The Fixed Gear Canteen Restaurant — Restaurant in Guelph

I want to preface by saying that we have been here many times and would have reviewed them likely a 4/5 before this visit. Their beers are great and We love the patio (our review of their food remains unchanged). We continually come back to buy their beer for takeout.

I will preface in saying we visited under potentially extenuating circumstances with covid and hiring new staff, but I think it’s still worthwhile knowing if you plan on going any time soon. We will go again in the summer and I’ll change my review if things change.

We had a reservation for 7:30 and were kept waiting for 15 minutes before being seated (told three times they were just wiping off the table). Once we were seated we waited another 15 minutes to be greeted/a drink order. Servers passed us but no one engaged. I finally had to go back to the hostess to ask for service - as a previous server I hate doing this but it was just getting a bit ridiculous.

The two stars are that once our server came and took our drink order the drinks came out pretty promptly. Once we got our drinks we also ordered wings.

Please don’t get the wings here. They are baked until they are dehydrated and the sauces are watered down. We have also had their pizza and while I can appreciate some may like it I don’t find it anything special. Go for the drinks and eat the food only if you must.

When we got our wings, they were cold and looked like they had been sitting under a heat lamp for hours. We were not provided plates, napkins, or cutlery. Our server didn’t check back in on us until the wings were done.

When we were ready to pay we went inside… that’s not a problem I understand that wifi doesn’t reach outside. The hostess ran around trying to find our server to pay while we waited at the front, another hostess came over and let us pay right away.

All in all a totally...

Was very excited to try this place given the number of positive reviews and the selection of craft beer.

We got off to a rough start with a long wait to be seated (there was no one in front of us, and many open tables). It felt like the wait staff weren’t organized with who was running front of house and as a result our group of four waited a while to be seated. Not the end of the world - it happens.

After being seated, we waited a really long time to be served. Eventually, after about 15min, my mother in law approached a waitress to ask if we had been assigned a staff member, at which point our orders were promptly taken and compensated for the extended wait. We truly appreciated this gesture.

We ordered 2 plates of wings and 2 pizzas. The wings were over cooked and very dry, and the staff were unable to confirm if they contained dairy (which indicates to me the wings are bought breaded and frozen rather than prepared fresh). Both pizzas were charred black on one side and overstretched and thin. The waitress apologized for the second pizza and said she would have the kitchen prep another one if weren’t happy with it. She returned with a fresh pizza a few minutes later that was much better.

So - overall - neither the food nor the beer was spectacular. For the reputation and prices, I expected far more. We regularly visit breweries including goodlot, Caledon hills, third moon, and badlands and felt these beers were pleasant but not on the same level as these other breweries.

Perhaps just a tough day for the waitstaff as well but - room for improvement and felt the feedback...

Fixed Gear launched a pretty cool concept a few years back, filling a gap in the area with a brewery that served its own beer AND had some food options. At the time, we were really into Fixed Gear and having a local brewery right down the street.

While we continue to enjoy the Canteen's atmosphere and variety of events, we don't come to Fixed Gear nearly as frequently anymore, for a couple reasons:

1. The beer selection is average -- at best. The tap list has hardly changed since FG first came on the scene, with nothing new coming out (save for a single random one now and then). What beers they do have often lack character and are quite similar to one another. The beer is also overpriced compared to other local breweries with a better product. Last I checked, FG pretty much has only 12oz. pours for a dollar or two more than the other guys.

2. The pizza and wings once wowed us, but over time, the menu has grown stale and the quality has declined (e.g., undercooked pizza, overcooked and smaller wings) -- all while the prices have increased.

To us, Fixed Gear was a great concept and was welcomed in the community. The effort put into its marketing has been evident. Unfortunately, I don't feel they've done enough to evolve as a brewing company or restaurant. As a result, we choose to...