Birreria Volo — Restaurant in Toronto

Most pretentious beer bar in Toronto. They refuse to let you try the beer, then if you don't like it, they refuse to give refunds. The very rude manager said their policy is "trust your bartender", but if they're bartenders are trustworthy then put your money where your mouth is.

In response to the reply from the owner calling my ad "miss-leading":

First of all, the beer was not explained thoroughly to me. I walked up to the bar (because this bar has no table service for whatever reason) and the owner was explaining the taps to his staff, not to me. I stood there for about 3 minutes ignored until I had to interrupt them and ask for the beer in question, which I partially overheard them talking about. They poured the beer and never explained any thing beyond that, and when back to his staff. I was more on an inconvenience to the owner than a customer.

When I returned to the bar to explain that I didn't like the beer and I would like to order something different, the bar tenders response was literally "OK." and said nothing else to me as she poured me the next beer. Not exactly inspiring trust in your bartenders here.

At the end of the night we had to ask to not be charged for a beer I didn't drink, it was not offered to us freely. And while we did receive the refund, it came accompanied with a lecture from the owner. No apology, annoyed tone, like he was "Educating" me on customers should behave. The refund was to make us go away, not to give us a "good experience". A good experience would be staff who are helpful and polite to their customers in the...

I had higher hopes for this craft beer bar. I truly did. I read about it on enough food blogs, and Toronto essentials lists, that it seemed like a necessary addition to the must-visit list. We went on a slow Wednesday evening. The things that you will read that are accurate are that it is an absolutely beautiful bar. With brick walls spanning the narrow space and barrels converted into table tops, it is an incredibly beautiful space to visit for the evening. The beer list is extensive. There are some really unique and hard to obtain beers that you won't be able to find elsewhere.

However, the service and bartender knowledge leaves much to be desired. I asked what their most sour beer was on draft and the question seemed to catch the bartender off guard. He recommended the Umi Gose with Okinawan Shikuwasa and Sea Salt (Godspeed Brewery). I asked for a sample and he said they don't do samples...so I bit my tongue and I went with his recommendation. It was a mistake. The sour was not anything special...I wouldn't describe as particularly "sour" or earth-shattering. I've had many more tart and sour goses than that.

Moral of the story: if you don't have a beer that matches the profile someone is looking for, and you're not willing to offer a sample, just be honest and say you don't have anything particularly sour on draft. I would have then moved onto a different beer style. As is, I left feeling disappointed and entirely underwhelmed by the experience. The hype about this place...

Food was very low budget. I ordered chicken pate that was only 2 crostini for 7 dollars I also had a Cesar salad. there was about 50 croutons and very little actual lettuce, the parm was from a bag and not shaved fresh. There was so much sauce and cheep cheese it was nauseating. They also advertised fresh pancheta on the salad. It was not pieces it was crumbled like cheep bacon bits that were cold and very greasy . Also the lettuce was not clean. It tasted like a dirty grocery store.for $18 My wife ordered a pizza with provolone and mushrooms. Horrible, there was not a drop of provolone, reg mozzarella sadly. And the mushrooms were from a can. Wet and sloppy. The only thing that was good was the beer. I have a great problem with being deceived at a restaurant. Lying about your foood quality and ingredients is shameful. People are more aware than you think. Spending that kind of money for something I wouldn't even eat at home. Coming to a restaurant to have a meal that you can't have at home. Not sure we're the reviews are coming from. You couldn't pay me enough money in the world to eat...