Bandit Brewery — Restaurant in Toronto

The Wyck Recommendation: Bandit Brewery Rating: 4.2/5 Trash Panda Magic. Love. Curds. A Giant Glass Wall.

Intro Scene I was the third customer through the door when Bandit opened. Just a hopeful guy with a good shirt and a better date, drinking cloudy beers on a stripped down patio. We stayed together a while. Blame it on the cheese curds or the Bandit brews, but either way, something fermented just right.

What Was Ordered Flight of beers. As always, rotating taps, nothing boring. The legendary beer battered cheese curds. Mandatory. A glass or two of hazy, juicy something. Names change, raccoon logo stays.

Those curds? Molten, golden, salty little pillows of crime. Comes with a dipping sauce, but I barely remember touching it. What’s the point when the batter sings?

Service Commentary This has always been Bandit’s fatal flaw. From the early days to now, they just cannot seem to nail service. Not rude. Not incompetent. Just consistently distracted. Like everyone working here is thinking about a film career or a food truck they would rather be running. You flag someone down, they forget. You order, they vanish. The vibes stay high, but expectations stay low.

Vibe Check Busy but mellow. Craft beer bros. Couples pretending not to check their ex’s Instagram. One guy wearing a Dolly Parton Fan Club hat. Music low, conversations higher. No pressure, no pretense. Just hops and humans.

The Space Itself Once a garage. Now a beer garden with stainless tanks, dangling vines, and a tree growing indoors like it is trying to unionize. The patio has been transformed by a massive glass door wall that closes it off like a greenhouse during beer season. It used to be open and raw. Now it looks like a tech bro’s Musk funded beer dream. Still charming.

About the Neighborhood Located on Dundas West just before it gets too cool to park. There are two entrances. One to the bar. One to the bottle shop. Do not get confused unless you enjoy the feeling of being reborn inside a fridge. A good stroll from vintage shops, indie snacks, and tattooed dads with fixed gear bikes.

Hits and Misses

✓ Beer battered cheese curds. Hall of fame snack ✓ Flight friendly tap list with fun, weird brews ✓ Giant retractable glass patio door is slick and warm weather proof ✓ Brewery tanks make it feel authentic, not too polished ✗ Service has never been their strong suit ✗ Some beers are forgettable filler ✗ Prices creeping into hmm territory

Final Verdict Bandit started humble. Just suds and sun and one of the best damn patio snacks in Toronto. Now it has serious patio tech, glossy touches, and a bit of polish, but the bones are the same. Come for the curds. Stay if someone beautiful orders a flight and you remember what it felt like to fall for someone at a brewery.

Perfect For First dates that accidentally last three years Trying new beers with someone who...

Bit of an awkward experience here regarding service. I can't complain about their beers (stout was awesome) loved it.

I went there with a couple of friends, one of them visiting from Miami and experiencing Toronto's upraising brewing scenario. However, by the moment we stepped in, we were received by a sort of manager/host with a particular attitude. I noticed the place was packed and that we definitely would have to wait for tables. But this person lacked off peoples-skills and the way he delivered information about waiting time (was around 45 min) implied that he wanted us more out of the place than as customers.

Anyways, we decided to stay as the decoration and the placed looked cozy. One of the actions of the host/manager that gave me goosebumps was the fact that one of my friend drank a glass of water from a bottle that was placed at the entrance with a tower of cups for customers to drink while waiting. A minute after my friend drank, this guy comes (thinking that he wasn't conspicuous?) And took the water bottle out of our view. It was taught me regarding good manners that you never deny water to anyone. the moment that happened I just wanted to run away from there. Zero on people skills for this guy.

I think that by that moment he had to notice my nonplussed face (or maybe not?). We stood there at the entrance. We saw a group of 4 -that arrived after us - being received and sat at a table, while we were still waiting at the entrance (I can assure you he could accommodate us, but well...). After 30 minutes or so, he advises that we would be sat at the bar, but that we had to do this and accommodate there "calmly" (looks like we were not quiet enough for his likes). We sat there feeling uncomfortable and trying to get our friend to like the rest of the experience. We tried all of their beers. But definitely, not coming back anymore. Super disappointed and embarrassed with my friend coming from Miami.

It is gracious how can a service experience can make you quit from repeating tasting this great beer.

I gave two stars for beer. Otherwise, it would...

UPDATE: Bandit Brewery is still going strong and things have definitely improved - the service is outstanding and the food is really good too. I had the fried mushroom banh mi - what a great vegetarian alternative to the classic although I wish the bread were more along the lines of a classic Vietnamese baguette. Fries were super-crispy and fluffy - good stuff! Smash burgers are really great too.

The beer has taken an interesting turn ... on offer were a couple fruited gose-style beers and a couple fruited "smoothie" sours. While these styles aren't my favourite, they certainly seem like the most popular (and the most well-made) selections on the menu and I must say they were delicious.

There is a Mexican lager on offer that is without off-flavours but it doesn't exactly strike the "crushable" chord that I wanted it to.

"Vibe" - the West Coast IPA offering hits many of the notes that characterize the style - clear, slightly malty with a great citrus/pine aroma but the flavours are a bit muddled and it's a little too bitter - or is it slightly astringent?

The other IPAs (4 or 5 different hazy / NEIPA style) were also a bit too bitter for the style and had the same unfocused / muddled hop flavours as the WCIPA. Great aroma, not so great flavour.

Overall, I'd say they're killing it with the sours/smoothies and the food and service has really improved. I'll definitely be back sooner than 7 years from now!

7 years ago: The beer at Bandit is nicely varied and well-brewed and I believe it will only get better in the future. The service, however, is very bad. I've visited about a half-dozen times and unless I'm sitting at the bar, service is very slow and what's worse is that the employees seem to lack even basic knowledge of the beer they are serving. This is inexcusable at a brewpub where the beer should be the star...