My third time here and always around Christmas with a group of co-workers. The 12 of us had a reservation so we were quickly seated at lunch time (just before noon), but I was surprised at the fact the place never got more then half filled. Previous trips had seen it packed at lunch time.
The waiter was quick with our drinks and order taking and the food arrived within 10 minutes. Everyone got what they wanted, nobody complained and nothing had to go back for more cooking or any changes which was a nice difference from my first time here.
I was all prepared for a nice sirloin streak, but when reading the menu the Portobello and Goat Cheese Burger caught my eye and I had to try it. I'm glad I did.
It was 8 ounces of Angus beef with a huge mushroom on top of the meat in a nice, fluffy bun. Cooked medium just as I'd ordered it, I expected the mushroom to be grilled too, but it didn't seem to be and it had a bit of a stringiness to the texture which I initially didn't find appealing when biting into the burger, but it got less stringy towards the centre of the mushroom and tasted quite nice. Over all the burger was quite good and I didn't bother putting any condiments on it so I could really taste the beef. The goat cheese provided a bit of tanginess to it, but I also tossed in a few of the golden fries to help add crunch. The fries were very good, hot and crispy, but not too hard. I was able to eat them all before they'd cooled down too much and they didn't seem to get soft like some french fries do within minutes of being served. Four others at the table also had the burger and everybody seemed to like it, so it seemed to be a good choice.
Most people simply had one of the beers on tap. The selection was small for a GTA restaurant-bar with just the standard big brewery brands and Keith's, Rickard's and Sleeman's. I had a pint of Rickard's Red which goes well with most beef dishes. It's a decent beer, but nothing to write home about.
I had the Decadent Chocolate Walnut Brownie for dessert which comes with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream on it. Very rich and filling, but surprisingly not too sweet.
Total damage with tax and tip was around $35. Not bad for a once in a while lunch outing, but there are definitely better and cheaper places for a burger and beer throughout the GTA.