The Hog & Penny — Restaurant in Ontario

First time trying Hog and Penny after hearing a lot of good things about it. Sadly, I was deeply disappointed.

We arrived for dinner at 8 p.m., sat down, and before we even had a chance to look at the menu, the server came over to inform us that the kitchen was closing and we needed to order immediately. This was surprising, considering their website stated they closed at 10 p.m. When we mentioned this, she casually replied, “Yeah, it was slow, so we’re closing the kitchen so the staff can go home.” This was odd extremely off-putting. Especially since two or three other tables had walked in and sat down just after us. Feeling rushed and like we were an inconvenience to the kitchen staff’s departure wasn’t exactly the ideal start to the evening.

With only three cocktails on the menu, I asked if they could make an amaretto sour—a simple cocktail with just four ingredients (amaretto, lemon juice, bitters, and simple syrup)—and was told no, they didn’t have the ingredients. Instead, I was informed me that their sister restaurant up the street offered it. Cool.

Since we were rushed to order, we asked if dessert would still be available later. We were told no—once our food was made, the kitchen staff would be leaving. So even though we wanted to spend more money at the restaurant, we weren’t given the chance to.

Then the food arrived. And it felt like it had been thrown together as fast as possible just so the kitchen staff could clock out and leave. • The nachos were cold. • The scotch egg was burnt and over-fried, with the only flavor being burnt fryer oil. • The fish and chips were unimpressive—the fish itself was thin, the batter was too salty, tough, and chewy. • The steak and Guinness pie was bland, burnt on top, with a crust that was too thick and barely any filling.

Everything about the food screamed rushed, like quality didn’t matter as long as it was out of the kitchen and out of their hands.

When we finished, the waitress asked if we wanted anything else. This was surprising, considering we had already asked about dessert earlier and were told no. Obviously, we did want something else, but that had already been ruled out. So why even ask? And then, after we declined, she simply walked away, leaving us waiting ten minutes for the bill—only for us to eventually get up and ask for it ourselves.

To top it all off, when someone at our table politely mentioned to the owner that it seemed odd to close the kitchen at 8 p.m. when there were customers wanting to give them money, the owner defensively replied that “most restaurants in the area close their kitchens at 8.” Then he asked where my friend was from and, upon hearing “Toronto,” scoffed before condescendingly adding, “Oh, maybe other places around here are open later, but I haven’t gone and checked. Maybe we’re missing the boat.”

I had heard great things about this place, so I was deeply disappointed—not just by the food but by the off-putting service and overall vibe. I can overlook subpar food. But when you walk in the door and are immediately rushed to order, denied the chance to actually enjoy a full dining experience, and made to feel like an inconvenience to the staff? What’s the point of going? Especially with a 160$ price tag for three people.

100% would never return and would...

Had been once before and enjoyed myself and the food. Thought I would share “The Hog” with a friend from out of town. Staff was very friendly, knowledgeable about the menu, beers and drinks. We ordered the Brussel sprouts as an appetizer. My friend and I love brussel sprouts and it was recommended by our server, but these were very disappointing. When asked how our meal was I told our server that they were terrible. They were bitter, tough and I think burnt. I had honey wings. Crispy and tasty. My friend ordered the fried chicken sandwich with fries. She tried to cut it in half and found it difficult. She then removed most of the coating because “it was burnt”. She ate the chicken with a knife and fork and discovered it was not white meat, as described by our server, but dark meat. Not only that, there were bones in it. To say we were shocked is an understatement. We did not know how to react!

We asked for our bill and after waiting for quite a long while approached the cash register. After printing out the bill, my friend suggested we should get at least a discount on the brussel sprouts and chicken sandwich. He complied.

We have been discussing our experience and feel that the discount was not adequate for the terrible food. Thus this review. We may have mishandled the situation but not as much as the staff did.

I will not be returning to “The...

So this is a hidden gem IMO. Found it by accident when the tapas place we were going to go was closing the kitchen for the night. My wife and I went to the Hog after going to Rama. This place has everything I want in a pub. Small, dark, live music and great food. There was a great band, bagpipes, guitar and banjo playing celtic tunes. Obviously we decided to stay and sat in the eclectic little pub. There were some issues with the drinks, my wife wanted a White Russian, but they didn't have any coffee liqueur. She opted for a more UK friendly gin and tonic. I had one of the craft beers made for them by Quayles Brewery. We ordered food, the Ploughmans Platter... hearty fieldworkers lunch - cheeses, meats pickles and one of the best breads I have ever had. We also has scotch eggs, which were 100% perfect. Also, Brussel sprouts cooked in the modern fashion, crispy baked (?) seasoned very nicely. I will 100% return, with my guy friends. Beer, live music, great small plate food. I look forward to trying the other dinner options, I suspect the sausage and mash will be amazing. The value was decent by modern standards. Good enough that I have already told...