| rev:text
| - I was new to Toronto when I visited Local 4 a few months ago. They were on my radar of places to check out due to a reputation for craft beers and good food that I'd heard through a friend -- and, when they popped up as a Groupon, I jumped. The menu and beerlist on their website really sealed the deal.
I invited a couple other friends who had never been to come along, one of whom is a picky eater (and, after looking at the site, was excited), the other of whom, like me, is always looking to try new beers.
So we get to Local 4... and it's a huge let down.
The food was mediocre to bad.
I had the bison spaghetti bolognese, which tasted as though they forgot to salt the water when cooking the noodles. The sauce was ok, but there was precious little of it. When I order a pasta dish at a restaurant and it's $14, I expect it to be something more than I can prep, at home, with little effort. I wouldn't have been ashamed to serve it myself, but I certainly wouldn't have expected any particular compliments after the fact.
Steak & Frites went to one friend, who's experience was similar to others here: steak was dry, tough, bad.
Other friend had the chicken cordon bleu -- she finished the chicken, which was decent (but again, nothing special), then left the potatoes and vegetables as unpalatable. I was incredulous, so tried a few... and she was right.
But the kicker was the beer list or, more appropriately, the lack of one. They didn't have a single one of the craft beers we specifically came to try -- we ended up ordering some Blanche de Chambley (a personal fave, but not one I was hoping to "try"), then stuck with cocktails. They didn't have MacAuslan (either apricot or stout), Black Oak, or Stonehammer (dark or light). Are you kidding me? You're touting your craft beers, and your selections are mostly imports, Sleemans, and a cider? And what you do have are the most common, usual suspects: Mill St, Steamwhistle, and the like?
We were bummed. Add to this that the server had a rather uncaring attitude, was slow, and, when presenting the bill, just dumped it on the table. Even forgot to factor in the Groupon, and seemed annoyed that I wanted him to adjust it. (Now I feel like I'm ragging on the guy -- he seemed like a cool guy, just kind of out of his depth.)
In any case, I would hesitate giving a 1* rating to Local 4 if only because there's great potential there: nice ambience, cool location, a menu that looks good on paper... but they need to seriously re-evaluate what they're doing and their approach to food, drink, and service.
Judging by recent reviews, they're certainly not watching review sites for what people are saying, and that's too bad.
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