Who doesn't wants to go to a retro diner straight out of Pleasantville? How about one with a view of a subway station with buses going around in circles? I was always curious about this place, so I tried it a couple times.
The appropriately named Bus Terminal Restaurant sits on the Danforth strip right behind Coxwell station, and probably has been around for as long as the Avenue had a subway line. A dragon's head and other quirky dolls hang around alongside clutters of midcentury-era portraits of celebrities and vinyl album covers. There's a narrow patio with an unremarkable view of the adjacent municipal parking lot and the subway station. An outdated faded menu for nostalgia's sakes hangs above the bar--you wish you can get a steak sandwich for $2 paying 2015 prices!
If it's old-school affordable roadside greasy spoon diner breakfast and lunch you're craving like the movies, this place delivers. It's not gourmet quality get-featured-on-TV kind of greasy spoon food (honestly it's kinda frozen), but it gets you going fine over boundless helpings of coffee and happy hospitality when you're too lazy to make your own food. That's fine for a lot of people here who plant their bums on the reproduction teal diner booth benches.
All floating around $10, the burger menu is a tiny section in their exhaustive current menu. Whether you go for good ol' beef or the breaded salmon, they do have this frozen-to-grill quality to them. Done with builder's basic toppings, but served with a helpful helping of yummy crispy fresh cut fries.
Beer selection is your average big brand bottle varieties, though they also have Steam Whistle. A lot of corporate chain bars like Shoeless Joe's can't even pull that off.
{TTC transit directions: you didn't read this review wholly, did you? c'mon folks!}