Bellwoods Brewery — Restaurant in Toronto

It took me literal YEARS to finally get to eat at Bellwoods. This is a very popular place, and you're going to need to either make a concerted effort to get in or have plenty of time to wait. In my situation, it took sitting outside (in just above freezing temperatures) to finally get a crack at their menu. That said, we were offered a seat inside pretty quickly and only decided to stay where we were because of how amazing our beer tasted being chilled by its environment.

If you know Bellwoods, you probably know their beers. They have all their classics here, along with a regularly rotating cast of new brews. And their extended beer list has plenty of excellent selections on its own. Our server's beer acumen (in the face of a West Coast, self-described craft brew connoisseur) was spot on, and she didn't hesitate to suggest non-Bellwoods beers.

Their food menu isn't huge, but is still diverse enough that you won't feel forced into some familiar favourite. We started with some crispy tofu which - and this is all you can ask from tofu - had a great texture. But the sesame honey was the real star of that dish. My friend had a duck leg dish which didn't particularly wow him, but my sausage plate was amazing at every bite. There was this gentle transition between a grainy mustard and a carrot puree - it was absolutely perfect with the sausage.

Honestly, I knew exactly how good the beer was going to be, but if I'd known how good the food was, I might have made more of an effort to actually...

This was a place i wanted to take my friend during our bar crawl down queen and ossington.

We walked by and put our names on the waitlist and told it'd be over an hour before we could get a seat, which we were expecting and place with.

We continued down Ossington and stopped at another establishment, and ordered a beverage while we waited. Within 15 mins of being seated we got a call that our table was ready. I had mentioned that we were told over an hour and asked if we could be moved to the bottom of the list again and we'd head back shortly. The person on the phone confirmed he couldn't hold our table but would happily move us to the bottom of the list.

As we got back, we checked in how far we had to wait and i noticed that my name was never moved just crossed off. The individual mentioned he forgot to move me - but luckily there was a two seater that just opened up and he sat us down.

I had the lager and my friend had an IPA. I found the beer to be a bit to hoppy for me, my friend enjoyed hers.

Here's the $22 cheeseboard we got, i was slightly disappointed on how little the quantity of food was for the price paid. The cheeses had some great flavour to them and the jam was delicious, i would have expected to get a bit more...

I’m honestly at a loss for words. I’ve been a loyal customer for years and have recommended this place to countless friends, but today will unfortunately be my last visit.

The customer service this summer has been consistently poor, and I’ve had multiple disappointing experiences. Most recently, I ordered a beer slushy that was almost entirely foam. When I asked if the recipe had changed, the employee dismissed my concern, insisting it looked “normal.” I’ve had at least five this summer and I’m sure anyone else who’s had the slushy before would agree that the one I received tonight looked nothing like the advertised images (I have a photo as proof).

On another visit, I tried ordering a slushy, however, the shop was closed for a private event. I was told I could order the slushy through the restaurant next door, but what I received was a drink a fraction of the usual size—yet still the same price. Neither the server nor the menu disclosed this, which came across as deceptive. When I asked about the price, the waitress was dismissive and rude, offering no apology for the misleading service.

Between the declining quality, misleading practices, and unprofessional staff, I can no longer justify coming here or recommending...