Beertown Public House Etobicoke — Restaurant in Toronto

UPDATE: I popped in to the Etobicoke location the other day for a quick bite. I asked if Sim (asst. mgr) was in but there was a different one on duty. Though I insisted to only speak to Sim to be fair, the waitress got the current asst mgr to come over. (As a side note...not fair they send over Terence who was so amiable, good looking, great smile and personality. If I HAD wanted to vent, I would have been quickly disarmed LOL) Turns out they indeed had kept a record of my previous experience, and to make a long story short, Terence said my whole bill for that day's meal was on the house. Seriously! I hadn't expected that and it was a well above and beyond kind of customer service. Leaves feel-good vibes. I mean, when does that EVER happen that a whole bill is taken care of???

Sadly, overall with ALL restaurants that I get take out from, I will be double checking my order BEFORE I leave the location from now on.

Previously... I REALLY like their menu. Tried a few things and enjoyed everything. I've eaten in twice at the downtown location and no one seems to be responsible for the tables. Everyone coming to the table is someone different and then no one knows when someone is on break??? We have to grab other waitstaff as they pass by. Last night I was at the Etobicoke location and ordered take out - a small Caesar salad with shrimp (generous portion of shrimp BTW). Cost including tax was almost $20 which seems a bit on the expensive side but I had a craving. Got home and no dressing. I can't count the number of times I've ordered take out or delivery and the order was missing something, from ANYWHERE I order. I had never ordered a Caesar salad for takeout before from here so didn't know how many packages to expect. I called the manager and explained the situation who was very patient, listened well, empathetic but couldn't do anything for me unless I was willing to make the 20 minute drive back down to the restaurant. I had paid cash, so although she found my order on the system, wasn't able to refund it (she hadn't suggested she could anyway) I don't know why or how I can ever trust (all) restaurants because they almost all seem to forget some part of the order, not to mention I believe in general the portions are smaller in take out. Definitely can't trust...

The service was great, servers are knowledgeable and attentive, there is plenty of seating - almost too much in fact, to the point where it is difficult for people with mobility limits to navigate the floor. The beer is obviously decent, tons of choice and good quality. I am always confused by restos that have different sized “pints” because it is a unit of measure and therefore mathematically static. Also, the largest “pint” was 18oz which is still not a pint (in Canada, 20oz). The food is top notch but there is a lot of room left on the plate, like a lot. And it’s very compartmented, the fish/burger is on a massive plate, fries are in a separate (fairly small) steel container, coleslaw is also in a thimble sized steel container and the ketchup and tar tar sauce are alloted their own individual single use plastic containers. This is wild to me. Seems like a massive amount more dishes to wash and plastic waste. Again, I could not believe how much plate I saw while all those items crowded the main plate itself. My reco: get smaller plates and put all the food on one plate with sauces on the side, less dishes, less waste and the illusion that the plate is full. It’s fairly prices for a suburban chain and again, above average quality of food, drinks and service but I felt like I got less than what I paid food-wise. If we eat with our eyes first, I...

We’ve been here several times and both the food and service are generally good. But: Friday night: busy, which we understand of course, but steak served severely undercooked (near blue), and then came back overdone — and arrived after the accompanying salad was done. We’re not usually one to pick on this but it remained on the bill — at this point standard practice would be some kind of discount, at least.

Additionally, and this is a general gripe, but really applies in this case. Tips are pre-tax. Customers are not tipping for the pleasure of the governments share of a bill (which pays for our roads, schools, etc., and so I don’t mind paying). Tonight 18% on a large pre-tax bill, after the issue with the steak (should’ve been an automatic credit), was enough to make our server, who up to that point had admittedly been very kind and accommodating, sour and give us a curt exit. Maybe I’m mistaken, but this has become too common. 18% is a decent medium-large tip. The expectation of 20% minimum on the after tax amount has gone too far. We’re all suffering cost of living issues. We weren’t thrifty tonight and aren’t rich people. And apologies if I have our server wrong — maybe this is projection based on multiple experiences — but the tip entitlement needs to calm down. I support workers, but...