Whelan's Gate — Restaurant in Toronto

To respond to the owner: Here is a photo of the food we ate. And the QR code with your menu. My friend had a fried chicken sandwich and I had the burger. You are having a trivia night tonight, correct? We sat on your outdoor seating area which you have to go up the stairs to get to. I am certain I went to your establishment. I live close by. The server that served the back outside area was our server.

I have never had a ruder server in the history of my life. She seemed friendly at first. Then she brought us dirty cups for the water. I ignored this fact but I should of left then and there.

I told her I wanted a virgin mocktail but something that wasn't sweet; she said she could make me something. She brought me back straight-up ginger beer, which is a very sweet sugar-filled pop. I can't drink something that sweet for health reasons. You would think that she would of at least checked in with me, is ginger beer (AKA POP) okay, but she clearly did not care which is why she is a terrible server. Then I told her hey this is way too sweet I can't drink this, she aggressively stared me down and said nothing and I felt super uncomfortable so I said I will pay for it and it was fine. I was of course expecting her to say no this is my fault let me clear this for you or something. What kind of person brings a pop to someone who has just asked about having a drink that isn't too sweet? Is pop not considered sweet anymore?

Also, I make this request at every restaurant I go to and they either say yes we can or no sorry we can't. I have never had someone tell me they can make me a not sweet mocktail and then bring me straight up pop. It's actually laughable.

She included the 8 pop on the bill and we wanted to talk to her about it.

Please keep in mind when I said we would pay for it I didn't know at that time she had handed me straight up pop. Once I knew that after checking the menu I was understandably upset that someone cared so little for me and my health when it's their literal job.

We inquired with her and asked why a pop was given to me in the first place and why it would be charged when I couldn't drink it. She unapologetically looked at me and rudely said "she said she would pay for it" like a teenager and then abruptly left the table and slammed the outside balcony door on us.

Never in my life have I dealt with a server that has such poor communication skills or emotional regulation. She couldn't even be bothered to say, "I am sorry there was a misunderstanding but I can't remove it from the bill." If she had of been able to communicate in that manner I wouldn't of written this review.

I can afford to pay for the 8 dollar pop, it's the fact that that she walked away from us and slammed a door in our face which was extremely rude. I live close to here and I will never be coming back, and I will be warning all my friends and family not to come here.

The fried food is good but it is mostly bar food and very salty and greasy. Don't come here looking to eat anything remotely healthy. The atmosphere would have been nice if the server wasn't so awful. You could tell she asked the other server to bring us our food too after I told her the drink was too sweet and lied and said we were being mean to her, which we certainly were not. We visited Thursday July 25th around 7:40. Don't be fooled by her fake friendliness she was annoyed literally just by us asking questions...

I offered to take this review down if I got a reasonable explanation for what happened.

Having exchanged emails with the owner, the explanation provided is that it is very hard to find employees these days.

So this review stands. Just had a really disturbing experience at Whelan's.

Upon taking our seats, our server came to our table and seemed very talkative and informed....we placed our order, he served us drinks, all was going well.

After having a few sips of our beers the waiter returned to check on us and my wife asked why the glass in which the draft beer was served was small, not a full pint.

The server provided an explanation, which sounded reasonable, citing overcharging by the big beer companies (Guinness etc.) and how the bar and the employees suffered as a result, and how this required Whelan's to serve small glasses of draft beer to cover the cost of the expensive commercial beers they took a loss on.

We heartily agreed, thought we bonded, and then ordered locally produced beers, and shortly after, we ordered food.

The food arrived and one of the folks at our table told the waiter she thought the fish (of the fish and chips) was overdone. So the server took the plate back, quite brusquely, and returned 15 minutes later with a new order and an explanation. He stated it was the colour of the paprika-spiced batter that made the fish look overdone. Which we all agreed was correct.

Problem solved, so we thought.

30 minutes later.....the server arrives at our table again, puts the bill on the table and announces to us that we are no longer welcome at Whelan's, that we are to leave, because we have offended him with our abuse and rudeness. And further, that we are examples of entitled people.

He made a point of telling me, the only male, that he didn't have an issue with me. Perhaps that lends my comments some credibility.

A few minutes later, while two members of our group explained to the waiter that a misunderstanding had occurred, that we had in no way disrespected him or intended to disrespect him, that we in fact agreed with his explanations of the fish batter and the small size of the beers, the server stated loudly, so all the patrons of the bar could hear, that he would be calling the cops if we did not leave immediately.

Wow!

My opinion is that our server was so wildly oversensitive, that he spun several ordinary, innocent interactions in to a mistaken perception of a personal attack. And then escalated it to the point of calling the cops.

Choose your staff carefully is...

While in the mood for some cheeky late-night snacks, the welcoming visage of wagon wheels was calling our names. With a comfy atmosphere, fun crowd, and cheerful bartenders, we were excited for a fun night out. However, the food was so underwhelming that our enjoyment didn’t last longer than the pints in front of us.

To be fair, the taps were fully loaded and the tall can selection had better variety than most pubs triple the size. This is the type of place I could see myself, under ordinary circumstances, spending a lot of time at. Though the lighting was bordering on almost-too-dark, it was cozy and jovial… what’s not to love? The food seemed on the more expensive side, but if it tasted as good as the atmosphere felt, we were in for a home run.

We ordered the fish & chips and the wurst, as well a variety of tall cans from the drink menu. The bartender seemed confused about a couple of the drinks and had to double-check with a coworker. The food arrived suspiciously quickly and we dug in.

It was too dark to really enjoy the plating of the food which was ultimately the downfall. The sausage plate was under-seasoned. The coleslaw was plain and salty and the fish was undercooked. Completely raw actually. Unfortunately we had eaten a fairly significant portion until something felt fishy and our stomachs dropped.

We had to use the flash on our cellphones to determine that the batter was still wet and uncooked inside, and the fish was as raw as sashimi. The staff were quick to send it back and replace it, but by then the damage had been done and our appetites were gone. They were very apologetic every time they returned to the table, spoiling the mood with excuses and explanations, eventually returning with a free round of whiskey shots.

They took the fish off the bill, but we paid for everything else and went on our way despite truly intending to spend the whole evening. There were no hard feelings as it seemed like an honest mistake, and maybe someday there can be a glorious second chance. Here’s...