The Alpine — Restaurant in Toronto

Lightning does strike twice…

It’s always a treat to stumble into a pleasurable new dining venue. It’s even better when you return for a second visit to find the experience retains — and even improves on its initial charms. For us, there are three must-have components to such an experience: great food, great drink, and great service. The Alpine surpasses on all three.

On our first visit, my wife and I both had the Steak Frites which was no small matter: AAA 10oz. striploin, frites, peppercorn gravy and a beefsteak onion ring. A kitchen can sink or swim on the cook quality of a steak; it may seem simple but it’s not. The chef hit it the bullseye, a perfect medium rare (towards the rare side, just as we asked). The portions were grand and the seasonings were spot on. The ‘frites’, which in some restaurants are a mere afterthought, were fresh cut and flavourful.

For our second visit, my wife had The Alps Burger with smoked bacon, Raclette cheese, pickled zucchini, aioli, on a brioche bun, while I had the Buffalo Fried Chicken Sandwich with bacon, Cajun pickles, tarragon aioli, cheddar, iceberg lettuce, also served on a brioche bun. (It’s worth noting that they use the much tastier chicken thigh rather than the more bland chicken breast.) Once again, the ingredients were fresh and well-seasoned and cooked with care and attention.

The Alpine has a great selection of beer on tap and the friendly staff were happy to offer samples. Both times, I settled on the Clifford Brewing Porter which did not disappoint. There is even a menu of higher end beers which may require a special occasion to justify the price but they do sound intriguing.

My only quibble might be the name, itself, as “The Alpine” really doesn’t give a hint of the treasures within. But I get that there’s history to the establishment and that lends the place just a little bit more character.

As I mentioned before, great food and great drink is nothing without great service. Staff are genuinely friendly in an approachable, unpretentious way. Even the owner, Jeff, was nice enough to take the time to chat with us about the history and future of the restaurant, his outlook and objectives. His passion for good service and love of the industry is palpable and that translates into the excellent experience had by the patrons.

We wish him and his whole team continued success as we will most certainly return for another strike...

I was a patron at the comedy show a few weekends ago and by extension a guest at your restaurant. One of my friends were the comedians on the show, and I was very excited to see him perform the for the first time as he always invited me and I'm always too busy to go, so I surprised them and I went this time, during my time I was sitting at the table with some unknown guests, and one of the servers came up to me. His name is Hamid. He asked if I'd like something to eat or drink. I said yes I would like the chicken wings and I told him how I liked it and he said to me they're not too spicy . I just have to dump them in the ranch sauce if I find that they are too spicy, he didn't give me any options or ask the kitchen to do any adjustment.

Before my food comes he brought me a bill for the food & I was a little confused as I've never had a situation whereby I paid before eating. So I told him and he yanked machine and bill from my table, in a very angry tone he said "buddy I need to have a credit card". at the time I had my debit card in my hand and I said to him that I'm not paying from a credit card I'm using debit, I just wanted to clear the air because he mentioned he needed to have a credit card and I know some places only accept credit cards. He walked away very angrily because I said I refused to pay for food I didn't receive / eat. I was being very kind and patient with him while he could have explained to me the reason he's doing this, but he didn't. I'm never the type to break rules , I'm basically telling my server how I feel as a guest.

When I received my food he came back and slam down the card machine on my table again while everyone was looking at me wondering why he's behaving like that having me looking & feeling embarrassed , I gently took up the machine and paid from my debit card. I took my time to place the machine on my table while I kept calm , he then yank the machine up again and said "see you have a credit card eh" in a very angry tone of voice. I said nothing other than thank you to him and the food runner.

Nasty service! Terrible first...

I grew up in the area and I have never had such a bad experience in my neighbourhood. Firstly, my friend and I walked in wearing masks. Secondly, the vaccine mandate for restaurants was lifted. We walk in and nobody was at the door, so we went to sit at the bar. We reached the bar and my friend took her mask off. A server then comes to us and rudely snaps at us about how we should have waited at the door and then he snapped at my friend for not having her mask on, even though we were already at our seats.

We then moved to a table to avoid being served by the guy who "welcomed" us. We only ordered drinks. I had a stout and my friend had a cocktail. She finished her drink and I was still drinking my. The new server came to the table and asked if we wanted anything and we said we would wait until I was finished my drink. We had asked the server if he could make Paper Planes (the cocktail) and we mentioned that when I was done my drink, we'd order two to enjoy them together.

While I was still finishing my stout, the server brought a Paper Plane to the table and placed in in front of my friend. We looked at him funny because we hadn't ordered yet, we weren't ready to order yet, we wanted to order together and we were actually shocked that he made the drink and casually plopped it in front of her.

The only time you should bring a drink to a table that didnt order it is when it is complimentary. Some might read this and think it isnt a big deal, but it is because we could have decided we didnt want one and now we were forced to pay for it. In the end, I actually didn't feel like another cocktail and yet my friend had to pay for the one she didnt order.

Y'all need some customer service and emotional...