into Harvest Noon for the first time last night for a free bread-​making workshop. I should say free for members or with a $ 5 donation. Membership at Harvest Noon costs a whopping $ 5 and comes with discounts and other perks. I went the membership route, naturally and it will be mean free workshops in the future.
Harvest Noon is like U of T’s Hot Yam! except it’s open and serving of delicious, local and sustainable meals Monday to Friday. Located above the GSU pub, HN’s lunch menu is more extensive than Hot Yam!, which can be a little skimpy, let’s face it. The portions here are more satisfying, based on the dinner we were served as part of the workshop; cajun roux soup with potato, red cabbage, and tofu, mushroom and herbed polenta and kale salad.
What I learned in this workshop is to make your own bread, you’ve got to get your hands dirty! We prepared our doughs from scratch and were taught proper kneading techniques. Everyone who brought their own containers was given some sourdough starter to bring home and nurse, which I’m super excited about. My own little pet bowl of bacteria! The workshop was long — rising time and baking time take awhile and this was using the quick-​rise yeast method, but totally worth it. At the end, we all went home with our own loaves. I also went home with 2.5kg bag of local, organic Red fife flour for only $ 6, that the café ordered for interested attendees through one of their suppliers. It came in an adorable canvas bag that I just cannot get over!
Moral: Harvest Noon puts an emphasis on local, sustainably sourced foods. Some of the herbs and veggies are grown on campus at the Victoria College Community Garden. There’s even a large chalk map of Ontario on the wall showing all the towns where they source their main ingredients from. The café is vegan, save for some milk and coffee creamer, but there’s alternative milks too. The fact is, when you’re talking about local, organic, sustainable and AFFORDABLE foods, you’re talking about plant foods. So don’t expect any free-​range beef burgers coming out of their kitchens anytime soon, unless you want to start paying $ 50 for membership, instead of $ 5. If you want a quiet place to grab a cuppa in the late morning or a nice lunch with friends on campus — this is it!