where jess ate

My friend Chris and I came to Bar Volo one evening after work. We wanted to go somewhere with a good beer selection which wasn’t too far away from the financial district, so we ended up at Bar Volo, located on Yonge, just north of Wellesley subway station. The restaurant has a cozy and eclectic feel to it. It’s also on the small side, so be prepared to feel a bit cramped.

I love places like Beerbistro and Biermarkt which have extensive beer selections, and Bar Volo is another to add to that list. Since I was in the mood for some fruitier beers, I started with the Unibroue Ephemere ($6.95 for a bottle), which is a green apple beer. It was nice and refreshing. Exactly what I wanted! I later followed this up with the Framboise ($8.95 for a 341ml bottle): another tasty (but pricey) beer.

As we were about to order, the server warned us that the food would take at least twenty five minutes, since everyone had ordered at the same time and they only had two people working in the kitchen. I really appreciate it when servers give us a heads up!

For my meal, I was debating between a pizza and the vegetali sandwich (arugula, tomato, mozzarella, pepper, avocado and red pepper mayo… sounds good, right?). After much deliberation I decided to go with the Patate Pizza – caramelized onions, roasted potato, double-smoked bacon, rosemary, brie, asiago ($13). You really can’t go wrong with those toppings. I particularly enjoyed the caramelized onions, potatoes and brie. I never really thought of potatoes being a good topping on a pizza until I was introduced to the spicy perogy pizza at Boston Pizza, my favourite item there.

Although I really enjoyed the toppings on my pizza, I didn’t really care for the crust. I prefer a nice thin crust, but this crust was thick and extremely crunchy. It was like eating a thick cracker. Not a fan.

Chris went with the Massino Pizza – caramelized onions, grilled fennel sausage, gorgonzola, parmigiano, parsley ($14). He asked to have the parsley excluded since he’s not a fan of it. When the pizza was served, the first thing I noticed was the generous amount of sausage on the pizza. I had a few bites of the pizza and we both agreed the toppings were decent, but like my pizza, the crust wasn’t very good.

We had a great server who was very knowledgeable about all the different types of beers Bar Volo has, and provided helpful recommendations. Overall, they have a great beer selection and great service…but I think I’d skip the pizza next time.

At a glance:
• Come here for the great beer selection; the food wasn’t anything special
• Cozy, eclectic atmosphere
• Located just north of Wellesley subway station

Ratings (out of 5):

Food: 3 stars

Service: 4 stars

Atmosphere: 4 stars