Three things that earn this place 4 stars:
1. Bourbon. So much bourbon. Also Scotch, a lot of scotch. While it might be a bit out of the way for downtown folks, Whelan's Gate is worth a trek once in a while just for their awesome and reasonably priced selection of whiskey, removed from any sort of pretentious atmosphere. Order a shot of Bookers bourbon, it's fucking fantastic.
2. The Blue Cheese Burger. Actually, all of the burgers are apparently great, but this is the only one I ever order. Their burgers are actually ground from steak in house, so you can actually order one rare or medium rare as the gods intended instead of the usual revolting slab of frozen then burnt meatstuff usually foisted on toronto 'pub'goers.
3. A tiny, strange and beautiful patio tucked away on the roof out back. Pretty and isolated and a great place to chat, eat drink etc.