Cottage season is over, but one of Muskoka’s favourite dockside food spots has found a winter home in downtown Toronto.
Gato Gato, the popular food truck known for its spot by the water at Gravenhurst Wharf, has parked its trailer for the winter and taken up residence at Waterworks Food Hall on Brant Street.
The new-to-Toronto spot is run by friends Jesse Smith, who worked the line at Mexico City’s famed Pujol, and Chris Vincent. The pair built a loyal following in Muskoka with their Asian street food and regular road trips south to stock up on fresh noodles and authentic wrappers.
Smith’s route to the kitchen was anything but conventional. He was working in construction when a serious workplace accident at 20 left him with both heels broken and sent his career in a completely different direction. Cooking became the next chapter, eventually taking him to Mexico City’s Pujol, where he worked on the line before bringing that experience back to Muskoka.
The menu features the same dishes that made Gato Gato a Muskoka favourite, plus a few things you won’t find up north.
The Dan Dan noodles ($19) are coated in a nutty sesame sauce with ground pork and pickles, while the Korean beef bowl ($21) features brisket that’s been cooking for 72 hours. On the smaller side, there’s Sichuan popcorn shrimp ($16), shrimp toast with gochujang aioli ($14) and spicy mala veggie momos ($12).
The bao lineup includes fried eggplant and bang bang chicken, both worth a look. For dessert, there’s a hot-and-cold deep-fried ice cream bao finished with miso dulce de leche.
Gato Gato is open right now inside Waterworks Food Hall at 50 Brant St.