The Ale House & Canteen — Restaurant in Ontario

I visited Ale house on Friday March 14th, and I am extremely disappointed with the way an incident was handled. My two friends, among the few men of colour in the establishment, were wrongfully accused of starting a fight and were unjustly forcefully dragged and kicked out of the club around 12:30 AM. Rather than being given the opportunity to explain themselves or have the situation reviewed through camera footage, they were instead subjected to instigating comments from bouncers Seamus Keiley and Adam Noorani, who made remarks such as, “clearly, you’re super aggressive now,” while resisting their movement. My friend did not touch any of the staff during this interaction, except for point and express his confusion and anger through solely verbal conversation. Despite there being no concrete evidence on what they were being accused of, one of them was physically grabbed by the back of his head and forcefully pushed onto the sidewalk. It’s appalling that the staff chose to escalate the situation in such a way without considering the facts or their safety. Additionally, I spoke with one of the managers outside, who claimed that the measures taken were all they could do since the person allegedly involved in the fight pointed to my friends. Instead of properly addressing the situation, by investigating the false accusations and reviewing camera footage, the manager simply shrugged, dismissed the matter, and casually remarked, “He’s probably had enough fun in there for the night anyways,” before telling me to have a good rest of the night. This blatant disregard for the situation and its seriousness was not only shocking but also a glaring reflection of the establishment’s incompetence and lack of professionalism. This incident raises serious concerns about both racial profiling and the utter lack of proper conflict resolution on the part of Ale House staff and administration. I sincerely hope the establishment takes immediate steps to address this behavior, as what occurred was utterly unacceptable and, frankly,...

A Disappointing and Offensive Experience at The Alehouse

My girlfriend and I visited Kingston for the weekend, staying in a hotel as she was selling her art at a local market. We have a tradition of playing billiards together when we travel, so we decided to check out The Alehouse. Unfortunately, our experience there was beyond disappointing—it was outright offensive.

Upon arrival, we were denied entry on the claim that we were "too intoxicated." This was shocking, as I don’t drink at all, and my girlfriend, though planning to enjoy a beer after a long day, hadn’t consumed any alcohol. It quickly became apparent that the staff were using her accent as a false indicator of inebriation.

When I calmly explained that she hadn’t been drinking and reiterated that I’m sober, the staff member smugly repeated, “I can’t let you in; it’s a bar.” I politely suggested they might have misinterpreted her accent, but he refused to listen, stating, “Once I’ve made a call, I can’t change it.”

This behavior was not just unprofessional; it was discriminatory and stubbornly arrogant. The refusal to reconsider or even apologize for their clear bias speaks volumes about the culture of this establishment. How can someone believe that admitting and correcting prejudice is against the rules?

The experience left a terrible impression. It was no surprise to see Brass, the bar next door, with a line out the door while The Alehouse sat empty. First impressions matter, and a business should never let someone so bull-headed and unfit for customer service represent them.

I wouldn’t recommend The Alehouse to anyone. The blatant discrimination and dismissive attitude make it clear why they’re struggling for patrons. If there were an option to leave zero stars, I would.

Avoid this place at all costs—it's not worth your time, energy, or...

How to ensure your guests have a terrible experience at what was supposed to be an excellent Beaches concert:

Step 1. Have a sticky, dusty, dirty venue that's probably about a clean as a truck stop bathroom. Step 2. Offer General admission for a popular band. (Not that odd but wait for it.) Step 3. Let everyone into the venue and allow them to go almost wherever they want because, general admission. Step 4. Go up to some guests who waited in line for nearly an hour and tell them they have to MOVE because that specific area of the balcony is suddenly reserved. Step 5. Offer absolutely no resolution for this at all, not even an apology. Step 6. With the venue now packed expect those guests to just figure it out despite it being obvious that they will not be able to see anywhere else at this point.

All in all the manager at The Ale House ruined what was supposed to be a fun night by being completely unprepared for these supposed, at a general admission concert. Completely lacking in the ability to think creatively he basically just said we, along with several other guests who'd also arrived early, were SOL. He offered no apology, not even a free drink. We specifically picked that section of the balcony to avoid being bumped into to too much due to some physical issues. We managed to make it through about 4 of The Beaches songs before having to leave. I hope bands think twice before booking The Ale House in the future.

As an additional note, half the balcony WAS roped off. But for some reason these reservations HAD to be where we already were. And no they weren't VIP ticket holders. So...