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One Saturday afternoon, Mike and I decided to go out for dinner that evening with another couple. Given how difficult it is to make a reservation for a Saturday on the day of at a decent restaurant, we were lucky, Beerbistro was able to accommodate us at 8:30. Conveniently located by the Yonge and King intersection, it’s a restaurant I’ve been to several times before and my experiences were always enjoyable. The restaurant was packed when we arrived and this evening and they had a live band playing jazz music, which I really enjoyed.

Belgian Frites

Beerbistro is similar to Biermarkt in terms of its extensive beer selection, however; I’d say the atmosphere at Biermarkt is a bit more casual. Beerbistro has a good variety on its menu, serving up mussels, pizzas, steak frites, etc.

What I like about their menu is that it suggests certain beers which would pair well with each dish. This really helps to narrow down what beer to order, since there are so many options.

Whenever I come to Beerbistro, I always order the Belgian Frites – “blanched in beef and duck fat, house-made mayonnaise & smoked tomato ketchup” ($6) which come served in a paper cone. This is definitely one of my favourite destinations for fries in the city.

I don’t like my fries too thick or too thin – but these ones are the perfect size. They’re perfectly crispy and have a great flavour! Must be from the duck fat that they’re fried in. I just wish they had some garlic mayo to go with them.

Roasted red pepper and tomato soup

Since I was starving, I also decided to start with the Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup – “served with white cheddar beer bread croutons” ($6). Although I enjoyed the croutons, the soup itself wasn’t anything special. I’d pass on this starter. I saw a lot of people servers walking by with Kobe Beef tacos, so they seemed really popular. Maybe I should’ve ordered that instead!

For my main, I ordered the Hog Wild Beer Bread Pizza – Berkshire pulled pork, smoked sausage, beer-cured bacon, oregano, mozzarella, garlic confit ($15.75). I really enjoyed this. With those ingredients, how can you go wrong? Everything just worked. It was served hot, with a nice crispy crust and a piece of garlic on each slice. Delish!

Hog Wild Beer Bread Pizza

Mike went with the Veal Cheek Pasta – “slow-braised with maudite, hand-cut fettuccine, wilted baby spinach, zucchini” ($23). He originally wanted to order the steak frites, but we were ordering a side of frites for the table to share, so he decided on this instead.

The pasta was extremely disappointing. It looked really unappetizing and, unfortunately, the taste wasn’t any better. Actually, there was virtually no taste to it. Everything in this dish was bland. It really needed some kind of sauce. We definitely wouldn’t recommend anyone ordering this.

Veal Cheek Pasta

My friend ordered the Coq Au Biere – “nut brown ale-braised chicken, woodland mushrooms , tarragon, crème fraiche dumplin”g ($18). The serving was enormous! I only had a bite of this, but I thought it had a nice taste to it. My friend (and also my copy editor!) seemed to also enjoy it. He said that he’s always careful about ordering chicken at restaurants because when it’s dry, it can ruin the whole meal. But the coq au biere was really moist and had a lot of flavour to it.

Overall, there were some hits and unfortunately a few misses. Regardless of the few misses, I’ll always be back for their extensive beer selection and amazing Belgian frites!

Coq Au Biere

At a glance:

  • Extensive beer selection
  • Amazing Belgian frites!
  • Food for the most part was good, although there were a few disappointments
  • Live music on certain evenings
  • Ratings (out of 5):

  • Food: 3 stars
  • Service: 4 stars
  • Atmosphere: 4 stars
  • Beerbistro on Urbanspoon



    1. Miron (Reply) on Tuesday 21, 2011

      You should try any of the mussels and their bacon-wrapped shrimp (or was it scallops?) appetizer. Om nom nom!

      • Jess (Reply) on Tuesday 21, 2011

        Yum! I’ll keep that in mind next time I go there 🙂

    2. Jessica (Reply) on Tuesday 21, 2011

      Hey Jess,

      My name is also Jessica but I’m from Vancouver! I’m coming to Toronto with my boyfriend next week to visit friends etc so I’m scoping some good places to eat. Let me know if you have any more reommendations; I’m going to try this place out 🙂

      Jess