Poutine options in Toronto thank you please.
April 20, 2010 7:53 AM Subscribe
Help us find a restaurant in Toronto that can seat 8 comfortably, serves good poutine, and won't cost a fortune. Location and other specifics inside.
Have family in town for tonight, and we're looking for a place to take them where they can try a good quality poutine. There will be 8 of us, though, and one family member is health conscious and would prefer a place with other meal options as well. Where can we go that will fit the following requirements?
1. Not Harvey's. Not fast food at all - we want "sit down and be served" food.
2. Not too pricy. We love the Rebel House, and it's in our price range for tonight, but the seating for a large group would be hard. Cheaper than the Rebel House would be good, if it's possible without eating out of a wrapper.
3. Preferably West of Spadina, East of 427 and south of the 401. But anywhere downtown will be considered if it is easy to get to and park - especially if it's the kind of place you think we can't live without.
4. We have two kids - 12 and 16 - just in case that matters, although they don't use kid menus and prefer to eat like adults.
5. Like I said - we need other menu options. Stews, soups, steak, chicken, sandwiches, any kind of grill or pub type menu would be fine.
Have family in town for tonight, and we're looking for a place to take them where they can try a good quality poutine. There will be 8 of us, though, and one family member is health conscious and would prefer a place with other meal options as well. Where can we go that will fit the following requirements?
1. Not Harvey's. Not fast food at all - we want "sit down and be served" food.
2. Not too pricy. We love the Rebel House, and it's in our price range for tonight, but the seating for a large group would be hard. Cheaper than the Rebel House would be good, if it's possible without eating out of a wrapper.
3. Preferably West of Spadina, East of 427 and south of the 401. But anywhere downtown will be considered if it is easy to get to and park - especially if it's the kind of place you think we can't live without.
4. We have two kids - 12 and 16 - just in case that matters, although they don't use kid menus and prefer to eat like adults.
5. Like I said - we need other menu options. Stews, soups, steak, chicken, sandwiches, any kind of grill or pub type menu would be fine.
(Some of those places aren't really 'kid-friendly' though, as they're more bars.. I think you'd be good with Craft Burger though as far as the kids are concerned, though I've never had the poutine there myself.)
posted by modernnomad at 7:57 AM on April 20, 2010
posted by modernnomad at 7:57 AM on April 20, 2010
Smokey's Poutinery might just be big enough, esp. if you go to the one on adelaide. Cheap and v. good. locations here i know i have done it with at least 6 at 2 am.
posted by PinkMoose at 8:32 AM on April 20, 2010
posted by PinkMoose at 8:32 AM on April 20, 2010
Response by poster: We planned initially to take everyone to Smoke's, which is a place we love. But the need for other menu options kind of rules that out.
Modernnomad: We went this route initially, but what we found was that a lot of the "Great poutine" places either don't have the seating we want, are too pricy (The Monk's Table), are too far away (Murphy's Law), only serve poutine (Smoke's), or are more fast food kinds of places. I'll go through the list, just the same - maybe we'll find something we missed.
Vegetarian not needed - we're all carnivorous.
posted by routergirl at 8:47 AM on April 20, 2010
Modernnomad: We went this route initially, but what we found was that a lot of the "Great poutine" places either don't have the seating we want, are too pricy (The Monk's Table), are too far away (Murphy's Law), only serve poutine (Smoke's), or are more fast food kinds of places. I'll go through the list, just the same - maybe we'll find something we missed.
Vegetarian not needed - we're all carnivorous.
posted by routergirl at 8:47 AM on April 20, 2010
Yeah, the Poutinerie on Adelaide fits your 2d, 3d and 4th criteria. (location, cost, kid-friendly: although I bet a lot of tipsy people end up there later in the night, but during the day/early evening it should be fine). As far as service style: I'd characterise it as diner-esque. Not quite fast food, but also not really a Swiss-Chalet-style middlebrow restaurant. (which, by the way, you may not have thought of: I'm too pretentious to consider taking out-of-towners to That Sort Of Place but maybe you are not; they have poutine on the menu but of course it's probably no better than the stuff you'd get at Tim's.)
What it doesn't fulfill is the other-options criterion. However there is a burrito place just below the Adelaide St. Poutinerie: Burrito Boyz. Does what it says on the label, probably not super-healthy, although looking at their menu there does seem to be a veg option. I (well, a friend) had success going down there and bringing up their food to the Poutinerie without any fuss.
Also, you didn't mention this but if anyone in your party wants a drink with dinner, the Poutinerie has no liquor license.
(One further note, on checking the Poutinerie website: Unless you and your party have some level of comfort & familiarity with street culture, I recommend not going to the Poutinerie location at Dundas & George with kids, at least not after dark. That's right around the corner from the largest men's shelter in Canada, and is the only place in Toronto where I (who have a very high tolerance for sketchy situations) have ever felt positively unsafe.)
posted by tivalasvegas at 9:02 AM on April 20, 2010
What it doesn't fulfill is the other-options criterion. However there is a burrito place just below the Adelaide St. Poutinerie: Burrito Boyz. Does what it says on the label, probably not super-healthy, although looking at their menu there does seem to be a veg option. I (well, a friend) had success going down there and bringing up their food to the Poutinerie without any fuss.
Also, you didn't mention this but if anyone in your party wants a drink with dinner, the Poutinerie has no liquor license.
(One further note, on checking the Poutinerie website: Unless you and your party have some level of comfort & familiarity with street culture, I recommend not going to the Poutinerie location at Dundas & George with kids, at least not after dark. That's right around the corner from the largest men's shelter in Canada, and is the only place in Toronto where I (who have a very high tolerance for sketchy situations) have ever felt positively unsafe.)
posted by tivalasvegas at 9:02 AM on April 20, 2010
The Q? It's just east of the 427 (Queensway & East Mall). Formerly a St Hubert, it does a solid poutine, tonnes of seating, great other menu choices too.
posted by scruss at 9:30 AM on April 20, 2010
posted by scruss at 9:30 AM on April 20, 2010
I had the best poutine at the Grindhouse (365 King Street West - Just East of Spadina).
The potatoes were fresh, Ontario-grown potatoes.
The cheese was local, artisan fare.
The gravy was a port-wine reduction.
You could even get shredded duck confit on it, to turn it into a complete meal.
Price for a 2 person serving was about $10.
You can find out more at grindhouse.ca.
Parking is easy, just park in the lot under the MEC store across the street.
posted by Apollo's Favorite Mistake at 11:16 AM on April 20, 2010
The potatoes were fresh, Ontario-grown potatoes.
The cheese was local, artisan fare.
The gravy was a port-wine reduction.
You could even get shredded duck confit on it, to turn it into a complete meal.
Price for a 2 person serving was about $10.
You can find out more at grindhouse.ca.
Parking is easy, just park in the lot under the MEC store across the street.
posted by Apollo's Favorite Mistake at 11:16 AM on April 20, 2010
Clinton's (Bloor and Clinton) and Disgraceland (Bloor just west of Ossington) are pubs with above-average pub menus and good-by-Toronto-standards poutine. Get there before the late-night drunk crowd comes in and you'll be fine.
But goddamn...now I'm very curious about the Grindhouse.
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 11:41 AM on April 20, 2010
But goddamn...now I'm very curious about the Grindhouse.
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 11:41 AM on April 20, 2010
Local 4
Excellent food, comfy atmosphere and plenty of tables. And good poutine (just had some last night.) Decent beer selection too.
posted by Ouisch at 11:45 AM on April 20, 2010
Excellent food, comfy atmosphere and plenty of tables. And good poutine (just had some last night.) Decent beer selection too.
posted by Ouisch at 11:45 AM on April 20, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks, guys! Although we plan on trying a lot of the places you recommended, we ended up going with old faithful - the Rebel House. They were able to seat 8 after all. It helped that the patio was open.
posted by routergirl at 7:45 AM on April 21, 2010
posted by routergirl at 7:45 AM on April 21, 2010
Response by poster: Oh, and per my husband -
"And the poutine at the Rebel House has now got two new very enthusiastic fans - it never gets mentioned in a poutine discussion and it maybe deserves to be."
posted by routergirl at 7:47 AM on April 21, 2010
"And the poutine at the Rebel House has now got two new very enthusiastic fans - it never gets mentioned in a poutine discussion and it maybe deserves to be."
posted by routergirl at 7:47 AM on April 21, 2010
For future reference, The Lakeview at Dundas and Ossington has reasonably good poutine, nice ambiance, and can accommodate up to 8 people in its double booths.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:04 AM on April 22, 2010
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:04 AM on April 22, 2010
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posted by modernnomad at 7:55 AM on April 20, 2010