Beer

Beer Bistro used to be incredible; I can't help but wonder if there has been a recent change in ownership. The beer selection is now pathetic and the food is dreadful. Pre-packaged lettuce for (an overdressed) salad; you have to do better than that if you're charging $10 for a small portion! Very disappointing "culinary" experience. I won't be back, which is a shame as I was once a frequent patron.

Beth, Manager is very professional & intelligent

I've been to Beerbistro twice and have loved the food both times. The steak frites are an amazing indulgence and I love that each dish has a suggested beer pairing. Our server was obviously very knowledgable when it came to beer and I spent so much time trying to find us the perfect beverage. My only complaint was that we were seated unusually close to another occupied table which was very distracting. I hope to try the beer ice cream next time I go.

Food was okay, service was inadequate

We came to this restaurant after a recommendation from a friend about their roasted red pepper soup and a salad that she had tried there. When we arrived, we asked to see their lunch menu but we were told they were only serving brunch. They seemed to make the exception and said they were serving the soup which was not on their brunch menu. We ordered the soup which was not piping hot but tasted fine. My friend mentioned that they had served bread with the soup when she was there before and asked our server about this. She said "no, we don't have bread", and then later "it doesn't come with bread" [a pause] and then "but I can bring you some". She was a bit slow on the uptake, I would say... The buffalo chicken salad is decent, but way overpriced. I had mentioned to my friend that I didn't care for the buffalo sauce they used on the chicken but that I would make do with the remainder of the salad. She mentioned it to our server (in an effort to see if they might be willing to replace it) but our server was not obliging. In fact, I don't think she really wanted to be there, she wasn't all that pleasant. When we received our bill, I noticed that I was overcharged for my entree and brought it to the server's attention. Her response was, "I know that they recently changed their prices". Well, to be honest, I don't care - if the menu says a price, I expect to pay that, it's not my fault if they didn't change their menu. In fact, at grocery stores, you will receive the item for free (up to a $10 max) if they make an error with the price. I said "I think I should be charged the menu price", and she responded almost haughtily with "I WILL, I WILL, don't worry...". No apologies for the mistake, nothing. In other establishments, they are falling over themselves to correct these errors. Needless to say, I won't be returning - this experience was a bit strange to me. This place has promise but not with such inferior service.

Good, not great

The Beer Bistro has long been a hot destination in Toronto. The place is in a great location, attractive to the younger clientele, and has a phenomenal selection of beer. I went here a few years ago for Winterlicious and was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food. My most recent visit, however, wasn't exactly stellar. I don't know if its because it was a Friday night this time and the place was quite busy, but the service was definitely lacking. Additionally, the pizza we ordered came out cold. The minestrone was over-salted. However, according to the other diner in my party, the shrimp was magnificent. We also enjoyed the selection of beer and the pairings recommended in the menu were actually complimentary and delicious. Overall, enough redeeming factors to lead me to believe the unpleasantness with the slow, rude service and food issues were an isolated incident and maybe this place is worth another visit in the future.

Cool spot, great beer selection!

This place came highly recommended by friends and Restaurantica, and we were thirsty for beer, so we hit it. Great vibe a you enter this busy, noisy bistro. We were welcomed and sat right away -- have to say the entire service experience here was great. Good staff! Massive beer list, so we had a few of the beer samplers. Found quite a few we liked, a couple were 'meh'. My partner switched out to Porter, but I kept up with the samplers ;) Had the Belgian Frites as a starter -- awesome combo with the brews. Frites were very fresh and very tasty. We had the Brussells Mussels, which were very nive. Small problem with a bunch of them being closed, but the staff dealt with it cheerfully and quickly (and removed from the bill -- thanks!). Most of the desserts were beer themed, which I'm not wild about, but I had the flour-less chocolate cake, which was hearty, and very tasty. All in all a great experience -- I'd go back anytime, and recommend it!