The Poacher — Restaurant in Burlington

Best pub in downtown Burlington, apps and food is great, prices are reasonable, and never an issue with ordering drinks. Unfortunately, this venue also employs Dragon Security which is why this review is only 2 stars. Brought a group of 12 people (with reservation) and one of the members of our group was deemed too intoxicated to enter. That's fine - that's his job.

Unfortunately the unreasonable part came when the drunk left the group so the party could enter, and the bouncer STILL denied entry to 11 of us simply because the 12th one appeared to be too intoxicated. His justification was that we were guilty by association. So we all left, birthday girl now in tears. Here's the great thing about Dragon Security - they have a monopoly on bar security in this area and will radio ahead to their partners at other bars with your groups appearance, so that once you are rejected at one bar, you are blacklisted from all of them. We all ended up buying drinks from the LCBO and brown bagging it along spencer smith park.

GREAT pub otherwise, come back here when its not a...

Nine people there tonight All ordered numerous drinks Some ordered off menu Five ordered the special of wings It states no take out for the wings It does not say you cannot take out any you may not be able to finish (leftovers) We are seniors and do not eat a lot The waitress was terribly insulting and told us if we came back we could not order wings again Can a restaurant afford to ban 9 paying regular customers who probably spent well over $200 for the sake of taking home a few left over wings. These nine will not be going back Do not appreciate being treated like crooks on a night out No a place to go if you want to have a nice evening

There certainly wasn't a full pub of people So why annoy nine sometimes 13 fairly regular customers And insult them Whatever happened to customer...

Maybe more of a 4.5/5 outta 5 but I digress.

What I like is that it’s small and homey inside. That being said, the outdoor seating is my one of my favs in downtown Burlington as it’s a bit more secluded than some other pubs and the trees are a nice touch. I also love the wide variety of scotch available. Nothing like a wee dram to warm you up when the cold is coming in of the lake during the winter months.

As for why I’d take half a star off, the washrooms leave a bit to be desired. Not the best after a few pints as you have to go downstairs but the more pressing issue is the need for a washroom reno as they are stowing their age. Even a new coat of paint and a deep cleaning might help. However, I don’t go to pubs/bars for the restroom ambiance so it didn’t bother me too much. Definitely a...