Side Hustle Snack Bar — Restaurant in Dartmouth

Tried here on a Friday after work in October and sat at the bar with a friend. It wasn't busy at that point, with maybe a dozen people in total. When you walk in the door, there's some casual seating in the corner with a couple of small couches and tables, probably a dozen seats at the bar, and then some long communal tables for the majority to sit. Simple, modern atmosphere like most of the tap room-restaurants these days. Very friendly staff, some of which came from the Agricola Brasserie. A bunch of their beers on tap on the wall. I am a wine drinker though so had a few glasses of their sauvignon blanc. To eat, we split the Ribs ($15 'Kansas City pork side ribs, cornbread, jalapeno honey butter, grilled corn salad). I loved it and it would be enough for 1 as a whole meal, but made a good snack when split. Two long individual ribs, not served in the normal rack style. Very good sauce, cooked well. The cornbread was fresh and moist, much better than average. The corn salad also delicious. I will be back!

2nd visit: Dec 2023 11am Sunday brunch: New location on Portland Street, downtown Dartmouth that has been open I would guess over a year now? I couldn't find street parking so paid $2 for an hour in a private lot a block up the street. Walked in and there may have been three or four tables taken, or maybe 20% full, five minutes after opening. I took a seat at the four-seater table closest to the door, which is half bench. Big, simple atmosphere with a lot of plants. Quick service to take my order and the food came quite fast, so K was out of there in exactly 30 mons. The Chili Oil Fried Eggs is excellent. Garlic yogurt with two sunny side eggs, miso chili oil, fresh dill, Birdie's sourdough. ($18). The oil gave this dish some heat. A perfect portion where I left satisfied but not dying full. The dill springs made this look like such a festive dish, reminding me of Christmas tree branches. .luckily not tasting like them....

I had been to Side Hustle before twice and had such a lovely experience. So I’m not thrilled to write this. But feel the need to share as I am concerned about what happened to me. I popped into eat some lunch during burger week, and they only had a burger week menu. Really nothing else on it. Which as a small place I guess is expected.

I was about to head out, and the server recommended the Thai chilli chicken, and I said I can’t eat really spicy food. I then asked if the gluten free Thai chilli chicken could be made less spicy as it was the ONLY thing on the menu that wasn’t beef, or tofu that could be made gluten free. The server said yes - the kitchen could not add the spicy chili jam to the burger. And I was like great I’ll have that.

The burger came out, everything looked good. 3 bites in and I can barely breathe. They included the spicy chili jam, and as someone who can’t do super spicy items I nearly choked in the restaurant. It was quite embarrassing actually, I was coughing so hard I had tears streaming down my face. Made worse by how echoey the bar is itself.

The server finally came by after I was coughing for several minutes and I told him there is spicy chili jam on this. He says he will get them to remake it. I had gotten nauseous from coughing so hard I don’t even want to eat more of the food that isn’t spicy (aka the fries I paid extra for)… So I just say no, thanks. You can take it. I had only eaten a handful of fries and a couple bites of the burger.

It was pretty bad, I was pretty embarrassed. And I wasn’t even finished my cider before the bill was handed to me. They charged me for 50% of the meal, burger and fries even though I didn’t eat most of it. I likely should have said something to the server however I was already embarrassed from coughing so loudly.

I likely will take a second thought before heading back as everything is expensive now, and I’d like to eat...

We visited Side Hustle Snack Bar in Dartmouth for a weekend brunch with our family (two adults and our five year old), and while it has a lot of potential, and positive reviews by friends, the experience left us underwhelmed.

The atmosphere leans toward modern industrial with a cool vibe, but the cleanliness didn’t match the style. Our booth was next to wooden beams that were covered in thick dust … something our curious child couldn’t resist running her hands through. The washroom also needed attention; the dusty fake plant was especially off-putting.

Service, however, was a bright spot. Our server was friendly, efficient, and well-informed about the menu. That said, we were only offered the brunch menu, which felt limited.

Food-wise, my husband enjoyed his burger, describing it as “similar to a McDouble”. He got it with a side of crispy tater tots and ketchup. Our daughter had a fried egg and garlic fries (ordered as two sides since there’s no kids menu). The fries were a hit, though we weren’t sold on the addition of Parmesan. I ordered “The Diner” which has two eggs, bacon, tater tots, sour dough toast and jam. The eggs were unfortunately undercooked (egg white was not solid), and I found it odd that my plate didn’t include ketchup (unlike my husband’s). And there no basic condiments like salt and pepper and ketchup were provided on the table.

Portions were fine, but value was another story. My small brunch plate came in at $20, our daughter’s two side plates totaled $11 with no fruit or veggies, and the burger was $14 plus $5 for the side. The grand total was $57. For that price point, I expected more care in both presentation, selection, and cleanliness.

We might return to try their regular menu, but brunch didn’t hit the mark - especially in a neighbourhood that’s known for its...