The Rabbit Hole — Restaurant in Toronto

Last Friday my partner and I chose to visit The Rabbit Hole on Adelaide to use up the last of an O&B Gift Card. We’d never been and wanted to try out their Happy Hour. It was a little tricky to get into, as the very visible entrance off-of Adelaide was closed due to the ugly spring weather we were having. Venturing into the Scotia Plaza we almost missed the unobtrusive, hidden door that led up some dark stairs (not down, as one might think when entering a rabbit hole) opening into a cozy and warm space. The atmosphere was decidedly English pub, and it was very busy with a downtown financial district casual Friday crowd. (doesn’t anyone wear a jacket and tie anymore….?) Fortunately for us, we had a 5:30 reservation, and Lakshay offered us either a table for two, or a nicely positioned high-top beside a window overlooking the streetscape (yes!).

Meagan our lovely server quickly appeared and offered us water to start, told us about the Happy Hour specials and advised that (clutch the pearls…) they were out of Guinness. They had a couple of 16 oz drafts for $6.95 on offer so we both ordered a pint of Lost Craft Revival IPA. In addition, they have a “3rd Snack’s the Charm” offer where the 3rd item from the bar snacks menu is no charge. The bar snacks menu is pretty comprehensive: bacon burger, veggie burger, Proper Caesar salad, sausage rolls, Scotch Egg, calamari, chunky chips & malt vinegar, olives and more. We figured that three snacks be too much food to have since we intended on ordering mains from the regular menu.

When Meagan returned with our pints, we each ordered a “Proper Caesar Salad”. CB wanted the Ale-battered Haddock & Chips (comes with mushy peas, charred lemon, tartar sauce), and I bravely opted for the (highly recommended as it is made fresh daily) Curried Vegetable Pie, with chickpeas, turnip, courgette, mashed potatoes. Meagan informed CB that today they had a fresh caught Halibut (and chips) special, so he upgraded to that.

In short time two generous plates of a very tasty Caesar salad with real bacon, anchovy dressing and croutons were delivered to us. If you like salad, definitely order this salad. We realized that these counted as 2 Bar Snack items, and upon asking, Meagan confirmed we were able to order an additional Calamari at no charge. So why not! Unfortunately, the calamari was a bit of a disappoint and not as good as I’ve had elsewhere. We did not finish them.

CB’s Halibut was amazingly tender and flavourful, so top marks on this. But it should be at $35 for Fish and Chips. As for the green mushy peas…. British fare…. I’ll leave it at that….

About my vegetable pie, it was not good at all. In fact, it was awful. It was like it had been pulled out of the bottom of the freezer and microwaved - the crust was so tough it literally could not be pulled apart without sawing it with my knife. On my plate lay a tough lump of inedible, over-cooked dark-brown “pastry” surrounding an unflavourful lack-luster mush of unidentifiable courgette, turnup and hardened chickpeas in the middle. The mashed potatoes artfully plopped on top were lukewarm at best. I cannot see how this is prepared daily because of the adonized rubber character of the crust. I ate a bit of it. I really should have sent the whole thing back and ordered something else.

Since CB generously shared his really good fish and chips with me, we were full so did not order any dessert. On our departure Lakshay checked in to be sure we enjoyed ourselves.

In summary, The Rabbit Hole has a very comfortable and cozy atmosphere with a real English Pub feel. Service is genuinely attentive and welcoming. The Happy Hour offers some enticing options, but order carefully from the Snack menu. The Caesar salad was excellent as was the Halibut and Chips. Avoid the veggie pie, or order at your peril. The kitchen needs to work on ensuring all plates on offer are done to their best potential. The prices for mains are not cheap pub prices, so the resulting dish should...

Very disappointed with my second experience here. Had a birthday lunch late November with my coworkers and we all had a wonderful time. The waiter who served us was extremely kind and professional. We were so impressed with the food, cocktails and service that we decided to return the week after for lunch. We called to book a reservation for 7 people at 1pm and the hostess/waitress told us we should just walk-in. When we arrived they told us we would have to wait 20-30 minutes for a table, however, we can sit at the bar as it was empty. We saw there were 3 empty tables and asked whether we could sit there instead and she checked the system and said we could if we leave by 3pm, as that is the next reservation. We agreed as we would leave by 2pm anyways. As she was walking us towards the tables, another waitress/manager (Asian with blonde hair) came by and said we cannot sit there. She said "it is reserved" in a very demeaning tone and when we told her the other waitress said we could dine there and leave by 3pm she just ignored us. We ended up sitting at the bar instead. Last time we all ordered the Lancaster hot pot and it was absolutely decadent and delicious. This time, the potatoes were undercooked and the lamb tasted a tad sour. It was clear that the quality of the food is not consistent. Consistency is key as it builds trust with a business. We were under a tight time frame so we were not able to send the undercooked food back. The bartender recognized that we were frustrated with the seating situation and some of us witnessed him talking to the manager and the Asian blonde hair woman about the situation. The Asian blonde hair woman aggressively approached me specifically (I was the only other Asian in the group) and spoke to me in an extremely offensive manner. She came and said "I just want to clear things up that we cannot give you that table because it is reserved" and I explained that the other waitress had said we could sit there and her coming after the fact and denying us was unprofessional. If it was just a miscommunication, she could have handled it with more professionalism and with less of an attitude. She did not want to listen to what I had to say as after she said her "piece" she walked away. The lack of service from this particular individual was peculiar to say the least. We finished the meal by 2pm and we saw that the 3 tables were still unoccupied. Confirming that we could have sat there but that 1 particular person wanted to treat us condescendingly. This one singular experience was enough to deter all of us from returning ever again. As someone who was very impressed by the service just a week before and enjoyed the food, I had suggested the restaurant to my friends and brought them to try it and I feel very disappointed that this behavior has made it so that we will not...

Last night I was a patron at this bar/restaurant, which I had high hopes for based on all the good reviews and the recommendation I received from the hotel I’m staying at.

To preface everything, I’m from Toronto, currently in Ottawa for work. I work in corporate now, but have a background in hospitality. Basically I understand the industry and best practices.

From the moment I entered the establishment I was ignored and dismissed by staff. It was around 10pm, and figured maybe they’re just trying to wrap up for the evening, but was told to just go downstairs where I saw the place was still in full service and busy. I sat at the bar and could barely get a glass of water for 10 minutes. The bartender working (I believe his name was Kevin) was rude, short, and dismissive. He actively ignored me, but would treat patrons that came right after me (coincidentally white males) promptly and with a smile. I finally got a menu from another bartender who was slightly better. The entire time I was there their was a vibe that I wasn’t welcomed. I actually had a friend on a video call on my phone and they could overhear the interactions I was having with staff and they were shocked.

Eventually another guest sat beside me and we started to chat. He told me how good the food was and gave me more restaurant recommendations. This guest was served promptly and with a smile, which was a stark difference to how I was treated.

As a Canadian born and raised, I never like to deduce that race/gender could be a factor to ill treatment, but I happened to be the only black woman in the establishment and I feel that was a factor, whether conscious or not.

It’s a shame cause I’ve heard good things about this place, and as mentioned before I’ve worked in hospitality in Toronto and also gone out and have never been treated so poorly to where I felt I needed to write a review.

For contrast I actually stopped at the Bier Market just down the street earlier in the day and received amazing service from the host to the server. It was incredible and I thought that would continue to be my experience in Ottawa.

I always make sure to tip well, but based on the service I received, for the first time in my life I left 10% to reflect how poorly the staff did at Rabbit Hole.

I hope management takes the time to remind their staff that being hospitable is part of being in the industry. I have friends who work with the O&B group so this whole experience has been...