Posted by Melissa Bell in pubs and bars, restaurant review on December 2, 2007 at 3:28 pm

The Local Bar & Restaurant
396 Roncesvalles Avenue
416-535-6225
Dinner for two with wine plus all taxes and tip (dessert not available): $59

Upon entering The Local, it is immediately obvious that this place is not trying to be an Irish-inspired pub; it is an Irish pub, and it is aptly named. At 5:30pm on a Tuesday, a young mom is enjoying a pint at one of the tables and spoon-feeding dinner to her two very young (and well-behaved) children while, at the bar, a small gathering of "cheery blokes" are engaged in lively animated conversation.

I take a seat at the banquette and spread out - I'm a good half hour early to meet my dining partner, but in the mean time this gal is thirsty. The Friendly Server is at my side immediately to render my parchedness non-existent. I order a Magner's Irish Cider ($6.25) - "It's not as sweet as Strongbow," he says - and review the menu while I wait. (I'll add in here that for those who enjoy a spot of entertainment, The Local also features live music on a regular basis, but this particular night is music-free.)

When dining partner arrives, he opts to start his evening with a pint of Stratford Pilsner ($5.39) and the home-made soup ($5). I choose the hummus plate ($6.95) only because my own home-made hummus reigns supreme and I always like to see how others' measure up. And The Local's version isn't bad. A bit on the overtly garlicky side and it could use a shot of lemon, but the portion is generous and comes with chunky carrot sticks, celery and lots of pita for sharing. Fuschia-coloured wedges of pickled turnip are an unexpected addition.

My table-mate's home-made soup - potato-cheddar - arrives accompanied with a hunk of buttery garlic toast. The soup is suitably hot and hearty and devoid of any spud-fatigue glueyness that usually means, more often than not, that it's been hanging around the place longer than most of the regulars. A bit more of a cheddar kick wouldn't hurt, however. Just a couple more downstrokes on the box grater with some Balderson's Extra Old would be a nice finish before the bowl made its way to the table.

For my main, I choose something relatively non-pubby - the stir-fry - the Sexton Stir-Fry ($8.95) to be exact (Sexton being the surname of The Local's proprietors, Rupert and Melissa - a brother and sister team). I'm usually not much of a stir-fry fan, but this one's a winner. Generously portioned, strips of celery, sweet red pepper, tofu, and loads of fresh ginger mix it up with a heap of mahogany-coloured rice noodles sprinkled with sesame seeds. The chopsticks are a nice touch. The whole lovely mass is just oily and rich enough to be honest-to-goodness comfort food rather than something spa-appropriate - an option for the times when a salad just won't fill the void. (The Local does offer two salads, however - the ubiquitous Caesar, and Mixed Organic Greens - both at $6).

Table-mate's order of Cajun Meatloaf ($9.95) is a fat slab of humble beefy goodness beneath a spicy tomato-based sauce and accompanied with the safely predictable mashed potatoes and steamed carrots. A sample tasting doesn't register anything particularly bayou-based, so this is probably going to disappoint a genuine craving for some authentic zydeco-inspired zippiness. But it's flavourful and hotly-seasoned nonetheless, and my companion polishes it off so quickly, I barely have a chance to snap a photo.

While our dinner choices were not of the traditional Irish pub variety, The Local's menu does offer classic Hibernian delights such as Irish Stew ($9) and Bangers 'n' Mash ($9.95). Upon exiting, my guest and I couldn't help but notice how enticing the fish and chips (small $9.50, large $12.50) looked as one diner sat devouring them with such unrestrained vigour, I half expected to see her knife and fork shoot forth sparks and start a small grease fire right there on her plate.

Ah, next time. There will definitely be a next time.

One word of warning - The Local does not have a dessert menu. And this diner finds that disappointing indeed. I can understand that the place is essentially a pub and makes its scratch pulling pints, but what would it take to pull in a few pies and add them to the bill of fare? I mean, who doesn't like pie? Remember in "True Romance" when Clarence and Alabama bonded over pie after a movie? With the Roncesvalles neighbourhood's beloved Revue cinema re-opening right next door, the new generation of Clarences and Alabamas are going to have to get their post-movie pie-fix elsewhere. And that's a shame. Because I think they'd really like The Local.

I know I did.