King Rustic Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in Toronto

I wish there was an option to give 0 stars. Negative stars?

I'd just like to point out - we aren't hard people to please. We drink drinks and eat food. My husband worked in a Firkin pub restaurant for many years, so we are very understanding and forgiving people in restaurants...

My husband and I made a reservation here for 5:30 last night, before going to see Cirque Du Soleil. We got there just before our reso, and were seated. Nobody acknowledged us for 25 minutes, we finally ordered cocktails and an app. I tried to order (from their menu) a "Rustic Hour" drink flight, to which I was rudely told they don't do that. I ordered something else. It took another 20 minutes for the cocktails, but no food came out. The cocktail I ordered was wrong, but I wasn't about to wait another 45 minutes for a drink. In the mean time, we had overheard a server tell a table beside us that their kitchen is busy and they've stopped taking food orders (DINNER TIME, on a SATURDAY!). But nobody ever told us. Finally, after almost an hour and just finishing our first cocktail, we asked a server (we had 3 different "servers") about our food, they said "hopefully soon". The server who seemed to run the show and was seating people, was greeting new customers with a smile, telling them wait time for a table is a few minutes, was not forthcoming or honest at all about food not being served, and drinks taking 30-45mins to come out. The place was packed full of empty tables (not even waters on the tables) and people looking around uncomfortably. After an hour, we just asked for the bill, paid for our two drinks and left. For the first time in my husband's 3+ decades of life, he didn't tip. I'm sure they did great take-out business though, that's where all the food seemed to be going, while ignoring the customers actually sitting in the restaurant! So disappointing, we were so excited when we first sat down at the vibe, the smell of the food (from the people who must've sat down at 4:30-5pm for dinner/late lunch), the look of it. But we will never go back or recommend this...

🌺🌺...BARNSTORMER... 🌺🌺

The interior is a delight with many rustic adornments, that have been lovingly arranged providing a comfy, interesting, relaxing ambience...💕 There were lights and plants hanging from the ceiling.

Everything was spotlessly clean.

It was a small place and the tables were arranged in a weird way. There were high tables & stools, in long lines, seating 6-8 (more suitable for groups/communal rather than intimate dining).

This obviously crammed more customers into a small space. There were a couple of lower tables seating four on chairs, another with a couch along the back wall.

It was mid afternoon - relatively quiet after Lunch - and we were lucky to get what seemed the only table to seat two...🍀🍀

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

Our waitress was polite, helpful and very attentive. We ordered a Cameron's draught beer, red wine, "Kale & Salmon Salad" and a "Sheppard's Pie" (nice alternative spelling).

On getting our beverages it was nice (unlike many places) to be able to have an intimate, private conversation for once.

Our food arrived quickly - my Pie in a cast iron pan - the Salmon on a rustic wooden platter - and ordered another round of drinks.

Both meals were more than adequate portions and absolutely delicious. CAN HIGHLY RECOMMEND BOTH

My Pie was piping hot and - apart from the corn and cheese - was just like my Mum used to make...😻 The Salmon was succulent, not dry. Beets & kale provided a nice, unusual 'twist' from the 'norm'...😍

It was definately rustic with home cooking. Kudos to the owner, Chef and Staff... 🌟🌟🌟

🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵

We decided to just stay a little longer, another Beer & Marguarita cocktail followed. The Bar (in particular) got busy quickly as people finished work so we paid the Bill, complimented our Waitress and moved on.

Yes it was a little pricey but you have to bear in mind its location within the City. Overall it was way better value for money than many other places we visited during our time in Toronto.

😃😃...GREAT...

ABSOLUTELY AWFUL service I am extremely disappointed by this restaurant. My group of 5 arrived on a Saturday evening and were seated right away extremely excited to be there as the atmosphere was cute and fun. It took 10 min for the waitress to acknowledge we were there and take our drink orders. My friends who joined our table shortly after didn't get their drinks for 30 minutes. When we tried to wave the waitress (Savannah I believe was her name) down to order food she acknowledged she saw us and indicated she would be right over. She did not come over for 40 more minutes as we patiently waited with empty drinks and no food. She was too busy chatting up her other tables and taking her sweet time. We tried several more times to make eye contact and she saw us but nothing changed and we continued to wait. After 40 minutes she finally came over and asked us if we wanted to order food with no acknowledge of how long we waited. We said no and asked for the bills as we have been waiting 40 minutes and at this point did not want to order food from here anymore. I am glad we didn't give this place anymore of our money.

What an absolute joke this place is and sad that management does not care enough to do anything. They previously commented on a previous bad review 9 months ago explaining the reason for the slow service was due to restructuring of the team and being short staffed after the pandemic. It's been 9 months since and nothing has changed very disappointing. We will not be returning nor will we ever recommend this restaurant. Best of...