The Wicket — Restaurant in Toronto

Before recently, I had only ever popped into this quirky spot a few times for a pint and never had an issue. It's a very "local" place with a cast and crew of regulars, loud inside jokes and a slight cold shoulder to non-regs — but nothing to complain about.

The came my most recent visit as part of a large group booking. We had the upstairs rooms booked for around 50-60 people two weeks in advance. A select menu was printed out, which indicated they thought about what they could reasonably serve a large group.

Spoiler alert: It was a disaster. The kitchen, servers and order systems were overwhelmed almost immediately. Stressed out servers took orders that didn't arrive for up to an hour. I overheard one guy (maybe an owner?) ordering white rice from a local Chinese place. Apparently they had run out of rice for their menu item of jerk chicken.

Another item of Korean ribs with kimchi was presented as an entree, but came as a limp pile of meat with no kimchi or any sides. Eventually they were convinced to bring out some of the same "peas and rice" that came with the jerk, and likely originated at the Chinese takeout.

Ordering a drink upstairs was impossible. I went downstairs which was dead, and was served by a guy who kept insisting he didn't work there. He took my 9 bucks for a can of Henderson's Best anyway. Standard toronto bar rates, but still painful. And they had nothing on tap.

I ordered a paneer curry, and after waiting over half an hour and numerous check-ins and promises, I cancelled the order. The waitress blamed an issue with their ordering software. Ten minutes later, the other server showed up with my food. I refused it, assuming I would be charged, despite cancelling the order. She promptly left and gave my food to another table. I was glad it didn't go to waste, but if it was being offered on the house, I would have eaten it.

The smartest of our group saw the wall-writing early and went down the block to Dynamite Sushi for food.

They were also very slow at accepting payment. When a large chunk of the group tried to pay, a logjam at the cash forced people to wait at least 30 minutes.

Based on other reviews I'm sure many regulars rightly love the Wicket. And it has a certain charm, but they were in over their heads with my group, despite ample time to prep and messed up a lot of our nights. If they aren't ready to deal with a large but calm and organized group, then they shouldn't take...

They gave a group of 50 ppl the top floor for a birthday party with a rented DJ, then basically hot boxed people in. 40 degrees up there, and they wouldn't let anyone crack a window due to neighbours noise complaints, but did not offer a single alternative solution. The upstairs bartender's friend/pitbull who did not work there was rude to us, and literally physically guarded the window. The bartender eventually arrived at the situation and said verbatim "if I can deal with it, so can you guys" and "this isn't illegal" and "if you need fresh air go out downstairs for a smoke". I said so you're basically saying to these sweating melting people that it's your way or the highway. She said yes. Killed things pretty early. Everyone left to find somewhere else to take the party because, you know, the whole pesky being able to breathe thing.

You cannot do this to people, do not let people rent out your top floor aka a blazing euthenasia chamber, give no warning that there's no air circulation, then treat them like that....

The first time I attended this bar, I honestly did not enjoy the experience. Since then it's improved so much that it's hard to describe. They have already established themselves as one of the staples on the strip, and it's more than worth a visit. Not only is the bar itself great, but the staff are even more amazing! Recently had a highschool reunion, and after a mix-up with reservations at another bar we went over to The Wicket. After going upstairs and realizing the bar was unattended, I went down to ask if it was ok if we had a party of 20-30 people up there. We ended up essentially getting the upper bar to ourselves, and the bartender Ingrid was very friendly and accommodating (there was hardly a wait for drinks). Darts, Pinball, Pool, Lots of Beer! Thanks...