Toboggan Brewing Company — Restaurant in Ontario

Let’s start with the positive, the place looks great, both from the outside to the inside. And, that’s about it. First thing I found odd was that a craft Brewpub had “guest taps” including Molson Canadian & Coors Light. I commented on it to the bartender, but they made some inaudible response, which was pretty much all I got except when prompting me to order. Visiting from Toronto alone for a concert in town, I figured I’d sit at the bar for a little light conversation, but nope. Might as well have sat at a table alone. I started with a flight consisting of their IPA, a seasonal wheat, a stout and a vanilla stout. I actually couldn’t tell which was the vanilla stout and which was the original, they tasted the same. The wheat tasted like neither a Belgian Wit or German Weisse, just blah. Which was more than I can say for the non-existent hops in the IPA. When I ordered food, I asked what I thought was a pretty reasonable question because it wasn’t really clear on the menu: was the smoked beef brisket Montreal smoked meat or more Texas style? The bartender gave me a look like I was speaking a foreign language. So I simplified, was it deli-type meat or like a roast beef? The answer was it wasn’t deli, it’s a hunk of meat that they cut pieces off of. Great. Such clarity. Ok, I’ll have a brisket sandwich. Bartender asked what I wanted on the side, I asked what the options were, they mentioned salad, fries, mac & cheese, etc. I said I’d have the Mac & cheese. Which was rediculously rich, almost inedible, maybe they’re catering to American tourists? When I got the bill and I was charged $5.99 for the Mac, I was surprised because the bartender had made it seem like it was a side that came with the sandwich. But I didn’t say anything. (Ps the brisket was bland & dry) After the flight, I ordered their “double IPA”. At 7% abv compared to 6.3 for their regular, I’m not sure what the point was. Except maybe to highlight the diacetyl even more? A middle-aged guy that didn’t look like a prototypical craft beer drinker ordered a Pilsner. Told that the keg was out, he asked how the amber was. “Great” was the reply, no actual description. The customer asked if it was similar to the Pilsner, and was told ya. So either the bartender knows nothing about beer, or just flat out lied to hurry the transaction along. Not cool. Again trying to strike up a bit of conversation, I asked how far the Budweiser Garden was, where I was seeing the concert, and if i could walk there down the same street, even though I’d already checked google maps and knew it was about a 10 minute walk straight down the street and then hang a right on Dundas. Bartender told me about 20 minutes. Asked what show I was seeing in just about the most uninterested way possible, really making it obvious that they felt obligated to ask. When I replied, I got a nod and “oh”. End of conversation. At that point, thoroughly unimpressed with the service and beer, I left for the show to redeem my night. Needless to say, if I’m ever back in London, I won’t be...

My first time at this restaurant and my expectations were met. Over the years, I was told the food was pricey but the quality isn't that great. Yup, agreed. More on that later. Also, I dont write reviews on restaurants and this may be my first one.

The atmosphere was great, thats where the 2 stars come from. The buzz in the place was great as people were clearly enjoying the atmosphere (and maybe the food?) and the people they were with. The service was great, our server was fantastic, pleasant and friendly and provided recommendations when we asked. Loved how the kitchen was visible as that contributed to the overall atmosphere.

I can talk about how a place looks all day but let's be honest, the bottom line reason why we all go to a restaurant is the food, so lets talk about it. In short it wasnt great. I had the their wings. When I saw it, it looked really good but once I bit into it, that was a different story. It was dry and it tatsed similar to costco chicken wings - the ones where you buy it pre-packed and seasoned and all you have to do is put it in the oven. Come to think of it, I believe thats is how their wings were done. It may have been marinated before and thrown in the oven after. Not to mention the wings were covered in spices which i found difficult to understand what flavor they were going for because all you tasted was the spices not the medley between that and the protien. The difference is that Coscto wings may have tasted better. The dip that came with it was odd, I dont know what it was but it was cold. As in it came out of the fridge just that moment when it was about to get served...hot wings with ice cold dip, that's new - I did eat it as I respect any food that is on my plate and also considering it cost $15. After that disappointment, I wanted to give Toboggan another shot and decided to order the brisket taco...not good either. Covered in onions, the brisket was dry and tasted like it may have been a few days old as in more than 3 days old. Im not knocking 3+ days old food as I eat that at home every week however, this is a restaurant that charges premium prices for "bar food" and did not expect my food to taste like leftovers.

All in all, for the atmosphere, drinks and enjoying time with your friends/loved ones its agreat vibe. For the food, suggesting eat before. This was an honest and transparent review and not meant to hurt any employees at Toboggan, even the best restaurants in the city require adaptation to...

Finally made it over to Toboggan last night and was excited to see what Pza Pie had turned into, as we were very sad when it closed.

Really nice to see Jim Bob's gone and replaced with something stylish and interesting - love the decor. The place was completely packed, which made me happy to see that it's doing so well, but given the one large room, it made it really hard to talk to anyone. Want to come back on a quieter night. We were going to sit out on the patio, but then found out they don't serve dinner out there ... too busy? or too many tables? Not sure, but that's unfortunate.

I wasn't able to drink last night, so I can't comment on the beers (I will be going back!), but will write about the food. I'll start by saying that I loved the food at Pza Pie, and so was expecting good things from Toboggan. I like the menu, sort of food-truck-love meets pizzeria, I have to say though, I don't feel that what we ate was quite on par with the old restaurant. It might have to do with the fact that it's just opened, and it was busy, but the food was a bit tasteless. It wasn't bad, just nothing to write home about.

Sampled the roasted beet and goat cheese salad, the beef brisket sandwich and the fish tacos. All I can say about these dishes is that they were missing something. The salad was good, but not as good as before. The brisket very surprisingly had not much flavour, I don't know how long it's marinated for or what in, but it was very lacking. Fish tacos were actually pretty decent, the pico de gallo needs a bit more punch and I probably would have preferred that the fish wasn't deep fried. Why not use some cajun rub and pan fry the sucker? You get way more flavour and it's healthier. We did have a little salad (roasted corn and black bean) and that was delicious. Some of our friends ordered pizza and said that they were just as great as before. I do love that the restaurant is trying to use local foods and support local farms and businesses.

Service was really good considering we were a large group and the place was packed. Will give this place another try and sample more of the food, hoping it was just a slightly off night. All in all, great new affordable place added to...