Queen's Bush Pub — Restaurant in Hanover

Three stars is generous. I'm a regular visitor to Hanover, first time patron of this pub, and in no hurry for a return visit there. I've eaten better food in the actual Queen's bush!

Good stuff first: 1) They're open with lots of outdoor seating. COVID19 means not much choice these days in a smaller town. 2) We were seated right away, just after 6 pm on Friday night. Everything filled up shortly thereafter. It was a great night to sit outside in the shade on high stools at a bistro table with a big umbrella! 3) Service was friendly and casual. They got us drinks right away and brought refills while we waited for our orders. Food took a solid 45 minutes to arrive, but it was a perfect evening for sitting outdoors.

The food is where it all fell apart. I ordered a toasted ham and swiss sandwich for $16. I upgraded from fries to potatoe skins "loaded" for an extra $3. My wife ordered a bbq chicken sandwich for $16 with fries. Buns were both good, but my wife's chicken was so dry that she choked at one point. It was cold in the middle, obviously reheated and overcooked. It was dark meat, not the white meat promised. The bbq sause was tasty but there was hardly any of it. She piled ketchup on the rest to make it edible. Fries were from frozen, not fresh. She got a fair helping. I, on the other hand, had "upgraded" to "loaded" potatoe skins. HA! For an extra three bucks I got three tiny potatoe skins that were about 1/3 the food that my wife got with her fries... "loaded" with a tiny bit of tasteless cheese and a few soya bacon bits. I'd have been much better off saving the three bucks and eating the frozen fries. Then there was my sandwich... for 16 bucks, the small chiabata bun was fine; one small piece of melted cheese on each half; one small slice of tomatoe on each half; five slices of pressed ham that would cost me $1 at any Food Basics. It didn't taste terrible is the best I can say. It wasn't large. It wasn't fresh or freshly made. It certainly wasn't a good value. I have no idea what took 45 minutes to prepare.

To recap: Nice staff and service was fine. Outdoor eating on an improvised COViD19 patio in warm breezes and shade was nice. Food sucked. Not fresh. Small portions. Thrown together by a bad cook. Lousy value.

The Subway across the street would have made us much bigger, much fresher, much tastier sandwiches for half the price. ...but it couldn't offer us patio dining. You choose. These are COViD19 times and the...

We were regulars here for years. As of the past year or so, I’ve noticed the place going downhill (which really is too bad). We went in one night a month or two ago and the place was dead except two smaller other tables. There was one waitress working. She seated us around 5 minutes after we walked in (a little crazy since there were only two other small tables). She asked us if we wanted to order drinks and we said we’d like to look at the menu for a few minutes to choose a drink from the bar before we order food. She said ok and she would be right back. Here’s the kicker - 45 minutes later and she never came back. She spent most of her time with one small table and ignored us and the other table near us. After 1 whole hour, we got up and left. The owner saw us walk out and did not say anything, he just gave us a strange look. I messaged the owner on Facebook to share what happened and was hoping for at least an apology and nothing. He just looked at it and ignored me. Not good customer service at all in my opinion. I won’t be returning. I won’t recommend this place anymore. I will not go with my friends or family anymore. I will not support a business that doesn’t care about their customers and will not spend my hard earning money here anymore. Sure the food is decent, but there are tons of other great establishments in Grey-Bruce that deserve business and...

Drove 200km from Scarborough to Hanover to eat at this local favorite.

The setting is great and has lots of heritage undertones.

Had their special sandwich of the day, which is a smoked meat Swiss melt. It was good. I work in the food industry and know a lot of "made in house" menu items are not really that. But that shaved smoked beef, oh man…I think it is really done in house. Texture is slightly tough, but it's very natural and satisfying to bite into it. The wood smoke is very rich and maybe slightly overpowering. The meat isn't very salty at all, which is a rarity at restaurants. What a sandwich! I honestly can't remember when the last time I had a sandwich this good at a restaurant. Does it make sense if I say the flavour is very humble? That's how it made me feel.

No pictures with this review, as it was a business lunch. And so, no, I didn't drive 200km to Hanover jus...