This is where I put on my "It's not like it used to be" pants. There used to be a pub called Bert and Ernie's in Bloor West Village that I used to go to. I've had many a pint before and after concerts there. I watched the Gold Medal game in Salt Lake against the US there. I partook in many of their "Double your wings/chicken fingers for a penny" weekly specials. I sat on the upstairs patio on many a hot summer day. But now we can forget all that because a Firkin pub is there now.
Like most of the other Firkin's it has the polite charm, the British-y feel, the standard menu, the list of drafts, all of it. It also still has the patio upstairs, which is one of the best in the city. But I still find it to be just a Firkin. I think part of the reason is that this is my first-hand view of what these types of pubs do, I guess. Gone is the friendly quirkiness of the old and in with the standardized format of the Firkin. It's not bad, I'm just disappointed.