Baker Street Station — Restaurant in Guelph

Baker St Station has been one of our fave pubs to go to not only for the beer selection but also food, however we recommend dinner only - avoid brunch/lunch here!

A few menu items were sold out at the tail end of prime dinner time which was unfortunate but understandable.

For our app we had asparagus salad which was mindblowingly good - super fresh and sweet asparagus with a lightly whipped garlic aioli. For mains, the thai curry fried chicken was OUT OF THIS WORLD!! Crunchiest chicken that soaked up the super flavour packed curry so each bite was different - will literally be dreaming about this dish forever. The tuna poke nachos were also crazy good - super fresh with a yummy creamy and acidic sauce. We also tried the steak (cooked perfectly) and the lobster mac and cheese (cheesy but needed more salt and something acidic).

We saw bread pudding on the menu for dessert so obviously we couldnt pass it up and it was everything you want bread pudding to be - soft and caramelly with cold creamy ice cream YUM

Do note that we came back for brunch a few days later and were very disappointed LOL there’s a reason the place was empty for Sat brunch. Traditional breakfast place was super sad with 2 small slices of burnt toast and no additional butter/jam, no ketchup given with the dry home fries (why doesnt any place have good home fries?), the over easy eggs were over hard (which they fixed granted but come on there were like 4 ppl in the resto and the cook couldnt even watch the eggs? 🥴 they were also the smallest eggs we’ve ever seen)

I had the pork belly tacos - taste was good but it was clear they only thought about pretty plating instead of the actual eating experience (did no one try eating the plate before putting it on the menu??) The super delicate baby lettuce was buried under the very wet toppings. Half of the lettuce wraps ripped as I tried to pull them out and all were horrendously soggy. I just ended up eating it like a salad lol. Please, you can have lettuce on the side and make the plating pretty with other methods.

We both agreed to stick to Eggcetra for brunch and come only for dinner and recommend...

I preface this review by saying Baker Street used to be my favourite restaurant. I chose it for every birthday or group get together and my friend and I went often.

One time I booked a table for my birthday when it first opened up again. They called me 4 days later on the Friday to say they were actually closed the day I wanted to come for staff training (the Monday) and the person taking my reservation hadn’t realized. This left me no time to make another reservation as everything had already filled up. So that was annoying and inconsiderate.

Last night we went for the first time since the pandemic and it was not a great experience. The hostess greets you by saying it’s hour and a half seatings so we have until 8:30. While I get that covid has made patio seating highly sought after, it was a Wednesday and they weren’t that busy that night. They also don’t do reservations, so it’s all walk in and this I guess is why they need this disclaimer. But then from then on our server basically just harassed us constantly. We counted and she came to our table 12 times. One time she asked if we were done with desert when it was still half full. Every table around us was empty so we certainly weren’t making anyone wait. It was just so uncomfortable being there.

The food had not changed whatsoever. No new menu items, no creativity. Except that I think the seasoning is worse. Kimchi fries were soggy, and needed salt. The Ceviche needed salt as well. The pickles and goat cheese beignets were good. Though the beignets could of been crispier also. They were sold out of many things we wanted to try including some beers.

I’m sad to say it but I feel like I need a new favourite place because...

Keen to try this latest incarnation of this location...and have every reason to return! Decor changes were kept to the minimum with a former back room co-opted as much needed work space but the former snug opened up a bit. Discretely faked stone walls enhance the anaglypta wall paper elsewhere and the bronze "tin" ceiling lends the right ambience.Vast selection of craft beers alone would keep you busy for months. Despite the tempting breakfast dishes offered at a still late hour, we opted to explore the full range of the menu and start with the smaller items...and at least one was small indeed. The butter chicken got wolfed down fast. Sauce seemed more like a Korma but if it tastes this good who's arguing? The Pumpkin Risotto shone with real home made flavour and filled nicely. A good value for the price. In the opposite corner and most disappointing to the point of almost silliness was the Rivollo: one (1) apparently hand made piece of 3cmx3cm stuffed pasta square pasta lovingly poached in a tablespoon of sauce with a tiny sprinkling of "chips" (read "flakes") of something else and arugula on the side: for $11.00. IF this price point reflects more of the labour involved than the customer satisfaction then perhaps this item's presence on the menu needs review. Nevertheless....service was friendly and efficient and the kitchen was hopping well. Our burgers were heavenly along with the rest of the excellently presented pub type dishes...fish and chips and the steak pie. We all rolled out of there truly expecting to return on a regular basis. Considering the past businesses at this location have had their ups and downs, we sincerely wish a Long Life for the Baker...