J's Steak Frites — Restaurant in Toronto

Went to the new College location as we have been to the Queen location a few times and loved it. We were excited to not have to drive so far anymore. Dinner was to celebrate our daughter’s birthday. My husband was running late so we drove separately. I arrived with the kids just a few minutes late for our reservation. Restaurant was empty. Perhaps there were some people eating on the patio but I’m not sure. I informed the girl who seated us that my husband was stuck in traffic and would be around 20 minutes but we could go ahead without him and just fire up his steak once he’s closer. We had an easy order, 4 medium rare steaks. She said ok. But then a man came over (Server? Manager? I’m not quite sure) but he said he overheard the situation and that they have to adhere to strict timing with their 1.5 hour time limit and first the salads and bread come out, then the steaks and then the fries. And due to timing issues, they must serve the full table all at once. In other words, he could give us our bread and salad but no steaks could be cooked until my husband was physically in his seat. I tried to suggest that I could give them a heads up and let them know when my husband is 5 or 10 minutes away so they can start on our steaks and have it on the table by the time he arrives. He insisted that it’s strict policy that they MUST serve everything all together AFTER he arrives. He asked if this was ok, even though he gave me no other option. It was as if they were worried about cooking steaks in advance and having us change our minds and not want them. It just seemed unreasonable because 3 of us were sitting right there ready to eat once our food arrived. We just didn’t want my husband’s steak to be cooked right away. I gave up because they clearly weren’t going to change their minds. So I asked if we could have some fries in the meantime because my kids were hungry. He said he could bring us fries first but it would be an additional $7. The food MUST come out in order. Bread, salad, steaks, fries. So they COULD go out of order but then they would essentially charge us a $7 fee for inconveniencing them. For a kitchen that only cooks 2 things, they’re making it sound very overwhelming. None of this would have happened at the Queen street location. They always give us some fries to start before the steaks come out. And they also keep coming around asking if we want more fresh hot fries throughout the meal. Tonight, the server came over at least twice throughout the meal asking how our experience was like he was expecting us to be thrilled with the food and service. I’m not one to make a scene so we said everything was fine and but asked if we could have more fries. By the time we were done eating (just within our 1.5 hour time limit) there were at least 4 tables still empty inside and likely many more available out on the patio. It wasn’t as if the kitchen was swamped with orders. All the times we’ve been to the Queen location it has been completely full and the staff was friendly and service was fast. The food tonight was all fine but the overall experience was pretty terrible. I wasn’t able to enjoy my meal feeling like we needed to rush since the steaks actually took quite a while to come out after my husband arrived and I’m annoyed because we could’ve had a nice leisurely dinner had they brought our food out earlier. I was surprised they even offered us dessert and coffee seeing as how they wanted us to not stay beyond our 1.5 hour time limit. We decided to pass on dessert and not spend any more time or money in this unwelcoming environment. We will not be returning to this location. An extra 20 minutes driving to the Queen location is worth it. ——— *Update: The owner reached out and was very apologetic. We gave the College location another try tonight and everything was great. Food and service were what we expected and we would have no issues returning to this location in the future. We also tried the peach tart dessert tonight and it...

Underwhelming Experience — I Won’t Be Returning I came here to celebrate a joint birthday dinner with a close friend, and unfortunately, it was a letdown from the moment we walked in. I had called earlier to ask if a reservation was needed and was told the evening would be quiet with plenty of tables available. That was far from the experience we had.

My friend arrived five minutes before I did, and we waited more than seven minutes before anyone even approached us. When someone finally did, it was just to ask if I wanted a drink. I requested ketchup and mayonnaise with my meal, but the server forgot and I had to flag down someone else to bring it.

During dessert, I mentioned it was my friend’s birthday and that mine had just passed. The cake that came out was delicious and had a candle, but the moment felt flat. I sang to my friend and looked to the server to join in or even acknowledge the celebration, but there was no effort made. All the while, three servers and a bartender stood nearby chatting with each other as if we were invisible.

The table next to us seemed to be regulars because they received noticeably better service. Their server checked in frequently, refilled water without being asked, and actually engaged with them. That contrast made our lack of attention feel even more obvious.

Another strange issue was a random door located right by the window near our table. Throughout the night, college students kept walking through it directly into the dining area. It was distracting and completely disrupted the atmosphere. The door clearly should have been locked.

Not once did anyone try to upsell us on drinks or offer sparkling water. I was only asked if I wanted another drink at the very end of our meal, long after it mattered.

The overall vibe felt sloppy. Most guests were in T-shirts and shorts. I had dressed nicely, thinking this would be a step above casual dining, but the atmosphere did not match the pricing or the expectations.

For the cost per person, there are much better restaurants in the city that actually value your presence. If you are thinking of trying this place, I suggest visiting the Queen Street location instead. It has a better ambiance, friendlier service, and a more polished feel.

This location completely missed the mark. I will not...

Service was wonderful. Attentive. For whatever reason we were given fries instead of frites but our server rectified this and brought us frites when we ordered our second serving of potatoes. It’s Ayce frites. If you’ve had steak and frites in Montreal you’d know the frites are like shoestring fries skinny and crisp! The fries were not as crispy. The fries are cooked in beef tallow. A bonus to me. They were good but not the best beef tallow fries. That honour goes to the that burger place on the queensway near Costco.

The Back patio was lovely to dine in and it wasn’t too busy except for the occasional wasp but it is August so it to be expected. The salad was tasty, the candied walnuts complimented it very well. Desserts are made in house but our 5 layer cake slice was $20!!! It was a biscoff flavoured cake with caramel. It was a bit heavy but it was tasty. Ok so no 5 stars cause here’s the critique. We ordered our steaks medium rare and IMO I thought they were medium. 😕 Yes of course our server asked if everything was good and sure that was my time to point out the obvious. But I was so excited to try this place, I didn’t bother at the time. Yes the meat was tougher. But I’ve messed up cooking steaks at home. However my excitement died down later and I realized I was disappointed that the steak was looked medium to me. So the steak is 2.5 stars. The fries 3-4 stars, our server she was lovely 4 stars. I’m not a steak connoisseur but I’ve eaten my fair share of steaks and IMO we were served medium steaks. Last steak I had was at the Keg and I definitely was pleased when I cut into it. Now, I’d go back cause I did enjoy my time there but I know better now. And if you go, remember they won’t waste a steak and they will serve it to you so be your own advocate cause if they mess it up, it only gets fixed if you point it out. IMO they should have cooked another before bringing to me. But I take responsibility for not saying anything at the time now. My starry eyed 🤩 expectations have been flattened and I am back to reality. Good place yes? Great place potentially! Worth going to? To support local yes. Cut is too tough to cook past...