Beer Bistro..Worth a Visit?
Have heard alot of good things about this establishment. Looking for a semi-casual place for a Friday Night gathering. Good food...drinks, beer. Is this the place???
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It depends what you order, I suppose. I really, really, really like their fries and the mussels as well. So I usually go for a glass of beer and mussels and fries. Everything else I've tried there has been ok to above average. Some are a bit overpriced though (like those appetizer tacos).
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Was there on Tuesday night for a pre-Jays game dinner. My dad and I shared the duck confit corn dogs, the potato skins and a bowl of mussels. The corn dogs were amazing, really interesting concept and well breaded. Potato skins were a big hit with dad; they had smoked salmon on them (I liked them but am not a big potato fan). Mussels were good too, but very small and wouldn't want to have eaten the whole bowl solo. Service was attentive and informed. Overall, a great experience. Booked my reservation through OpenTable online and had no problems at all.
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Its one of my favourite restaurants in Toronto. The staff is very knowledgeable and the food is amazing. I would definitely recommend getting fries even as just an appetizer for the table. If you like Chocolate, the flourless chocolate cake is hands down the best I've had anywhere.
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Tried this place last night at about 6:30 PM, before catching "2001: A Space Odyssey" at TIFF.
In short, the space is nice, with a good divide between bar and resto areas, while still feeling open. The service was alright, but it was packed, so that's fine.
Beer was good- quite a long list, as well as some special Winter-types. No problem, there.
The food, however, was .. hrm. We started by sharing a 'potato skins' order, with smoked salmon which was quite good. Good freshness and hot/cool balance. The GF had the crab quesadilla, which was okay, if a little too packed with cheddar-type cheese. It wasn't great. Worst of all was my main dish, which was the broiled bass with a 'bean stew' or something. It was terrible. Plain and slightly musky fish, on top of a large pile of bland and tough fava beans, apparently dumped directly out of a can, and onto the plate. NOT tasty. I considered sending it back, but I generally don't do that, and I didn't have time to wait for a replacement plate.
Our server was quite nice, but never once asked how our meal was. Not good. Instead of making a stink, I decided to post here. I can't imagine BB would change anything; they seem to be doing quite well.
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re: Yongeman
Have you been recently? I used to love the food there. It was always a little overpriced, but it was good.
I went two times fairly recently, and decided that Beer Bistro wasn't worth anymore visits.
The cooks are terrible at cooking a steak. The "pulled pork" pizza was covered in what seemed to be chopped ham.
I guess if one is looking for a really long beer list, it might be worth going. But that hardly makes the Bier Markt worth visiting, so I don't think it justifies a trip to the Beer Bistro either. Especially with Duggan's around the corner.
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Bier Markt
, Mississauga, ON L5B, CA
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CocoaChanel
Jan 15, 2010 01:59 PM
It's a great casual spot. Excellent beer selection, nice bar/atmosphere. The frites are good, the pulled pork sandwich is excellent, and the burger is one of my favourites. The bun they use for their sandwiches is delicious -- it has a nice crust that does not fall apart, but the bun itself is also soft.
I've tried the mussels once - the broth was ok, and the mussels were not overdone. The lobster quessadilla I find too cheesy, but others I've gone with really like it. The pizza flatbreads are meh. I wouldn't bother. I've never tried it, but when Mr. Vuitton and I go, he swears by the salmon.
It's more of a suit place on Thursday, by Friday 6ish/6.30 the suits have left the building. I agree with others who have said it can get very noisy.
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re: CocoaChanel
ingloriouseater
Jan 15, 2010 02:19 PM
the suits are fine (i am one of the guilty), the noise level is great, the only problem when it is this busy is that service realllllly get slow and you wait and wait and wait for everything...but it is often worth it....if you can put up with the wait
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re: ingloriouseater
CocoaChanel
Jan 15, 2010 02:29 PM
LOL. I am also guilty
:)
True, service can be spotty. We typically end up sitting in the bar area (at one of the couch things) with better service from the bartender.-
re: CocoaChanel
I guess we were lucky on Thursday evening, then. It was pretty packed by 6:00 p.m., but we never felt neglected by our server. We weren't in a rush and our food arrived in a timely manner. Our server was always around to collect our beer tasting glasses and inquire as to further beer orders, which we ordered at staggered times throughout the meal. We never waited more than a minute or two or three for drinks to arrive.
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re: melnumnums
chocabot
Jul 9, 2009 06:50 PM
- I have, but it must have been 3 years ago atleast! I had baked eggs with spinach which were very good and my friend had the mac and cheese (like a gratin with bacon on top). It was so rich she took home half but said it was delicious. I saw some good looking burgers go by as well. Daytime weekends are quiet and they have a nice enough outside area to sit.
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re: chocabot
BeerBistro was a great choice for a pre-game dinner last night. We arrived at 5:00 pm and tables were already taken by the after work suits. While the beer list was the major draw for a couple of my co-diners, I thoroughly enjoyed my mussels. In fact, I thought they were outstanding. I ordered the devil's puttanesca incarnation, while another co-diner went for a more classic prep (white wine, shallots, lemon, cream). I tasted those as well and they were delicious. Other items were a lovely pasta, stuffed chicken, which was probably the least interesting option of the bunch, and the onion soup dumplings and sticky lamb ribs as apps. The ribs were insanely rich (read: fatty) and were delicious if you are only eating a rib or two. I'd be overwhelmed by the fattiness if I had to polish off the entire order, but that is the nature of lamb ribs, in my experience. The dumplings were certainly tasty, but in my opinion, way too heavy. They arrived molten hot, smothered in a thick layer of cheese, and by the time they cooled off enough to take a bite they had to be chiseled apart. I'm not sure if they are intended to be soup dumplings (meaning soup inside), but they were more like onion soup flavoured pierogies. Everyone enjoyed the overall taste, but I would not order them again. They were way too heavy for me. I would, however, return for more beer sampling and the mussels. I loved the presentation in the Staub crocks, with a lovely loaf of chewy sourdough. Excellent. I should also mention that despite the full house by 6:00 pm, servers never seemed to be scrambling. Our server in particular was extremely efficient without ever seeming intrusive. Nice place, good vibe and a bit noisy, but not deafening, like the Irish Embassy can be.
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Wahooty
Jun 30, 2009 07:23 AM
I like Beerbistro for exactly this sort of thing...the food isn't exciting, but it is tasty, and goes well with the very good assortment of beer. I'll add that I was just there on Friday night, expecting the place to be packed and noisy, but since we got there late (10ish), the after-work suit crowd seemed to have cleared out. We were actually able to have a nice, relaxed conversation out on the patio, and inside the restaurant was quiet as well. So sometimes I guess you can get lucky...
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I concur with the above. Great beer selection and above average food. But Fridays are by far their busiest night as people from the nearby financial district head over after work, so you will definitely want to make reservations, and be prepared for some "shout talking". Not good for an intimate conversation but great for a lively casual time.
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re: Gary
I really enjoy the Beer Bistro. I like getting the three tiny glasses of draft beer for I think six dollars? It's a wonderful way to try new kinds of beer without committing to a whole pint. My husband and I went a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it. The service was friendly and attentive and the food was good. The frites were fantastic!
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jlunar
Jun 29, 2009 08:59 PM
Went maybe a month ago and had the horse tartare. Thought it quite good. Found the pizza not so successful. Desserts - the Dragon Skor Stout (or something like that) is tasty, but too melty that day. Didn't enjoy it. Enjoyed the strawberry one though.
It's a semi-casual place for a Friday night (make reservations) gathering. I'd say okay food, beer, drinks...
Just recently covered: http://www.torontolife.com/features/beerbistro/
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http://foodpr0n.com/ -- food. is. love. -
aser
Jun 29, 2009 08:54 PM
I think so, it serves its purpose. Good food, great selection of beers.
The major complaint folks have w/ the place is the noise level. It is a post work Bay St hangout on weekdays. If that bothers you, I suggest you save a visit for the weekend, it's much quieter then.
I personally like the busy atmosphere.
