Amsterdam Barrel House — Restaurant in Toronto

We went on date night here on a whim cause of the brick exterior. This is where we messed up. Walking in, the atmosphere is beautiful, whoever was the interior decorator on this restaurant REALLY outdid themselves. I want my living room to look like it. Moving on, we were greeted warmly and taken to seats - right next to the washroom. Mr. asked to be moved two tables down, the furthest away possible without moving sections. The server was kind and doting. No complaints. Okay now on to the horrid stuff.

I went with the server’s recommendation - which was called Bonecusher Brisket and Mac and Cheese. Now. I was craving some Mac and cheese and I really wanted it to hit the spot. The interior is beautiful, wouldn’t the food match it? It was proven it was not.

We waited a while for our food - about 20 mins. -the server even looked over at us and did the “oh snap, I forgot about them” face. It’s okay, happens to the best of us.

When it came out, it came out on the SMALLEST cast iron they could find. It looked okay, like baked Mac and cheese. It was not. I dug into it and it was immediately creamy and yellow and all the things Mac and cheese should be! Then I tasted it. It was hot, creamy, tangy cheese and undercooked noodles put into one. I was immediately grossed out. Then I went for the brisket. I should have never gotten this meal. I went for the brisket and it fell apart beautifully. It was surprising. Then I tasted it. It was the BLANDEST brisket I’ve ever tasted. They MUST have just soaked it in some water and cooked it. But not any water, the MOST tasteless water you can find anywhere.

Then, I kept eating. Mr.was talking and it is rude to interrupt when someone is speaking. My God. I should’ve interrupted him.

As I kept eating I’m getting hit with the fact that THIS HAS NO SEASONING. NOT EVEN A LITTLE SALT.

so I naturally grab the salt and pepper but THAT WAS TASTELESS. SHOCKED. I resorted to using the provided ketchup and mustard to eat the brisket and that was horrible. It didn’t help at all. I was crying while eating at this point. This was a disgrace to my record of choosing the better meal on dates with Mr. AND it was a disgrace to my body.

I devoured the entire meal for 2 reasons. 1. We don’t waste food at restaurants because it just gets thrown out at the end of the day. This was the BIGGEST lesson to not just eat anyone’s Mac and cheese and brisket.

I ordered salt and pepper chicken wings to cry into when I got home only to discover there were only 6 wings. For $22.60 that’s a huge rip off. I will never go here ever again and I hope you don’t either. Not unless you don’t like seasoning in your food, which then, well sweetie, you’ll...

Two awful experiences at this location. Won't go back! Eren, Since I cannot add a reply to your response, I edited my review to explain the actual scenario so readers know the real story.

The food was awful when we visited the restaurant a few weeks ago. The staff started cleaning the restaurant, turning the chairs around our table at 9:00 pm, and getting ready to close the restaurant. We felt we were being kicked out and left (While we were going, we asked you why you were closing this early when your official opening hours on Google is 10:00 pm, and the entrance door sign says ‘open till late”? You responded that since there are no customers, we are closing early.

When we called the day after to give our feedback, the person on the phone asked us to provide you with a second chance and said we would get $125 credit for the five main dishes we had. She wrote down the name, service date and the credited amount. When we returned last Friday, you mentioned that the first time was a misunderstanding and we were in a rush, which is not true. When we got our bill, the server said the manager did not put a round of drinks plus a 25% discount ‘as a favour’ (it was NOT 50%). We asked for the original $125 credit as we did not return for a favour or demand a discount. We came back o give another opportunity which seems was a wrong decision. You, as the manager, started arguing with us. You responded that there was a misunderstanding (again), and the person on the phone was the supervisor and had no authority to authorize that credit. My review is not about the money, discount or disagreement. It is customer service and costumers appreciation which are non-existence at this...

Let me start by saying I am a huge fan of Amsterdam beer. My wife and I live in Leaside and we buy the vast majority of our beer from the Amsterdam Brewery in our neighbourhood. I have been to the Amsterdam BrewHouse once recently and had a very positive experience.

It goes without saying that we were excited to learn that Amsterdam was opening a new restaurant in Leaside - Amsterdam Barrel House on Laird. We went there for the first time this week for dinner. We could not have been more disappointed. The hostess at the front was clueless about what tables were available. As she walked around the restaurant, she held her hand to her ear piece as if waiting for someone to tell her where to go. When she did eventually offer us a table, it was right next to two other people despite there being several other tables available. At our request, we eventually ended up on the second floor. We ordered drinks and then our food. The drinks and food came but both of our "hot" entrees were actually cold. We informed the waiter and he took them back to the kitchen. Eventually our food returned but we don't know if they were simply reheated in a microwave or if they were made up from scratch.

The food was adequate but not memorable. We finished our main course and declined dessert but simply wanted to leave this experience behind us.

Amsterdam has an excellent brand in terms of their beer. The Amsterdam Barrel House needs to quickly pull up its socks so it provides food and service at the same level as the Amsterdam BrewHouse or it runs the risk of damaging the brand and going the way of its predecessor,...