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| - Interesting new addition to Parkdale is a restaurant operated by Duggan's. Brewery might be a misnomer as none of their beers are brewed there.
The ATMOSPHERE is pretty cool. It has a spacious laid back feel...music levels appropriate to conversation. Complemented by friendly and attentive staff.
The FOOD was a bit hit and miss. Value was generally missing as portion sizes were quite small for the price. We liked the meat/veggie board, but portions were awfully tiny. The tacos (at $15 for 3) are pricy and again the flavour was sort of there, but not quite enough. The beef brisket ($16) was dry, and there was reluctance at the table to even finish it. Maybe they're still working some quirks out.
The BEER is solidly below average. Their No. 9 IPA is definitely the winner of the pack...also available at the LCBO, and packs a pleasantly hop-forward, but not palate-destroying punch. I found most of the rest of the beers to be both very malt-forward, sweet, and on the bland side. I wanted to like the 100 Mile Ale, but the malts overwhelmed, the admirably local hops.
SERVICE was good...attentive, friendly, accurate.
In a very strange quirk, they have a to-go section for beer. Given that I don't think they're actually brewing any beer at this location, this isn't exactly legal under Ontario's draconian alcohol laws. That being said, I'm not about to complain about any alternative to the LCBO for buying craft beer...and don't even get me started on the beer store.
OVERALL, good atmosphere & service, average food, and below-average beer. I'll probably be back sometime.
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