Sin & Redemption — Restaurant in Toronto

Went in today (July 17/2018) at 1:45pm. Looked around for a server to be seated but didn’t see one, so sat myself at the bar waiting for a friend.

I come here often, 1-2 at least a week and usually the service is fairly quick and the prices are decent.

Today, a woman with dirty-blonde/brown hair saw me by the bar and demanded to know if I was ordering food, then told me her bartender is new. I said I didn’t need a menu.

My friend arrived and as we were deciding on drinks, she shuffled behind us and essentially yelled to get our IDs out. Sure. My friend is from Manitoba and she wouldn’t take her ID as “it could be fake”. I have an Ontario ID and am 27, would love to know the logic behind why I would hang out with someone younger than 19 for an afternoon beverage.

Fine, she didn’t believe a REAL Manitoba ID. My friend actually used to work for a restaurant with the same owner so she called a bartender at Prenup pub to vouch for her.

Our “server” skeptically answered the phone and demanded from the bartender on the other line for the owner’s number, which he promptly gave.

She finally acquiesced to serving us, begrudgingly.

We received our drinks from the new bartender, who actually did a good job, And literally as I took my first two sips, our server returned and told us that “any ex employee cannot be in any of his restaurants and therefore cannot serve us”.

She then told us we had to leave and I told her I was absolutely absurd that we couldn’t sit for one drink. She said “if you want to gulp yours down fast, that’s fine”.

I’m not about to abandon my friend not drink at a place with awful service and idiotic rules nor am I going to chug a beverage I wanted to sit and enjoy.

As I said no, we’re leaving, she very sarcastically told us to have a good day.

I will be filing a Human Rights case against her, the owner and the restaurant, as this behaviour is not acceptable. We were both legal, polite, paying customers who just wanted a single beverage after a hard week.

Would not recommend anyone...

Dinner for two - Pros and Cons

We ordered "Bavarian sausages with home made bread, Belgian frites and sauerkraut" as per menu.

Pros: Dish was big with 2 pairs of 4 inches long sausages each, french fries, gravy and sour cabbage. Decent price for dish size (around $17 CAD) The waiting time until the food arrived was also decent (around 12 - 15 minutes). Not crowded even at dinner time.

Cons: Very small and uncomfortable tables where hardly two big plates can fit on. The "Belgian frites" were regular french fries, not Belgian frites that should be prepared in different way (fried twice in animal fat not canola oil), cannot be from frozen potatoes in the bag etc. The name was probably added only to attract the clients or look fancy. The gravy or sauce on sausages had terrible taste. The bread was not "home made": was a regular baguette from store, enough fresh, probably made in the night before. Unprofessional attitude of the waitress: I needed confirmation that the "home made bread" is served with the sausages because on the menu was added on the top of the page where multiple dishes were listed, I asked the question if I'll get home made bread. The reply was "I know my job, sure you get it." Dirty toilets in basement. The area was very smelly and the...

I have a love/hate relationship with this restaurant, because your experience can be phenomenal or awful. (We keep going because it is very convenient for a number of reasons). This past visit, our experience was squarely up the middle. Our server was polite, friendly, and very pleasant, but he would disappear for fifteen or twenty minutes before coming back into the room. At one point he apologized, which I appreciated, but I still don't like sitting with an empty glass for a quarter of an hour. The menu has been updated, and the food was good, though not great. I had a chicken gumbo that was tasty, but lacking in chicken (and I was not brought bread, though the menu says that it comes with bread. Yes, I could have said something, but I pick my battles). The avocado fries were excellent with the dip: a must. The cheese and tomato flatbread was heavy on the cheese, but lacking the tomato: after we had eaten half of it, it was oozing grease. Dining options are severely lacking in this area. (The Village Idiot, next door, is owned by the same guy, and it's also hit or miss). My advice is that if you have the time and ability (which we often don't), walk up to Queen Street and explore your...