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| - The Stout gets points for not being a chain like all the other fake Irish/English pubs dotting Toronto. It used to be a favorite haunt of mine eating there at least monthly, unfortunately the quality has noticeably slipped over the last year.
The FOOD: They previously had an awesome burger. They were one of the very few establishments in Toronto that would cook a burger to order. Unfortunately, they no longer will cook a burger to anything less than medium rare. It also appears they've stopped grinding their meat in house. The tasty chipotle aioli with the fries is still good (although costs extra).
The other dishes are a bit hit and miss. The lamb burger is quite tasty, but at $17 is way too expensive for what it is. The shepherd's pie, which may not quite be very traditional, is still quite tasty. On my last visit, I had the Grilled Pizza ($15) which was quite a miss. The acidity of the tomatoes overwhelmed the spice of the merguez sausage. Perhaps a bit more cheese might have rescued it. My friend had the beef rouladen ($17) which was rather unremarkable and completely overwhelmed by the allspice or nutmeg seasoning. The spätzle accompanying it seemed to be pan-fried, which is rather strange.
The BEER: They have mostly Canadian craft beer, with of course a couple Irish and more worldly options. I would say 3 years ago, they were much more competitive with their craft beer selection. Unfortunately, in my last couple visits, I've been hard-pressed to find much I wanted to try. Their regular taps are filled with things like Steamwhistle, Lugtread, and Creemore which are pretty much everywhere. Sometimes they have some interesting beers in their rotating selection, but the pickings have been slim the last few times. Prices are a little high--consistently pushing $8 plus tax. Good bottle list though.
The SERVICE: I have to confess it's been super awkward the last couple times. For example, when the server noticed I'd eaten about half of my grilled pizza, she asked if I wanted it to go, and I declined. She looked at me puzzled and asked if there was anything wrong, and I just noted that I wouldn't order it again as the flavor just wasn't quite there. But it was all very uncomfortable and tentative. Also, they used to always offer a small sip of a beer to help you make a decision on something you hadn't had before, but the last couple visits that practice seems to be discontinued.
OVERALL, the Stout is still decent, but I've been much less satisfied with the food and beer the last few visits. It's a good option if you live in the neighborhood, but I would no longer recommend going out of the way to eat here.
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