As it seems this place used to have been decent - judging by the past reviews but as of my own experience on a Sunday afternoon the most it deserves is 2 stars..
To be fair it is probably about 3 points on the absolute scale for the quality of food alone (not taking the price into account), but I take one extra point off for having been extremely disappointed by the mismatch to my expectations, which was not helped by absolutely indifferent staff..
First , the price rating in Yelp is $$ which usually indicates $10-18 range, that's wrong!
The cheapest burger on the menu was $22 and steaks and other mains were well into $30-$50 range .. That is at least $$$ territory..
For this price is expected to be impressed and ordered a $22 Kobe burger ..
Well it was very ordinary - and nothing special in taste except the amount of fat it contained .. The burger was very fatty and "nutritious" if nutrition is defined by the amount of calories intake..
The burger toppings lacked flavour and were mashed into a fatty homogenous mix with no layering of flavours you get from the best of burgers ..
My taste buds felt absolutely no pleasure eating it.. The only thing helped me that I was very hungry and my empty stomach and reduced blood sugar levels were rejoicing .. But there was no way to hide how ordinary this burger was.. I'd say it is no better than any typical pubs burger at $11-15 except it was almost double in price.. I ate burgers at half the price that were better .. Other than excess of fat that famed "Kobe" beef added nothing ..nothing !
The fries that came with the burger were dry and over fried in what seemed like not-so-fresh oil , they didn't have much flavour either .. Just carbs and calories.. Again , the closest match - pubs fare where you can at least wash all this junk with a pint.. I didn't order beer there - I was prepared to get pleasure from food.. This place is pretentious, it claims to be better than a pub ..
Another order at the table was from a "breakfast menu" - $16 Hash beef.. Fatty fries , dry and lacking flavour .. Reminded me the typical "continental" breakfast at a cheap hotel .. Just to throw in some calories , add salt and pepper to your taste .. Unfortunately adding those didn't help much bidding the lack of flavour ..
Now I know I can eat here some junk food for twice the price of a typical junk food joint.. It is what it is..
To complement - staff with remote "I don't care" attitude .. They were polite but completely ambivalent , nobody paid any attention , after sitting for 5-10 minutes after the table was cleaned up nobody approached the table.. I had to ask explicitly for a bill . The washroom with some cosmetics from Dollarama..
Is this place for real?
Okay..
Let me summarize .
This place is a rip off to sell some junkish food at premium price ..
Sorry - to give it some credit , the interior and ambience is good, a lot better than a pub .. But - the food is junk !
Drive down a block or two by Sheppard to the nearest shawarma or burger place , have the same or better food for 1/2 or 1/3 price ..
This was my most disappointing dining experience of late .. I can't remember to be that disappointed and such a severe mismatch between Yelp ratings and the real world experience..
What happened to this place?
Did chef go on vacation ? Change of management?
I am prepared to write a disclaimer if somebody tells me what and why ..
For now - 2 stars and a BIG thumbs down ..