The Double Deuce Saloon
1168 Queen Street West
(416) 537-1313
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and beer - $50

Queen Street West is filling up fast. Everyone talks about the gentrification of the once seedy neighbourhood like it’s a bad thing. But while the jury is still out on the changes, more restaurants, bars and shops are a necessity. The recently opened Double Deuce Saloon is a bar ready to capitalize on Queen West’s needs, armed with a catchy name, area-appropriate décor and a menu that is both inexpensive and gourmet.

The strip of Queen between Ossington and Dufferin had been desperate for a new food destination that offered something more than poutine, and at prices more reasonable than the Drake or Nyood. This led to an abundance of speculation on the Double Deuce as the owners prepared for opening. With chef Cory Vitello of Harbord Room attached to the project, people were becoming excited and curious. Taking over the space of the defunct Cock and Tail, we all wondered where a kitchen befitting Vitello’s food would go in such a small room, but the owners made the most of the space, with the bulk of prep done off-site at the Harbord Room and assembled at the Deuce.

The success of the vintage-adorned aesthetic is mostly over-shadowed by that of the menu. Achieved by keeping things simple, the menu is sandwich heavy, with a few additional treats that mesh well with current food trends. The charcuterie plate ($12) is as good a place as any to start a meal. Served on a rustic-enough cutting board, the prosciutto and smoky chorizo are obviously welcome on any plate of meat. But the real star of the platter is a quenelle of succulent rabbit rillette. The slow-cooked and shredded meat is combined with pistachio, which adds a nice bit of crunch to change up the texture. Vitello’s hand is evident here.

Sandwiches are mostly hits with one noticeable miss. The Bubba the Hut ($10) vegetarian option, served on a ho-hum focaccia is made soggy with a plain tomato sauce and double dose of eggplant - cold baba ganoush and breaded eggplant slices. However, the faults of the Bubba are made up for in spades with the Dago Express ($10). Served on the same focaccia, which doesn’t seem so ho-hum anymore, the Dago tastes almost like a California’s veal sandwich, minus the veal. Prosciutto, capicollo, fried eggplant and peppers are uniquely combined, with melted cheese holding it all together, to form what would be the best sandwich on most menus. But not on this menu; it has a beef brisket ($10) that everyone seems to be talking about, and with good reason. This is brisket done right: saucy, sweet, tender and smoky. And to add an interesting twist, old cheddar is melted on top, which adds a perfect, balancing saltiness to the meat.

The other hit of the menu is the chili ($7), done in the more classic style, meaning the focus is more on the meat than the beans and vegetables. Chunks of stewed brisket fill the bowl, which is served with an unfussy guacamole, thankfully cooling down the spice of the saucy meat. The cornbread on the side is a welcome accompaniment; sweet and crumbly, as good cornbread always should be.

After a possibly ill-conceived, online naming competition – over 700 entrants, blame Twitter– the Double Deuce was finally born and opened its doors in August. Since, the bar has been busy, and to the surprise of the partners, so has the kitchen. Owner Jeff Salvian makes it clear that food was never supposed to come first here. It’s a bar that serves food, not a restaurant that becomes a bar. But the combination of easy, inexpensive and straightforward food has made the Double Deuce the food destination it seems the neighbourhood was asking for.

The Ceili Cottage
1301 Queen Street East
416-406-1301

If there's one thing we've learned in our two and a half years of publishing this website, it's that new bars and restaurants very rarely open when originally planned. From shifty contractors to pain-in-the-ass inspectors to endless bureaucratic red tape, numerous delays both expected and unexpected are pretty much a given when opening a new establishment.

Another thing we've learned is that even when a place does finally open, things are bound to be bumpy for at least the first little while. New equipment can be flaky, as can new staff, and when a place is particularly buzz-worthy, the onslaught of eager patrons can often take them off-guard when they're still finding their feet. And then there are mini-disasters of various sorts caused by acts of God and/or city maintenance staff.

For a textbook example of a place that has suffered through much of the above, look no further than The Ceili Cottage, the recently opened Leslieville pub from Starfish proprietor and world champion oyster shucker Patrick McMurray.

McMurray's plans to open the Cottage were first revealed to the public early this year, but his desire to open a traditional Irish local extend back much further than that, and the location first caught his interest a couple of years ago. As he remembers, "I used to park in front of Sweet Bliss across the street to get cupcakes for staff parties. At the angle I looked at this building, it looked to me like Moran's of the Weir, a cottage pub in the west of Ireland, and I thought that the area out front would make a pretty nice patio. It just looked like it would make a great little Irish bar. So I told my wife Alison, and she said 'No! You're too freakin' busy!'."

Busy or not, serendipity struck last summer when the couple were helping scout new locations for The Gilchrist-Canavan School of Irish Dance, which both of their children attend. The building that McMurray had long admired came up on a list of possible locations, and while it was too large for the school alone, it was the perfect size to split into a pub in the front and dance school in the rear. Recognizing it as a great opportunity for everyone involved, McMurray and the school took on the lease late last summer, and work on renovating the former auto body shop started soon after.

"For months and months," McMurray says, "I'd work here all day and then go to Starfish at night. We didn't work with a designer or an architect, just a building, and all I said was that I didn't want to make the place look cookie cutter. I find that most Irish bars here are beautifully staged, as if a set designer came in, but when you go to Ireland none of them really look like that."

With its unfinished walls and ramshackle collection of church pews and other salvaged furniture, the main room of the Cottage is about as far from "cookie cutter" as can be imagined. McMurray admits that some customers and critics haven't been as enamoured with the look as he is, with "bomb shelter" being his favourite of the unflattering descriptions he's heard and read. But ultimately, he feels that "if people don't like it or think the place looks like a bomb shelter or whatever, I understand that, but this is what I like."

The Ceili Cottage opened in late June, three months or so past the original and optimistic St. Patrick's Day target date, and was immediately overrun by thirsty Leslievillians, Irish ex-pats, and others who had been eagerly waiting for the taps to start flowing. McMurray admits that it was a more overwhelming reception than he and his team expected, and the first little while found them to be victims of their immediate success.

We saw evidence of this on our first visit a week after opening when around half of the taps had run dry and several food items were unavailable as well. And then just after our pints arrived and we prepared to order some food, word came that the pub was being forced to close for the evening due to an emergency shut down of water service by the city.

Thankfully, things went much better when we returned a couple of weeks later. Starting on a spacious and bustling patio, we got in a couple of rounds of pints from the dozen beers that are available on tap - and only on tap. Aside from when they had to grab some cans of Guinness and Smithwick's from the Beer Store when the kegs ran out on opening weekend, McMurray has no bottled or canned beer available, as he feels that draught beer is both fresher and more environmentally friendly.

The beer list includes the big Irish brands - Guinness, Harp, Kilkenny, and Smithwick's - alongside a well-chosen selection of mostly local craft brews from breweries like Mill Street and Church Key. For cask ale aficionados, there's a hand pump that features a rotating selection of brews from County Durham Brewing. For those who prefer the grape over the grain, there's a short but respectable list of wines available, and for hard stuff, tipplers can choose from a selection of Irish and Scotch whiskies and other bar shots, as well as a specialty cocktail list developed by McMurray's old pal, Kevin "Thirsty Traveller" Brauch.

For the food, both McMurray and chef Kyle Deming made a concerted effort to once again avoid the "cookie cutter", skipping the quesadillas, nachos, wings and other typical pub grub in favour of Irish dishes (bangers and mash, mutton stew with champ, ham with soda scones) and other comforting fare (mac and cheese, mussels, onion soup) made with fresh and local ingredients whenever possible Diners can also choose from the unique "Weekly Roast" special, where a meat served as a full roast dinner on Sunday is offered as a sandwich on Monday, in a potato hash on Tuesday, and so on until the cycle starts again the following Sunday.

For the less peckish, bar snacks like pickled eggs, fresh bread and butter, and Ontario peanuts are also on offer. And of course, a variety of oysters are always available, including prized Irish imports from Clarenbridge Bay and Galway Bay (when in season). The oysters are shucked by McMurray himself when he's on hand to do so, and served across a bar built using a slab of stone from the Irish seabed that holds fossilized oyster shells and other sea-life from millions of years ago.

As the initial chaos of opening starts to recede, McMurray hopes that he and the Cottage will soon be able to settle into a groove. "My main goal is to have a place to come to after Starfish," he says. "My day will start here from 4 to 6, then I'll go to Starfish to shuck oysters and do my thing until 9 or 10, and then come back to the pub until close."

He also plans to start up weekly events like a Kilt Night on Mondays ("the men can wear their kilts, and the girls can have mirrors on their shoes to see what's going on down there…"); traditional Irish music sessions on Tuesdays; and a Shucker Club on Thursdays where both industry folks and customers can learn how to shuck. For singles, he's started a free matchmaking service, keeping details of lovelorn customers in a book behind the bar, and offering to hook them up with a (hopefully) compatible match over a plate of oysters. Longer term, he'd like to turn the patio into a community skating rink next winter, and is looking into setting up a sugar shack in the spring using sap from local maples.

From some bar owners, this deluge of plans and ideas might seem gimmicky and contrived, but with McMurray's natural enthusiasm and genuinely friendly nature, it's obvious that he's telling the truth when he says that it's all being done "for fun". His ultimate goal, aside from staying in business, is to foster the same sense of community that one finds in village pubs throughout Ireland.

It's hard to say if he'll be able to reach this goal here in Toronto, where the concept of a "local" doesn't always have the same relevance. But that certainly won't stop him from trying.

The Queen and Beaver Public House
35 Elm Street
647-347-2712

When we interviewed Jamieson Kerr late last summer for a profile of his King West establishment Crush Wine Bar, he mentioned that one of his future plans was to open a new place modelled after the gastropubs that have taken the dining scene of England by storm in recent years; a place that offers good food, great beer, and most importantly, a comfortable and friendly atmosphere that makes everyone feel welcome.

Given that he had just completed a renovation and relaunch at Crush, and with the economy starting to go down the toilet, this seemed like a long-term goal rather than an immediate one. So we certainly didn't expect that just 10 months later we'd be sitting down for lunch with him at his newly opened gastropub The Queen and Beaver.

And as Kerr tells it, he didn't really expect it either.

"I never thought I would do it this year because of the recession," he says. "But in the second week of January, I was chatting with Arron Barbarian (of Barbarian's Steakhouse), and I mentioned that I'd love to open a pub, and he said 'Well, you should come and look at this place on Elm Street'. So I came in here, and as soon as I walked in, I knew that I wanted to be in this space."

Several months of negotiations followed, including numerous investor meetings, much haggling to get the rent down to a reasonable level, and an especially nerve-wracking week of convincing the landlord to reject a competing offer from the Fionn MacCool's chain. But in the end, Kerr prevailed, and once the space was sorted, it came time to turn it into the pub of his dreams.

"I spent a lot of time with the designer, Elisa Sauvé, showing her photographs of pubs I'd visited in England. I told her exactly what I wanted: the mismatched furniture, the casual feel, the soul and warmth of the place. And I showed her the movie Withnail & I, and told her I wanted a place like the pubs in the film." (Sauvé enjoyed the film so much that she bought Kerr a signed photo of stars Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann on eBay as a pub opening gift.)

The result of Sauvé's design is remarkably close to Kerr's vision, especially considering that it took just two months to complete the renovations. The main floor dining area features a combination of mismatched furniture and homey décor that would have been twee or contrived under less skilled hands, but that Sauvé and her able crew have made comfortable and welcoming.

Even more impressive, however, is the sports screening room on the second floor, which is about as far away from a typical sports bar as you could imagine. A massive flat screen dominates the west wall, with leather couches and chairs serving as perfect viewing positions, and a classic Crown sound system (old school hi-fi equipment being one of Kerr's other passions) providing crystal-clear audio. A loyal Manchester United fan, Kerr has artfully hung an assortment of footy memorabilia including a jersey signed by Man U star Ryan Giggs. Once the English Premier League season starts in August, Kerr plans to open on Saturday mornings to screen the games, with a traditional full English breakfast available for the fans. In the meantime, TFC matches and other sporting events are being aired for those looking for a civilised place to catch a game and enjoy a couple of pints.

Speaking of which, imbibers of quality brews won't be disappointed by the Queen & Beaver's draught selection, which focuses on quality over quantity. The half-dozen draught taps include two solid imports (Czechvar Pilsner and Fuller's Chiswick Bitter), a pair of local craft beers (Creemore Springs and Denison's Wheat), and a duo from Montreal's McAuslan Brewery (Cream Ale and St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout). And in true British fashion, Kerr is also offering Wellington Arkell cask ale, serving it at the proper cellar temperature thanks to the separate fridge installed at the second floor bar.

Of course, as you'd expect from the owner of one of Toronto's top wine destinations, fans of the grape are also well-served, with over 20 quality wines available by the bottle, and dozen by the glass. And those with a taste for the hard stuff can enjoy classic cocktails such as Mint Juleps, Sidecars and Moscow Mules.

Such a fine selection of beverages deserves to be accompanied by some equally fine food, and the pub makes an exceptionally strong showing in that department as well. As Kerr notes both in person and on the pub's website, the plates that come out of chef Andrew Carter's kitchen are not "posh nosh", but neither are they the platters of greasy grub found at most so-called pubs.

Like Kerr, Carter is an English ex-pat, and he therefore had no trouble coming up with a menu that leans heavily towards classic British dishes such as fish and chips, curries, steak and chips, and meat pies. But his bistro and fine dining experience at restaurants including Herbs and Le Paradis also comes through in dishes like apple cider duck leg, baked Atlantic salmon, and steamed mussels.

Standing in his kitchen, Carter is like a proud papa, showing off all of the newly installed equipment, the wood-burning oven left from the restaurant's previous life as a pizzeria and now being used for roasts and meat pies, the incredibly fresh fish and produce that he has the pleasure of working with, and the beef from Beretta Organic Farms that they dry-age in house. He uses as much seasonal produce as possible, and intends to have his menu be a constant work-in-progress based on customer feedback and what is available from his suppliers from week to week.

With higher quality food, higher prices generally follow, so those expecting the usual pre-fab pub fare may experience a bit of sticker shock when faced with a menu where most of the main courses are in the $15-$20 range. But once the plates are on the table, it should be obvious to all but the tightest of tightwads that the food being produced by Carter and his crew is more than worth the price.

The Midlands curry (lamb on our visit, but changing daily) features a generous portion of tender meat in an expertly spiced sauce that perfectly balances heat and flavour. Duck and potato pie resembles scalloped potatoes layered with juicy chunks of duck meat, all enveloped in a flaky crust. And the burger is nothing less than a revelation, with a patty constructed from beef that's been hand chopped rather than ground, and mixed with beef marrow to add an extra depth of flavour and texture. Topped with double smoked bacon and Stilton, and served with chips fried in duck fat and delicious homemade ketchup, it's easily in the running for Toronto's top burger.

Another pub tradition is upheld with the Queen and Beaver's "Snack & Supper Menu", featuring quick bites, sandwiches and pies that are available from opening until late night. Englishness is exuded in dishes like pork scratchings, scotch egg, and bacon butty, but chef Carter also gets adventurous with items such as black pudding & chorizo beignets, pickled lamb's tongue, fried cod cheeks & tongues, and tempura troutlings. The latter is not for the squeamish, as it features fresh baby trout with heads and guts still intact, dipped in a tempura batter and fried to a golden-brown. The strong and almost earthy flavour is a shock at first, but washed down with a pint of malty Arkell cask ale, it's easy to imagine them being served in a cozy country pub in the heart of England. (Although they'd probably come without a dollop of sorrel crème fraîche on the side...)

As we finish our lunches and polish off our pints, we have one final question for Kerr: After years of thinking about it and a few months of actually working on it, did the Queen and Beaver Public House turn out to be what he wanted it to be? "Yeah, it really did, and then some. I don't think I ever envisioned it being this good. It was stressful, and it wasn't the most enjoyable process at times, but I'm enjoying it now."

And with one more look around his dream pub come true, he adds: "As crazy as it was, I'd love to do another one."

Smokeless Joe
125 John Street
416-728-4503

Back in 1996, when J. Sergei Sawchyn - aka "Joe" - opened Smokeless Joe, a smoke-free bar featuring several hundred beers from around the world, it must've seemed like a very risky move. Imported beers beyond Guinness and Heineken were still little more than a novelty to the majority of beer drinkers, and smoking was so closely associated with social drinking in the minds of many people that a bar that prohibited lighting up seemed destined for failure from the get-go.

13 years later, not only is Smokeless Joe still open, but the rest of the city has changed to more closely match Sawchyn's philosophy of what a bar should be. Going smoke-free is no longer just an option for bar owners, it's the law of the land whether they like it or not, and the success of specialty beer bars like beerbistro, Bier Markt, Volo and others prove that when it comes to his beer selection, Sawchyn was really on to something.

It helped, of course, that there were other things about Smokeless Joe that made it a place worth visiting. There was no television, and music (usually blues) was always kept to a moderate level, allowing for conversation with both friends and strangers, the latter happening more often than in many Toronto establishments thanks to the bar being so intimate, with a capacity of less than 30 people. And of course, the fact that Sawchyn was such a friendly and accommodating publican didn't hurt either.

Those who are familiar with the Smokeless Joe of today know that Sawchyn is no longer the owner, as he passed the reins to Joe Sacco (yes, another Joe) in 2001, but much to the relief of the regulars at the time, the "New Joe" changed very little about what made the bar special. If anything it got better, as Sacco brought along his knowledge and contacts from his time as the manager of the Academy of Spherical Arts, where he had overseen another of the city's better beer lists.

With Sacco bringing in rare and exclusive beers from around the world, and the service remaining as knowledgeable and friendly as always, the bar's reputation continued to grow not just in Toronto, but elsewhere as well. "We have customers from all over the place," says Sacco. "There's one gentleman from Texas who comes to Toronto every three months or so, and he always insists to his secretary that he gets booked at the Holiday Inn on King so that he's within walking distance of here. Stories like that make all the hard work and hours of running this place worthwhile."

While tourists and visitors are always welcome, it's the locals that are the bread and butter of any business, and Smokeless does quite well in that regard also. Sacco boasts proudly of having the "best customers in town, they're very eclectic," and based on the clientèle that comes and goes during our visit, it's hard to disagree. From the parents with two young kids enjoying a dinner of mussels and curry, to the trio of tattooed girls distraught that their favourite apple beer is no longer available, to the group of twenty-somethings drinking everything from pints of local lager to Belgian Trappist ales, it's obvious that the bar holds appeal to more than just the hardcore beer geeks.

"Different people come here for different reasons," explains Sacco, "the space, our staff, the food, the beer. With everything, we try to give reasons for people to keep coming back, and try to position ourselves differently from everybody else on the street. I can't compete with the big chains, so we try and do something unique."

One area where this uniqueness comes though is in the food menu. Limited space means that the "kitchen" is essentially a prep area in the back room and a few hot plates behind the bar, but Sacco still manages to serve a wide enough variety of food that pretty much anyone can find something that hits the spot.

"We take a lot of pride in our food menu, and we do everything from scratch. We get mussels delivered three or four times a week, I go and get our oysters myself, and every Saturday I go to the farmers market to get ingredients. We don't have the capacity to do steaks or burgers, but what we do, we do really well. I can't say that we do the best of everything, but I'm confident that we do a really good job."

As is obvious from the aroma on busy nights, mussels are the speciality of the house, with a dozen or so varieties available, ranging from traditional choices like Mariniere (white wine, garlic, shallots & parsley) and Belgiques (Blanche de Chambly, leeks, garlic, celery and onions) to a few more adventurous options such as Singapore style, made with coconut milk and an incendiary assortment of a dozen different spices that Joe describes as his version of "suicide wings".

Vegetarians and vegans are also well-served, with two veggie pastas, a vegan chili, and a vegan soup. (On our visit, the soup is an outstanding African peanut soup that had us wiping the bowl with chunks of crusty sourdough.) Bruschetta and crostini are offered for starters or snacking, the "Down Home" clam chowder has testimonials on the menu of being the "best chowder ever", and sandwiches include German salami and the house favourite BLAST (bacon, lettuce, avocado, salsa & tomato). Up to a half-dozen different oysters are also generally available, along with a shelf full of different hot sauces for those who are so inclined.

On the liquid side of things, beer is definitely the main focus, but there are a few other options as well. A small and ever-changing whisky selection has always been a popular choice, and a few other spirits are also behind the bar, although Sacco notes that they can't really accommodate "the cocktail or martini crowd. The most exotic we'll get with a mixed drink is rum and Coke or rye and ginger." Beer, however, is another story, as Smokeless still has one of the widest selections of bottled beers in the city, as well as ten draught taps pouring both local craft brews and well-chosen imports.

One problem, though, is that increased competition has made it harder to bring in as many exclusive beers, which has led to some criticism that the beer list isn't as long and eclectic it once was. But according to Sacco, things haven't really changed in that regard.

"We still bring in as much beer as we can," he says, "although we don't have the room to carry all I would like. The problem is that a lot of the other places that carry beer now have way more space than we do. So if a certain supplier has 100 cases, those places are going to order 50, 60, 70 cases, and by the time it gets to me, I'll take 2 cases. But I don't look at anybody as competition, as the more places that are selling good beer, the better it is for everybody. When customers ask me where else they can go, I tell them about beerbistro and Bier Markt and C'est What and Volo. We all have to support each other."

So, what has changed at Smokeless Joe? Well, there's a flat screen TV behind the bar now that is occasionally turned on, and the music is sometimes a bit louder (and not always the blues) depending on who's working the bar. But otherwise, they've still got a cozy atmosphere, great food, an outstanding beer list, some of the best staff in town, and most importantly, a friendly and enthusiastic owner who works his butt off to make sure his customers are happy.

The Roy
894 Queen Street East
416-465-3331

In his recent book A Pint of Plain: Tradition, Change, and the Fate of the Irish Pub, American-born and Dublin-based author Bill Barich documents his travels through Ireland searching for what he considers to be the perfect Irish pub. His models for this dream destination include Pat Cohan's, the village pub in the 1952 film The Quiet Man, as well as the convivial community gathering places described in classic Irish prose and poetry.

Needless to say, he doesn't have a lot of luck. In much of Ireland, as everywhere, pubs are no longer the community hubs that they once where, and televisions, loud music and quiz nights have displaced friendly conversation as the main source of entertainment at many establishments.

The same can surely be said of many so-called "Irish" pubs here in North America. These exaggerated parodies of the romanticised (and mostly fictional) taverns so loved by Barich are generally soulless places, dubbed with names that suggest a heritage and history that they don't possess, and festooned with the obligatory reproductions of classic Guinness adverts and other faux-Gaelic decor.

With this in mind, it's easy to be cynical about The Roy, a self-described "traditional Irish Public House" opened by partners Mark Corbett and Andy Schnurr in Leslieville earlier this month. In a time where owners can buy pre-fab pubs from the Irish Pub Company, or follow an "Irish Pub Concept" business plan provided by Diageo - the corporate owner of Guinness - how much Irish authenticity can we really expect to find in a pub in Toronto, and a brand new one at that?

It's a question that Schnurr even asks himself. "What makes it Irish? The dark wood, the carpet, the wallpaper, the lighting? Really, to me an Irish pub is someplace you go to catch up with your neighbours or your co-workers after a day of work. It's more of a feeling, a comfortable place to sit and have a pint, and to talk and hear each other without screaming over loud music. That's what we wanted to create."

This vision was strongly informed by a trip that the pair took to Ireland and Northern Ireland several years ago, when they spent 11 days visiting 42 pubs all over the island. They'd long joked about opening a pub of their own, but this trip planted a seed that started to sprout a year and a half ago when restructuring at Corbett's company led to him being laid off.

"We started looking into it seriously and checked out some locations," Schnurr recalls. "We had a couple of close calls that didn't work out. And then Mark lost his dad back in September, so he spent some time with his family helping out, and pretty much the minute everything was dealt with, this place came up for lease." Corbett's father, who grew up near Belfast, was named Roy, as was another older friend of the pair who had also passed on, so the name of the new venture was chosen to memorialise them both.

It wasn't long after the renos began on the space that formerly housed Kubo Radio that a buzz started both in the neighbourhood and online. "We put construction signage in the windows which said what we were going to do with the place, and suddenly there was some talk on Chowhound, and places contacted us wanting to cover us. But we did no real advertising. I think people in the area have just been wanting a place like this."

Based on the number of people drinking and dining on the Wednesday evening that we visited, it appears that Schnurr is speaking the truth. He notes that it's the slowest night he's seen since they opened a week and a half before, but a good 2/3rds of the place is full, and on the day after St. Patrick's Day no less. Schnurr says, "We thought we'd have to depend on people we know and their friends to keep us busy, but we don't know most of the people who have been coming in. It's been great"

One thing that has likely been packing them in is the cheap and cheerful pub grub that comes out of the kitchen headed by Corbett's brother-in-law. At a time when it seems that every new watering hole has aspirations of being an upscale gastropub, it's refreshing to see a place with little pretence when it comes to the food. Comforting Irish and UK pub offerings like fish & chips, meat pies, bangers & mash, and a fantastic curry & chips make up the bulk of the menu, with a few North American bar food favourites like nachos, wings and burgers added for good measure. They also offer a Sunday brunch with Coronation Street on the telly (one of the few times that the otherwise unobtrusive screen in the corner of the dining area will be turned on), and a weekly roast dinner on Sunday evenings.

Schnurr also notes that aside from a couple of items that are brought in frozen, about 95% of the food being served is prepared from scratch using fresh ingredients. This was especially evident in the excellent Irish stew that was available on the night of our visit. Prepared the day before as a St. Paddy's special, the stew was rich and hearty, packed with big and tender chunks of lamb, and served with traditional Irish soda bread. Like all good stews, it benefited from being made the day before, and the leftovers were enough for a filling lunch the next day.

Of course, man does not live on stew (or chips, or pies...) alone, and The Roy has a prominent and well-stocked bar to provide liquid sustenance. There aren't a lot of surprises on the beer taps, but it's still a better selection than at many pubs: Guinness, of course, as well as mainstream domestics (Canadian, Blue Light, Keith's), popular imports (Kilkenny, Stella), and crowd-friendly craft brews (Creemore, Wellington), all priced at less than 6 bucks a pint, It's also nice to see Waupoos Cider from Prince Edward County has been given the nod over the more common import ciders. There's also a good selection of whiskies as well as the usual assortment of other spirits for those who like the harder stuff.

So, is The Roy an authentic Irish pub? Having never been to Ireland, we can't really answer that question. What we can say, though, is that The Roy offers a comfortable environment, friendly staff, tasty food and beer, and no blaring music or multiple televisions to distract from the conversation. Opinions on whether or not it's "authentic" will likely vary widely, but few could argue that it's a great addition to the Leslieville neighbourhood.

And as for Bill Barich and his quest for the perfect Irish pub, he might be interested to know that the shop in the Irish village of Cong that was temporarily converted into the fictional Pat Cohan's for the filming of The Quiet Man 57 years ago has been permanently renovated and opened last September as an exact replica of the pub from the film.

Which begs the question: Can a modern pub modelled after an "authentic" pub that never really existed be considered "authentic" itself? Sounds like a good topic to chat about the next time we're sitting at the bar at The Roy having a pint.

The Abbot on the Hill
1276 Yonge Street
(416) 920-9074

There's an old saying that says a person's success isn't measured by money or fame, but by the number of friends that they have. It's an adage that may ring a bit hollow in the days of MySpace and Facebook and Twitter, where people have hundreds of "friends" that they don't even know, but it still has a grain of truth to it.

By the same token, it could be said that the success of a pub can be measured by its number of regulars. More people filling the stools and seats will mean more money in the till, of course, but it's the sense of family and community that develops at a well-loved and oft-frequented local that makes it a truly special place.

Using that criterion, the Abbot on the Hill could be considered one of the most successful pubs in Toronto.

This wasn't always the case, though. Opened in 2004 as an off-shoot of The Abbot, a pub in the north end of the city, The Abbot on the Hill wasn't exactly welcomed into the neighbourhood with open arms. According to current co-owner Adam Grant, many locals in the Yonge & Summerhill area mockingly called it "The Rebel House North", accusing it of ripping off the popular pub a few blocks south right down to the microbrews on tap and many similar items on the food menu.

Grant and his girlfriend, Melissa Curcumelli-Rodostamo, were both servers at The Rebel House at the time, and they heard some grumbling from their customers about the interloper in the 'hood. So it's somewhat ironic that they are now partners in the place, although it wasn't exactly planned to happen that way.

The pair was actually looking to open a new place with Grant's brother-in-law providing the financial backing. But during a meeting at the original Abbot, Grant decided that he'd rather not mix family with business and called the deal off. "After the meeting, I was sitting at the bar having a beer," he remembers, "and the owner, Chris Davis, came by and asked what was going on. I told him that I was kicking myself for losing the best chance I would ever have an owning a restaurant, and he said 'Do you wanna buy the Abbot on the Hill?'."

Cautious due to the pub's reputation, Grant and Curcumelli-Rodostamo took some time to think about it, and also did a bit of nonchalant fishing for opinions. "There was a regular at the Rebel House named Chris Woodward who I really respected. I asked him at the bar one night 'So, have you ever been to the Abbot on the Hill?', and he said 'Oh, it's an awful place!' But then, even though no-one knew that we'd been dating and that we were looking to buy into the place, he said: 'You know what it needs? It needs somebody like you and Melissa to take over.' I know it sounds silly, and I know that we hired consultants and had other people give us their opinions, but it was this one guy who made me think that we could do it."

Three years ago this spring, the duo took the plunge and bought in for a 50% stake of the Abbot on the Hill, essentially becoming competition for their previous employers. But as Curcumelli-Rodostamo notes, there were no bad feelings. On the contrary, "When we told them that we would be moving in up the street and becoming their competition, they were so supportive. They said 'We'll do anything for you', they sent customers up here - they were just awesome."

One thing that helped ease the transition was the couple's decision to revamp the pub into something quite different from what it was before - and therefore, quite different from the Rebel House. Curcumelli-Rodostamo had previously worked at the Chelsea Ram, an establishment that was the first Michelin-rated pub in London, England, and which more importantly had a loyal community of regulars who were like an extended family.

Inspired by her experience there, she and Grant relaunched their Abbot as a UK and European style gastropub. In deference to the local beer focus of the Rebel, they went for an imports-only model, and started working with agents like Bruce Ashley Group, Premier Brands and Roland + Russell to stock their draught taps and bottle list with unique and often exclusive brews. Breweries represented in their well-chosen selection include Fuller's and Adnams from England, Warsteiner and Hacker Pschorr from Germany, Het Anker from Belgium, Isle of Skye from Scotland, and Schloss Eggenberg from Austria.

The food menu was also given a big overhaul, with most items now being made from scratch by executive chef Kevin Beall and his team. The core of the menu features well-executed versions of pub classics like beer battered halibut and chips, bangers & mash with housemade sausages, authentic shepherd's pie made with ground lamb, slow roasted pork ribs, and curries both mild (chicken tikka masala) and incendiary (beef vindaloo).

There's also a bistro influence as shown by dishes like steak frites and braised lamb shank, while those enjoying one of the several German beers that are available often choose sauerkraut fritters and schnitzel as an accompaniment. And one popular hold-over from the old menu that they'll likely never get rid of is the signature Buffalo shrimp appetizer, featuring a half-dozen plump shrimp in a crispy batter and tangy hot sauce, served with blue cheese dip.

With the beer and food brought up to snuff, it didn't take long for the locals to take notice. The previously mentioned Rebel House regular Chris Woodward was supporter right from the beginning, as were many others in the neighbourhood, and the result has been the creation of that sense of community and family that Grant and Curcumelli-Rodostamo had hoped for. Regular events like Monday night beer pairing dinners and a Wednesday night Pint Club have helped build bonds with patrons, and they've also developed good relationships with other bars and restaurants by inviting proprietors to private beer launches, and serving a late night prix fixe dinner called Waiterlicious to staff from restaurants participating in Winterlicious. "It was tons of fun," says Grant, "and whoever had the best story about the worst customer got a free meal."

Also notable is the work that the pair and their staff do for various charitable organisations, many of them suggested by their regulars. They hold several events a year in support of a number of Canada's Olympic athletes, have raised money for war veterans, and support several children's charities including Project Sunshine, the CP24/CHUM Christmas Wish Toy Drive and Kids Helping Kids. The latter charity was the beneficiary of their Christmas Day open house this past year, where customers are served free food and drink in exchange for a donation. This annual event is especially meaningful to all at the Abbot, as Grant explains:

"On Christmas Day a couple of years ago, Chris Woodward" - the Rebel House regular who inspired them to buy into the Abbot - "came in and had a couple of pints. He went home, and his family thought that we'd over-served him, but then we found out in early January that he had a brain tumour and had six weeks to live. So Christmas has a great significance for us, we always want to do something charitable. We always keep a picture of Chris behind the bar, and his friends from England come in a couple of times a year and drink from his stein. He was just a great guy."

We're all quiet for a moment after Grant finishes, and he apologizes for bringing the conversation down. We assure him that there's no apology necessary, as it's stories like this that make places like the Abbot on the Hill special. Places where newcomers can quickly become regulars, and where regulars feel like family.

Grant and Curcumelli-Rodostamo are quick to credit their staff and patrons for making this happen, and that kudos is well-deserved. But it's also obvious that Chris Woodward was right when he said that what the Abbot on the Hill really needed was for someone like the two of them to take it over. They're the main reason that the staff is loyal and happy, and the seats are filled with satisfied customers night after night.

We're sure that Mr. Woodward must be proud of them, wherever he might be.

Sin & Redemption
136 McCaul Street
416- 640-9197

At first glance, one could be forgiven for believing that Sin & Redemption owner Atef Girgis might be the namesake of his other establishment, The Village Idiot. Not only did he open a fairly large restaurant/pub on the cusp of a recession, but he did so mere steps from his first location, essentially becoming his own biggest competition. On top of that, the new place is situated across the street from St. Patrick's Catholic Church, which is run by members of an order known as Redemptorists, so a name like Sin & Redemption is just asking for trouble from the Big Guy and his followers.

Somehow, though, Girgis has managed to pull it off. Business has been strong since opening last August, and if our difficulty in getting a table for a recent lunch visit is any indication, there's no risk of it being stricken with recession-itis any time soon. A couple of doors south, the Village Idiot is still thriving as well (although the fact that it's the closest bar to OCAD is likely a strong factor). And as for the church, while there have been a few complaints from the more conservative ranks of the congregation, Girgis says that there haven't been any major problems, biblical or otherwise.

It probably helps that Girgis is a veteran of both the business and the neighbourhood, having been stationed on the northwest corner of Dundas and McCaul for over 20 years, originally as owner of The Gallery Bistro, which he transformed into the more casual Village Idiot in 2003. In mid-2007, he noticed a recently vacated storefront around the corner, and caught the expansion bug. He wanted more space to work with, so he convinced the tenants on either side to sell him their leases.

This kicked off a 14 month process of renovating a former flower shop, religious book store, and café into a 90-seat restaurant and bar. "I wanted to do everything different from the Village Idiot," says Girgis. "Different menu, different beer list, different atmosphere." The result is an inviting three room space with an atmosphere that is both classic and comfortable no matter what sort of night out you're looking for. The Sinner's Pub and Redeemer's Lounge are the livelier rooms, with the long bar extending through the two of them making it obvious that alcohol is a key player in any visit, while the more secluded Most Wanted Bistro room has a more refined and relaxed sensibility, feeling more like a private dining club than a boisterous bar.

The "something for everyone" credo also applies to the beer list, which is extensive and varied. Bud, Bud Light, Stella and several Keith's brands are available for those with mainstream tastes, but more adventurous drinkers will likely be attracted to the import offerings which include several from England's Fuller's Brewery, and a solid selection of European ales and lagers. Server Sam Beszelzen is especially proud to note that they're the only establishment in Canada to simultaneously feature four beers from Dutch Trappist brewery Koningshoeven on tap. Best of all, the beers are all priced in the $4.50 to $6.50 range, which is a relative bargain compared to many downtown beer destinations.

While beer takes centre stage at the bar, there are plenty of other boozy options as well. The extensive cocktail list has a heavy religious theme, with concoctions including The Nutty Monk, Saint Mary, Voodoo Spirit, and those named for original sins like Sloth and Envy. There's also a short but respectable list of wallet-friendly wines, with most priced under $10/glass or $40/bottle.

The budget-conscious will also be happy with the food menu, which has all but one dish priced under the $20 mark, and many around $10. The menu sees Girgis looking back to his Gallery Bistro days in some regards, as it has a strong bistro flavour, with a touch of gastropub as well ("Bistropub", perhaps?). Steaks, ribs and rotisserie chicken are specialities of the house, while other hearty and comfortable entrée offerings include lamb shank, duck confit and braised short rib. For smaller appetites there are a number of sandwiches and flatbreads available, and vegetarians can enjoy several salads, ratatouille, and the "Redemption Burger" made with Portobello mushrooms.

This combination of well-priced and varied food and drink has struck a chord with an equally varied group of customers. "We're getting a nice mix," says Beszelzen. "A lot of business folks, workers from the hospitals on University, professors and students from U of T." Girgis adds that many local residents have become regulars, and it's become a popular lunch stop for tourists visiting the AGO.

Despite the initial success of Sin & Redemption, Girgis is realistic enough to recognise that it will take work to keep it going. "It's a new place and people want to try it," he says, "and I know that's going to fade away. That percentage of clientèle that go to new places just to check them out will die out over time." But having gone through previous recessions and other setbacks at the Bistro/Idiot has taught him how to ride out the lean times, lessons that should serve him well at the new place.

And besides, based on the fact that it hasn't been hit by a bolt of lightening or a plague of locusts, it seems like God is cool with the place even despite the slightly blasphemous name. It's hard to get a much higher recommendation than that, isn't it?

The Liver Bird
392 Roncesvalles Avenue
(416) 516-7446

In the restaurant business, change can be a good thing. Consistency is important when it comes to the quality of what you serve, of course, and signature dishes that keep bringing people back are nice to have. But seasonal menus, rotating specials and occasional decor adjustments can be great ways to keep both customers and staff excited about what your establishment has to offer.

Sometimes, though, changes can end up alienating your regulars while not bringing in enough new business to make them worthwhile. The bigger the changes, the bigger the risk, and as a restaurant owner, you have to decide how much of a gamble you're willing to take. Last year, English ex-pat Fergus Munster decided to take a big one indeed when he plunked a dividing wall smack dab in the middle of his popular Roncesvalles Village restaurant Boho Bistro, and turned the back half into a cozy 30-seat pub called The Liver Bird.

It's a gamble that seems to have paid off, as both rooms were near capacity on the cold and snowy Wednesday night that we visited. But we were still curious to know what inspired Munster to make such a bold move, especially on the cusp of an economic downturn that is threatening the business of even the most stable bars and restaurants.

It ends up that change was on his mind right from the moment that he and his partners took over Boho from original owner Melissa Fox-Revett in late 2007, but it took a freak accident to push him towards finally taking the plunge. "I broke my leg while walking my dog one night last March, and I wasn't at the restaurant for about 3 and a half months. That gave me a little time to reflect on what I wanted to do and what direction I wanted Boho to go. I'd been working here since it opened, and in my mind it was starting to lose a bit of momentum."

Looking around the neighbourhood where he lives as well as works, Munster realised that there were very few places to go for a pint and a bite to eat that were also cozy and conducive to having a chat. "I go to The Local and Gate 403," he says, "and they're two of my favourite places, but I find the live music can be a little too intrusive. I also wanted something to represent  my English heritage a little bit, and I'm a Gemini, so it seemed like the perfect thing to have two very different concepts in the same place. Part of me is still Boho, I've served casual fine dining type of food all my life, so I didn't want to cut that off completely."

The change took place with little fanfare late last summer, and aside from one Boho regular complaining about the increase in people smoking out front, Munster says that it's been well-received by both existing and new clientèle. A big reason for that is likely the fact that chef Brian Pingle gives just as much love and attention to the food on the pub menu as he does to the more elegant fare served in the front room, preparing everything from scratch with exceptionally fresh ingredients.

His fish and chips, for example, feature tender fillets of Ontario whitefish given a light dusting of curry before being battered, fried, and served alongside a heaping serving of deliciously seasoned hand-cut chips. The same chips show up in the lobster poutine, where they're topped with chunks of lobster meat and sinfully rich paneer sauce, and alongside the homemade pot pie, which has a hearty filling that changes every couple of days. And should none of the pub grub strike your fancy, the more upscale Boho menu is also available to Liver Bird patrons.

The food prices are also quite reasonable, with most of the main courses in the $10 or $15 range, although Munster notes that after Winterlicious wraps up, both the Liver Bird and Boho menus will be getting an overhaul and made more affordable where possible. But even before that happens, it's hard to beat some of the current deals, such as the $1 oysters on Wednesdays, or the Thursday night special of fish & chips with two pints of beer for $20.

On Saturday and Sunday mornings, the same $20 will cover a massive Farmer's Breakfast and two pints, a favourite of the many punters who come by to watch the live broadcasts of English Premier League football. Munster lived in Liverpool for nearly a decade before moving to Canada 30 years ago and still considers it home. He borrowed the name of the city's symbol for the name of the pub and is a lifelong fan of Liverpool FC, but he doesn't discriminate when it comes to the games he screens and the fans he lets in.

"We're pretty full in here for the Liverpool games, and we've also been adopted by a bunch of Tottenham supporters. But even if it's not my team, I have no problem coming in. I'll even come in and watch Manchester United if I have to." After a thoughtful pause, he adds with a laugh: "Not Chelsea. I'll usually sleep in for them."

While the fish & chips and football - not to mention the proprietor's birthplace - give a strong British bent to the pub, Munster stresses that he doesn't intend for the Liver Bird to be tied to one particular place. "I don't want it to be British exclusively, I want it to have a bit of a European feel. When we redo the menu after Winterlicious, we'll keep the fish and chips and the pot pie, but it'll also have more of a European flavour."

The beer selection also reflects this attempt at diversity despite being limited by space to only four taps. One of the lines features Tetley's, a UK ale requested by several regulars, but the others are supplied by Fine Beers, an import agent specialising in products from a number of different countries. The line-up changes occasionally, but currently features Krombacher Pilsner and Paulaner Lager from Germany, and O'Hara's Celtic Stout from Ireland. As with the food, the beer prices are very reasonable, with the O'Hara's being the most expensive at $6.25, less than what a pint of Guinness will set you back at most other pubs.

Throughout our chat, it's obvious that Munster really loves what the Liver Bird has become in the few short months it's been open, and has been given a new dose of energy by its success. But we have to wonder if he regrets situating it to the rear of its older and more refined sibling where it may go unnoticed by passers-by. On the contrary, he thinks that the positioning has been an asset to both rooms.

"When you run a restaurant," he says, "you're taking a bit of a risk when you make any change, because you're always going to annoy someone. Having the pub in the back, our regulars still have a comfort level when they walk by and look in. They're not intimidated by the change. But when they come into the back, most of them love it and say that it's like a hidden gem, which makes me really happy. So I think we're winning people over."

Granite Brewery
245 Eglinton Avenue East
416-322-0723

In the latest issue of TAPS Magazine, Stephen Beaumont addresses the important question of which city can lay claim to being Canada's best place for drinking good beer. Based on a number of criteria, he comes to the conclusion that while Toronto is near the top of the list, it simply can't compete with Montreal.

While it pains me to do so, I'm afraid that I have to agree with his decision, as well as his reasoning behind it. While Toronto has an impressive and growing list of bars and pubs dedicated to local craft beer and quality imports, there are still a large number of establishments in the city that ignore quality brews in favour of the ubiquitous mainstream brands. Our local brewers also tend to be much more conservative then their Quebecois brethren, sticking with well-established styles and not breaking a lot of rules - although that, too, is slowly changing.

What really tips the scales in Montreal's favour, though, is their fantastic brewpub scene. With seven or eight bars in the city making their own beer, and plenty more scattered throughout the province, Quebec has a brewpub culture that's hard to beat in Canada. Meanwhile, here in Toronto, we have... well, technically, we don't have any brewpubs.

Yes, C'est What calls itself a brewpub, but their excellent house beers are brewed at County Durham Brewing. And there's the Mill Street Brewpub down in the Distillery District, but much of the beer that they serve is made out at the main Mill Street facility in Scarborough.

In fact, the only place in town that comes close to the traditional definition of being a brewpub is The Granite Brewery up at Eglinton and Mount Pleasant. All of their draught beer is brewed on site, just a few feet from the bar where it's served. But as of a few years ago, they've been licensed as a brewery rather than a brewpub, a small but important distinction.

Before we get to that, though, we should go back to where the Granite got its start. And that's not midtown Toronto, but rather downtown Halifax, where brothers Kevin and Wilfred Keefe took over a failing bar and grill in 1975 and turned it into a successful watering hole called Ginger's Tavern. Ten years later, Kevin began reading about the craft brewing renaissance, and inspired by Spinnaker's, Canada's first brewpub in Victoria BC, he successfully lobbied the Nova Scotia government to issue him the province's first brewpub license, and then headed to England to apprentice at the Ringwood Brewery where he learned how to craft the classic British style ales that the Granite has become well known for.

While all of this was happening, third brother Ron Keefe was living in Toronto, where he had been resisting the urging of his Halifax siblings to open an off-shoot of Ginger's in Toronto. "I never wanted to be a restaurateur," he explains over lunch and a pint, "but when the brewing side came along, that really sparked my interest. Things got held up in the late '80s when Wilfred died of lung cancer, but after that, Kevin and I got more serious about it. Alan Pugsley, who had taught Kevin how to brew at the Ringwood Brewery, had emigrated to the US and was running the Wild Goose Brewery in Maryland. So I went down and worked with him there, and worked with Kevin in Halifax, and then Alan came up here and helped me set up the brewery."

Luckily, earlier pioneers such as the Kingston Brewing Company had already laid the groundwork that made it easy for Keefe to get a brewpub license, but that doesn't mean there wasn't a lot of red tape to fight through. Construction was held up for a couple of months as Keefe dealt with zoning issues and other bureaucracy, but in August, 1991, the Toronto outpost of the Granite finally opened for business.

As with the Halifax location, the Toronto Granite has stuck with British-style ales, all brewed using hardy Ringwood yeast. The original beer line-up inherited from Halifax included the dry and roasty Keefe's Irish Stout; the dark-amber Peculiar, with notes of caramel and fruit; and Best Bitter, a classic session ale with a mild hoppy character. More recently, Ron has added several new styles, including Gin Lane Ale, a boozy barley wine brewed for the winter season, and Hopping Mad, a hop-forward ale inspired by American IPAs. And in true UK pub style, there are always two cask-conditioned ales available alongside the keg draught options.

On the food side of things, the menu has also grown from being a clone of the Halifax original into something larger and more varied. As Keefe recalls, "It was definitely very pub oriented: fish & chips, ploughman's lunch, burgers. But we've tried to slowly build it up, both in terms of quality and offerings. Fish & chips is still one of the most popular items, but over the years, we've had different chefs bring new things. I usually say that it's somewhere between pub food and casual family dining. We have the fish & chips, we have the burgers, but we also have great pastas and steaks. We have a group of Sri Lankan guys in the kitchen now and they make some unbelievable curries. The beer is what gets us the publicity and gets things written about us,  but even if you have the best beer in the world, it won't matter if your food sucks."

The combination of good food and unique beer, as well as the restaurant's large seating capacity and picturesque patio, has made the Granite a popular spot for any number of events. Private bookings can accommodate up to 120 people, and public events including beer banquets and their annual Oktoberfest, New Year's Eve and Robbie Burns dinners regularly draw sell out crowds.

During his 18 years of business, Keefe has seen a number of changes in liquor and brewing legislation in Ontario, and he's done his best to take advantage of them. The first was a change in the late 1990s that allowed brewpubs to open a second location and supply it with beer brewed at the first. In response to this, he opened Beer Street on the Danforth, but closed it in 2003 after a four year run. He describes it now as "a nice experiment, but it turned out to be an awful lot of work. I always felt when I was there that I should've been here, and vice versa. I would never do it again unless I had a really good working partner."

The next big change came when the government decided to allow breweries to own a tied house - i.e. a bar or restaurant where they could serve their beer. In 2003, Keefe changed the Granite's license from brewpub to brewery - "on paper, we went from being a restaurant with a brewery, to being a brewery with a restaurant" - a change that allowed him to start selling his beer to other pubs, and more importantly, to customers for off-site consumption.

The Granite retail store offers their beer in growlers - 2 litre jugs that are hand-filled and will stay fresh for a couple of weeks if unopened and refrigerated. Containing roughly the same amount of beer as a six-pack, they're an especially popular item on holidays when the LCBO and Beer Store are closed, although the format is still considered strange to some people. "Many times a week, we get someone in to buy beer to go for the first time, and they ask if we sell six packs. If I was able to sell beer in bottles or cans, we could probably double or triple our sales within a month, but I don't have the room or the brewing capacity."

Given the Granite's successful run of close to two decades, Keefe finds it surprising that there aren't more brewpubs (or small breweries with tied houses) established in Toronto. "Why in this city of over 2 million people are there not more brewpubs? It seems to me that there could be one in every neighbourhood. The taxes used to be an excuse, but the taxes are better now, especially for brewpubs. But there's a big initial outlay. Say a restaurant of this size is going to cost you $700,000 to open today, and to do a brewpub, it's going to cost you an additional $300,000 or $500,000. That might be the biggest fear for people."

We can all be thankful that a similar fear didn't stop Keefe from taking the plunge and opening what has become one of the gems of Toronto's beer scene. Whether you call it a brewpub or a brewery, what really matters is that the Granite offers fresh and fantastic beer, and generous portions of pub grub to go with it. And even if there was a brewpub on every corner, it would still be worth the trip to Eglinton and Mount Pleasant to sip some of the best British style ales available on this side of the Atlantic.

(Beer photo from the Granite website.)

C'est What
67 Front Street East
416-867-9499

When beer writers look back on the still relatively short history of modern craft brewing in Ontario, the names that are most often remembered and mentioned are the breweries and brewmasters who essentially created the industry back in the mid 1980s. Microbrewing pioneers like Jim Brickman of Brick Brewery, Frank Heaps of Upper Canada Brewing, and Philip Gosling, Charles Maclean & David Moorsom of Wellington County Brewery receive - and undoubtedly deserve - a huge amount of credit for introducing Ontario drinkers to a world of beer beyond pale golden lagers, and kick-starting what is now a thriving and growing industry.

Brewing the beer is only part of the equation, though. You also need to get it out where people can buy and drink it, with bars and pubs being the most obvious outlets. But back in the 80s, when Labatt, Molson and Carling ruled the Canadian beer world and now-ubiquitous imports like Guinness and Heineken were rare sights on local tap handles, it wasn't exactly easy to find publicans in Toronto who were willing to take the risk on those newfangled microbrews.

That's why craft beer makers and drinkers alike should all be very thankful that George Milbrandt came along in 1988 and opened C'est What, the first - and still one of the best - of Toronto's craft beer bars.

As the affable Milbrandt explains it, the roots of C'est What actually extend back a number of years before any of Ontario's microbreweries existed, and even before he was legally allowed to drink beer himself. "I was the oldest looking person in my group of friends, so I was always the one who went to the Beer Store, and I was overwhelmed by the wall of bottles on display. There were so many exotic looking beers, and I vowed to go through the whole list, but the more of them I tried, the more I realised that they all tasted pretty much the same."

To satisfy his craving for better beers, he turned to homebrewing as a hobby while working full-time as an architect. But he soon found himself drawn to the idea of opening a bar, although his involvement was initially supposed to be limited mainly to the design and building of the space, while some friends with experience in the hospitality industry were going to handle the food and drink side of things. When the others dropped out early on, Milbrandt found himself running the whole show.

In the end, though, it's probably been for the best, as it's allowed him to put a personal stamp on many aspects of C'est What, from the food and drink, to the atmosphere, to the entertainment. "The overriding theme is that I didn't want to open a fake English pub or a fake Irish pub, I wanted it to be a Toronto pub. We stick true to the pub principle of being a 'local', not some place that reminds you of somewhere else."

This 'local' philosophy is strongly reflected in the pub's beer list, which features 35 taps and a dozen or so bottled beers, all sourced exclusively from Ontario and Quebec craft breweries. The line-up includes five beers brewed especially for C'est What by Bruce Halstead at County Durham Brewing in Pickering, and there are always five cask-conditioned ales available, the largest selection of cask ale in the city. Nowadays, a bar with such a strong selection of local/craft beers is hardly a novelty, but in 1988, even beer aficionados were sceptical that it would fly.

"I will admit that for the first 9 months or so that we were open we had Foster's and Toby on tap along with Upper Canada, Creemore, Conners, Brick and Wellington products," Milbrandt remembers. "But once it became apparent that there was enough choice out there, we went to all microbrews on draught, at which point the head of CAMRA Toronto told me that it was a recipe for bankruptcy. Even beer fans were saying there's no way, people aren't going to accept that. I guess my viewpoint is that in a city as large as Toronto, there's a market for anything." Obviously, he was right, as evidenced by the continuing and increasing popularity of C'est What's beer selection, as well as the remarkably successful Festival of Small Breweries held at the bar each spring and fall.

Milbrandt also decided early on to limit the wine list to Ontario VQA selections, including several created exclusively for the bar by winemaker Angelo Rigitano, some of which have taken international awards. And while it breaks from the 'local' theme somewhat, the selection of Scottish single malts is quite respectable, and is complemented by a few Irish whiskeys, Canadian ryes, and American bourbons.

Also not purely 'local' is the food menu, described as "ethno-clectic" and including such wallet-friendly offerings as falafel, tourtière, lamburger, Morrocan stew, roti, ribs, curries and stir-fries. But perhaps a globally-influenced menu is more 'local' than it seems, as Milbrandt explains that "Canadians didn't really pride themselves on their cuisine at the time we opened. The one thing that strikes me about Toronto is its multiculturalism, so that's the part of Canadian cuisine that we picked up on: the fact that it's from everywhere. We've always been a place that makes things from scratch, and we're trying to push as much as we can into local ingredients. There are serious price constraints on going all organic, all local, but we're trying to inch our way."

Local music has also played a large part in building C'est What's reputation, especially during the time that they operated Club Nia, a room to the west of their original space that featured live music every night. Since the closure of Nia, shows now take place 3 or 4 nights a week in the original bar area under the banner What's Next, with performers ranging in style from pop-rock and  singer-songwriter to reggae, jazz and beyond. All shows are streamed on the What's Next website, and plans are in place to install a new system that will allow high-quality multi-track recordings to be made of every performance.

Last but certainly not least, C'est What offers an atmosphere that is comfortable and inviting, and amongst the most historic in the city. Nestled in the basement of two buildings near Church and Front, the exposed brick walls date from Toronto's earliest days, giving the space a look that is quite unique, or as Milbrandt describes it, "something that is more real than the 'Ye Olde English Pub' look."

Of course, a semi-hidden basement location isn't exactly conducive to attracting walk-by customers, especially in the warmer months when Torontonians tend to flock to patios to sun themselves while they have a chance. Still, Milbrandt sees the positive side of it. "Even though you can't see it very well from the street, that's kind of appealing in a strange way. I think it's one of those places that you can discover and then tell your friends, 'I found this great little place that you'd never know about'. When I'm sitting after work having a beer, I overhear people who are talking to their friends at the bar, bragging about the fact that they found it. It's a wonderful feeling, and makes me think I'm doing something I can be proud of, something to leave behind. We're all going to be gone eventually, but it's what you leave behind that's important."

The Victory Café
581 Markham Street
416-516-5787

There's no doubt that opening a brand new pub is a daunting experience, to say the least. From physically building the place, to dealing with all of the paperwork and red tape, to creating a combination of food, drink and atmosphere that reflects your own tastes while also appealing to enough people to keep yourself in business, it's not a project for the lazy or faint of heart.

Perhaps more daunting, however, is taking over an already existing and successful establishment and trying to keep the old clientèle happy, while also putting your own stamp on the place and attempting to attract new customers as well.

This was the challenge taken on by Blake Smith, Neil Brereton and Stuart Fraser in 2005 when they took over The Victory Café from original owner Paul Kellogg. Nestled at the southern end of Mirvish Village since  1998, and originally located over on Bathurst north of Bloor for a few years before that, the Victory was a popular haunt for everyone from starving university students to more well-to-do Annex residents before changing ownership.

"I'd always wanted to have my own business," Smith recalls, "and I'd gone through a lot of different ideas and concepts, and thought that maybe a pub might be worth trying. I went to Neil and said 'Well, what do you think about owning a pub?', and he jumped at the idea. Initially we looked at pub franchises, like the Firkins and Fionn MacCool's, but then Neil went to see a hospitality real estate guy who had a bunch of pubs and bars listed, and The Victory was the only place where the sales were increasing. We'd never heard of it, so we came by and had a beer, thought it was a really great place, and we bought it."

Unlike some new owners, the trio decided to leave the atmosphere and design of the space almost exactly as it was during Kellogg's ownership. The main floor bar area is just as welcoming as always, with the long bar along one wall and the row of cozy two-person booths along the other left intact. A smaller room on the north side of the main floor was also left pretty much as-is, with the only serious renos being an overhaul of the large second floor, making it much more inviting for private events, performances, and more frequently nowadays, overflow from the downstairs.

They also made a point of retaining most of the original staff, although a few changes were made to what said staff was serving. For starters, Brereton and his wife Maz, both UK ex-pats (he's from Belfast, she's from Manchester), felt that the beer selection needed to be given a more local focus. As he points out, "Beer is  like bread: you want it fresh, and you want to be close to where it's made. We very much wanted a Canadian pub, rather than a fake British or Irish pub, with local Canadian beers."

Smith was initially reticent about dropping well-known brands in favour of lesser known local craft brews, but his unease quickly vanished when their Stella Artois replacement, Stonehammer Pilsner from F&M Brewery in Guelph, became one of their biggest sellers. The tap line-up now features nothing but Ontario craft beers, with the most recent addition being their exclusive Compass Empire Ale, a British-style IPA brewed at Burlington's Nickel Brook Brewery using a recipe created by Smith and his father, a long-time home brewer.

Another UK-influenced modification to the bar was the addition of two handpumps to serve cask-conditioned ale. While pouring cask ale can be a bit of a gamble, as the beer will go off and be undrinkable within a few days of tapping, it didn't take long for cask aficionados to flock to the Victory, making it rare for any casks to last long enough to go sour. Inspired by the popularity of their regular cask offerings, as well as the success of the annual Cask Days festival at Volo, the Victory hosted their first Cask Ale Festival on their patio during a Pedestrian Sundays event last summer, and they'll be following up with a Winter Cask Ale Festival on January 31st.

Also tweaked when the takeover happened was the food menu. While the emphasis is still on hearty and reasonably priced pub grub, they started using fresher and less-processed ingredients. "I'd say 95% of the items on the menu now are made fresh from scratch," says Smith, "and that wasn't the case previously, a lot of the stuff was bought in pre-made." Brereton adds: "We use fresh pasta, do our own smoking, the fries are hand cut, we use local fresh bread and real cheese. We try to use whatever is in season, and whatever our suppliers have that's good and fresh."

Customer favourites include the substantial burgers, home-made mac 'n' cheese, panko-crusted cod sandwich, and beer-battered fish and chips with the traditional side of mushy peas. Vegetarians are well served with several veggie apps and five meatless mains, including chili and a gooey-good grilled cheese sandwich with cheddar and gruyère. And of course, every proper pub needs a decent curry on the menu, so the Victory is lucky to have a Sri Lankan chef in the kitchen with his mother's secret recipes for chicken and vegetable curries.

Three years into their run at the Victory, it's obvious that Smith, Brereton and Fraser are still keeping the locals happy. During our Thursday evening visit, the place is filled close to capacity on both floors, with many plates of food and pints of beer being cheerfully consumed. Maz, speaking from her point of view as a customer rather than the wife of a partner, sums things up perfectly:

"Coming from a country where the community pub is part of life, that's for me what the Victory is about. It's a community pub, it does great food and beer, and it now has its own beer which is a very unique in the marketplace. Speaking as a regular - and I'm a very happy regular - I'd love to see more pubs doing this kind of thing."

The Cock & Tail
1168 Queen Street West
647-341-8245

In the first instalment of our Pub Crawl column, we profiled The Football Factory, one of a number of places that have opened in Toronto in the last couple of years where good food and good beer & spirits are given equal importance. As folks who appreciate both, we're obviously happy to see such spots opening, and we'll be featuring many of them in this series.

However, there's another kind of place that we also love. Places where they don't bother with food, and just concentrate on serving a selection of great beer and booze. Where a person can go in the early evening for a solitary pint or two at the bar, or later at night for rowdy piss-up with friends. Where there's no "Martini Menu", or cutesy cocktails, or liquids that are neon blue or shocking pink or any other colours that alcohol shouldn't be.

Places like The Cock & Tail.

Opened this past May by partners and girlfriends Helen Tweddle and Trish Mutch, it's easy to miss The Cock & Tail's unassuming storefront as it blends in with the numerous bars, cafés and galleries that are rapidly filling the stretch of West Queen West between Dovercourt and Gladstone. But according to manager and bartender Renee K. North, that relative anonymity hasn't stopped it from becoming a popular spot for those looking to avoid the resto-lounges and overpriced bottle service bars that have taken over much of the city's nightlife.

"Personally, I don't think trendy lounges and cocktail bars have any longevity," North says. "They're cool for a period of time, but once the trend is over, nobody goes there anymore. We really wanted to create a classic pub with a friendly, warm atmosphere where people can come, feel comfortable and have a good time, and not have to worry about fitting in to any kind of crowd."

This goal was inspired by two other places where Tweddle previously worked, and which North refers to as the C & T's "kind-of sister pubs": The Cloak & Dagger on College and The Magpie on Dundas. As North explains, "Helen & Trish had a set idea as to what they wanted from the place. They wanted a neighbourhood pub, which the neighbourhood really needed. And they wanted to serve quality beers and liquor."

On the latter point, they've definitely succeeded. The beer taps are dedicated exclusively to craft beers, mostly locals such as Great Lakes, Black Oak, Cameron's, Saint Andre and Amsterdam, plus the always welcome St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout from Montreal's McAuslan Brewery. The bottled beer has a few concessions to less adventurous drinkers, such as Grolsch, Corona, and hipster-approved Labatt 50, but it also offers a nice variety of high-quality imports including Young's Double Chocolate Stout, Anchor Steam, Hacker-Pschorr Hefe Weisse, and Belgian beauties Chimay and Duvel.

The selection of the hard stuff is also impressive, with a good representation of the best bourbons, whiskies and tequilas available at the LCBO. "We want to give people quality products," stresses North. "We want it to be a place for people who enjoy having a good time, but who also have a discerning palate."

While they keep those palates well served in the liquid department, food is another matter. An assortment of chips and chocolate bars behind the bar are the only obvious forms of non-alcoholic sustenance in the place, and a selection of frozen dinners are kept on hand in order to meet liquor license regulations that call for a certain amount of food to be available in-house at all times. Generally, though, those with rumbly tummies are given a take-out menu for Midpoint Bistro, a late-night eatery a few doors down that offers free delivery to patrons at the C & T.

Music is another important aspect of any decent watering hole, and the C & T solidly delivers on that count as well. While they sadly lack a jukebox, the iTunes rotation features a diverse assortment of artists - Nick Cave, David Bowie, Tom Waits, Blondie, Guns 'n' Roses and The Monks, to name just a very few - played at a level loud enough to enjoy, but not too loud to disturb conversation.

There's also a small stage by the entrance that features live musicians and DJs on many nights. North herself has a residency on the first Monday of each month, performing with her country/pop combo Renee North & the Knots, and other regulars include pop-rock artist Steve Singh, duo The Sure Things who play "country music, party style!", and DJs Madam Hair, Shit King, and Sean Beresford, the latter of which hosts a monthly "Lee Scratch Party", featuring nothing but music by reggae-dub legend Lee "Scratch" Perry all night long. (To keep on top of upcoming events, check out the bar's Facebook group.)

Last but not least, there's the matter of the cheeky moniker The Cock & Tail, which appeals to the immature 5th grader in all of us. As North explains, it has a surprisingly innocent origin: "When they came up with the name, Helen didn't even realize the double entendre. She just wanted it to have a 'The X & Y'-style pub name, and have 'cocktail' in it."

That innocence is long gone now, though, as every press mention of the place has played up the naughty nature of the name. (Even North herself is quoted in one blurb as saying "Cock and Tail, two of my favourite things!") And just to add to the fun, we couldn't help but mention how fitting it was that they'd opened up just a block away from popular bar and restaurant The Beaver.

"Oh, yeah," North laughs. "We should team up with them and do some sort of slang-name-for-genitalia themed night."

Hmmm. Not a bad idea - except that it might attract a lot of dicks.

(Ouch. Sorry!)

Bier Markt King West
600 King Street West
416-862 1175
Brunch for two with all taxes, tip and coffee: $46

Our plan on arriving at the King West Bier Market location was obviously to have a breakfast of champions and drink beer with our bacon and eggs. Unfavourably cold weather thwarted that plan and we entered the basement brassiere shivering, trying to form the word “coffee” through chattering teeth.

The neighbourhood of condo towers has not yet discovered that the Bier Markt is offering brunch and the Sunday morning no-man’s land of King West was relatively still and quiet, as was the restaurant as we sat down. A weak bit of November sunshine trickled in through a front window, but the space remains a dark but welcoming grotto with stone walls and marble tables.

Coffee ($2.50) arrived quickly and warmed up icy hands but was a basic run of the mill drip filter style. It was accompanied by the Le Panier ($6) – an assorted basket of rolls and croissants that arrived warm, paired with a dish of rhubarb compote and sweet crème butter lightly spiced with cardamom. We dubbed this our “little basket of happy” as we tore into fresh croissants, and devoured the compote with a spoon. I suspect that Bier Markt’s parent company Prime Restaurants probably makes these in an off-site kitchen and brings them in, but I adore the option of bread before a meal, even if there’s a charge for it.

We had not even made it halfway through the bread basket when our mains arrived. The omelette à la Forestiere ($12) was made up of wild and cultivated mushrooms, asparagus, and Mapledale Farms aged white cheddar. The filling was a nice combination with the flavours working well together, but the egg portion was huge (seriously, there must have been four eggs in this omelette) and was not as light and fluffy as it could have been, verging more on dense and rubbery. The dish came with a small bowl of mixed melon, which was wet and sweet and a nice contrast to the savoury omelette, but I’d liked to have seen something a bit more seasonal.

Across the table, the Belgian Breakfast ($12) was another huge plateful of food with two organic eggs, Berkshire bacon and smoked Bavarian sausage, frites, toasted baguette, and more of that yummy rhubarb compote. This was a satisfying selection of typical breakfast fare, and the frites have improved since the location first opened, when they used to be undercooked and soggy. These were crisp and hardly greasy and there were none left when the plates got taken away.

And while we didn’t opt to pair beer with our brunch, the Bier Markt menu offers suggestions for each dish, just as they do on the lunch and dinner menus. I’m not sure I’d enjoy beer with a chocolate croissant, but for dishes like the Eggs Benedict ($12) or one of the sandwiches ($14), they probably work well.

As for those croissants we didn’t finish, our lovely server boxed them up for us, along with a container of the rhubarb compote so we could take them home; a testament to the friendly cheerful service the Bier Markt offers.

The place filled up a bit more before we left, but people in the neighbourhood need to know there’s a place in this otherwise mostly barren stretch of King that serves up a decent Sunday brunch full of big baskets of happy.

The Football Factory
164 Bathurst Street
416-368-4625

When it was announced in 2005 that Toronto would be getting a Major League Soccer team, there was a fair bit of scepticism amongst local sports fans and media about the viability of the venture and their ability to attract a strong fanbase. Three years and two seasons later, the pundits have been proven wrong, as Toronto FC's fans have shown to be fiercely loyal, joyously boisterous, and huge in number right from the get go.

In retrospect, it should have been obvious that Toronto was ready for a top-tier soccer team, as the various ethnic groups celebrating international competitions like the World Cup and the Euro has become a major part of the city's multicultural mosaic, and it seems like every British-style pub in town opens early on Saturday mornings to screen matches from the UK. Still, it's rare to see a soccer match on the screen at most pubs and sports bars during prime time unless there's a TFC game or major tournament going on, leaving serious footy fans stuck with nowhere to go if they want to enjoy a pint and a meal out while watching a match. Or at least that was the case until a couple of months ago, when The Football Factory opened for business at the corner of Bathurst and Adelaide.

As it's named after a film about England's football hooligan culture that was described by one reviewer as an "obscene glamorizing of senseless violence", it might be expected that the Factory would be a dank dive filled with brawling louts who chug pints of cheap lager while eating greasy pub grub that went straight from freezer to fryer. But those expectations would be wrong, as the establishment is actually a comfortable and inviting place with a refined selection of draught taps and other libations, and a menu that takes pub food to a whole new level of diversity, quality and freshness.

The roots of the Football Factory extend back to the late 1990s, when owners Patrick Penman and Christine Whittick met while working at the Lakeview Lunch. They subsequently married and moved on to different professions, but never lost their love of the restaurant industry, so when they decided to become partners in business, a bar or restaurant was the first thing that came to mind. They initially made an offer to buy and spruce up the Lakeview, but when the owners turned them down, they started to formulate the plans that led to the Football Factory.

Penman had played soccer as a kid and followed the English Premier League and other international soccer for years before Toronto FC came to town, and both of them recognized that there was a gap in Toronto's sports bar scene that needed filling. They and many of their friends were soccer fans, but were tired of watching the matches at grotty and rowdy pubs or places that catered to supporters of specific clubs and countries. They all wanted somewhere to gather for games that had a nicer atmosphere, better food and drink, and which welcomed fans of all teams and nations.

The couple found their corner location late last year, and after months of renovations and bureaucracy, quietly opened in early September. They planned to keep things low-key for a few weeks and have an official grand opening after working out the kinks, but according to Penman, "It was hard to keep it under wraps, as everybody heard that there was a place to come and watch footy that wasn't like your normal place, and then it just sort of spread."

It only takes one visit to understand why the word-of-mouth buzz was so strong, as The Football Factory is a truly unique addition to Toronto's bar and restaurant landscape. The atmosphere is stylish and welcoming, and unlike most sports bars, there isn't a plethora of paraphernalia covering every surface. In fact, were it not for the signed Toronto FC jersey hanging in the entry way, a few framed footy pictures hanging here and there (including one of Bob Marley on the pitch - Marley and reggae being another big influence on the couple), and the high-definition TVs that are generally tuned to a match from somewhere around the world, it would be easy to imagine the place being a cozy neighbourhood bistro with no sports connection whatsoever.

Penman and Whittick are happy that they've managed to strike this balance. "We've designed a place that we would be comfortable in," says Whittick, "a place for both women and men, foodies and footy fans. We had a party for Kenny vs. Spenny, and they loved it because they could watch the premiere on all the HD TVs. Women have come here for Sex and the City parties. Having small TVs in the booths allows people to do PowerPoint presentations during business lunches. It's very adaptable."

Of course, atmosphere alone isn't enough to keep a restaurant alive, you've also got to provide some great food and drink to keep the customers in your comfortable seats, and the Factory comes through in that department as well. Chef Johnny Bones (previously of La Palette and The Rosedale Diner) and sous chef Danny Griesdorf are putting out plates that rival some of the best in the city, using locally sourced ingredients whenever possible, and making almost everything in-house, including the buns for the juicy bison burgers, the pasta for the five mushroom ravioli - hell, they even make their own ketchup! Bones is a regular visitor to farmers markets around the city, and is always on the look-out for new items and recipes for what Penman and Whittick hope will be an ever-changing menu.

In addition to being fresh and local, the other aim of the food at the Factory is to be as ethnically diverse as possible. "The idea of the Football Factory is to capture all things soccer," explains Whittick, "and we want to make sure that every country that loves soccer gets represented on the menu at some point." The initial menus have made a good start of this, with British pub favourites like fish & chips appearing alongside Spanish paella, Thai curry mussels, pan-roasted duck breast, steak frites, and a fantastic pork chop.

Starters are equally diverse in flavour, including a spicy salad a la Caribe, a beautiful venison carpaccio, tender grilled calamari, and the customer-favourite Nanny Goodo's tomato tart, made from a family recipe passed down to Whittick from her great-grandmother. And while the dessert card is short, it's also solid, with highlights being a generous cheese plate and a crème brûlée that one well-travelled customer has proclaimed to be better than the one they serve at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

As for the liquid side of the menu, it manages to hold its own against the food. The taps strike a balance between a few imports from the Carlsberg family of brews (a logical choice given that Carlsberg is a major sponsor of Toronto FC and many international soccer tourneys), and a good selection of Ontario and Quebec craft beers including Great Lakes, Mill Street, Steam Whistle and McAuslan. They also offer a small but well-selected wine list, with all options available by the glass or bottle, and a number of premium spirits including a rotating selection of single malts.

Most importantly, though, the Football Factory has owners and staff who are completely passionate about what they do, even despite the long hours and huge investments necessary to get a fledgling pub off the ground. As Whittick says, "Some people get involved in this industry and don't fully grasp how much time and love and energy it takes to do it. But we're happy to be devoting ourselves to it, because it seems to be doing its own thing and developing a life of its own, and it's wonderful to watch."

Cheers to that, and here's hoping that the life she speaks of is long and prosperous.

Crush Wine Bar
455 King Street West
416-977-1234

Maybe it's the fact that we've all had one too many dinners featuring dry, grey roast beef, stodgy mashed potatoes, and mushy vegetables, but it seems to be hard for most North Americans to take British cuisine seriously. Over on its home turf, the efforts of chefs like Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall have caused a bit of a revival of traditional English cooking, with flavourful dishes that emphasize fresh and local ingredients. But here in the colonies, British food seems to begin and end with low-end pub grub that possesses little flavour and lots of grease.

If Jamieson Kerr has his way, such opinions might soon be changing for the better. An English ex-pat and owner of Crush Wine Bar, Kerr has recently spearheaded a revamp of his restaurant's menus to give them a British bent, a change that might seem questionable for an establishment specialising in wine and the sort of food that goes with it. But perhaps the bigger question might be how an Englishman with a fondness for football, ales, and Sunday dinners ended up owning a high-end wine bar in the first place.

As it turns out, it sort of runs in the family, as Kerr's father was a fan of the grape, and passed his interest on to his son at a young age. He spent his teenage years working in hotels and restaurants in the UK, and after his family relocated to Canada, he took hospitality and tourism management at Ryerson. Post-graduation, he headed to Europe and lucked into a job at the legendary Willi's Wine Bar in Paris, where his love of wine really took hold. He moved on to spend five years working for a wine importer in London before coming back to Toronto in 1995 where he took on the position of wine buyer at Yorkville mainstay Prego Della Piazza.

Various stints on both the buying and selling side of the wine business followed, but all along, Kerr wanted to open a restaurant and wine bar in the spirit of Willi's. In 2002, he finally took the plunge and snagged a space in a former warehouse on King Street just west of Spadina, a strip that had barely started to gentrify into the dining destination it has since become. "I worked near here for a couple of years," he remembers, "and I just loved the neighbourhood. We were lucky to get in here when we did. Susur had been open for about a year and Rodney's had been open for about six months. We were the next place, and everything else is history."

With help from friend and Master Sommelier John Szabo, Kerr compiled a broad and adventurous wine list which has become one of the city's most lauded, while original chef Masayuki Tamaru oversaw a menu that drew heavily on French bistro classics. And so it remained for several years, until a couple of trips back home to England and the changing nature of the King West neighbourhood inspired Kerr to make some changes. "I didn't feel like there was a really good bar on this street," he says, "and it seemed that when people walked into Crush they felt that they were in this fine dining restaurant, and the bar was more of a holding area for people going into the dining room. I wanted to put in a nice wine bar where people could come, feel relaxed, have a nice glass of wine and a little something to eat. If they wanted to come in and have a nice dining experience in the main room, they could do that as well, but I wanted there to be options here."

To help make the bar area more inviting for casual drop-ins, designer Ralph Giannone was enlisted to give the space an upgrade. The formerly stand-up bar is now lined with custom leather bar stools, and retro-stylish Eames chairs sit alongside the tables in the bright and airy front section.

More importantly, chef Michael Wilson's bar menu features items that are perfect matches to a glass of wine or a pint of one of the three local craft beers that are available on tap. Fish & chips features two mini-fillets of beautifully fried fish alongside tangy homemade tartar sauce, vibrantly green and flavourful mushy peas, and crispy fries that rank amongst the best in town. Cornish pastie is a delicious folded meat pie based on those that were traditionally eaten by the miners in Cornwall, England, filled with tender shredded beef and slices of potato. Those with a sweet tooth will adore the Eccles cake, a round of puff pastry filled with currants and served with a generous chunk of Lincolnshire Poacher, a lightly smoked raw milk cheese from the UK. Other British faves on the bar card include bangers & mash, steak & chips and bacon sarnie, while more traditional wine bar cravings can be satiated with a charcuterie board and an assortment of cheeses.

In the main dining room, the style is a bit more formal but still comfortable, and the British influence on the dinner menu is more subtle. Bubble and squeak, the oddly named morning-after fry-up of leftover vegetables, is the inspiration and namesake for a creamy soup made with potato, leek and cabbage. Crumpets, usually enjoyed with jam or honey by British Grans whilst watching Corrie, are taken upmarket and served with a blueberry compote and seared foie gras. Arugula is referred to as the Brit-approved rocket in a salad with almonds and roasted pear vinaigrette. And while it may not be particularly British, the heirloom tomato salad is both pretty and delicious.

The main courses also tread a fine line between European dining and more homey English dishes, along with a touch of the Canadian East Coast and side trips into more exotic locales. Pork chops are cooked to a lovely medium, with a crisp exterior around a pink and juicy centre, and served atop of hill of baked beans laced with lardons - because what goes better with pork than more pork? Sustainably-raised cod from the Bay of Fundy is roasted and served with a smoked haddock chowder. Scallops and shrimp are also roasted, but given a spicier finish with a green Thai curry, while a Kerr Farms rib eye gets a more traditional red wine reduction. And the daily roast will satisfy those longing for a meal just like Mom used to make, except this one will probably be better than hers (sorry, Mom!).

After the variety offered by the main courses, the masterfully crafted desserts take us back to dear ol' Blighty. Crème brûlée is known here as Trinity burnt cream, a name it has held for over a century at Trinity College, Cambridge. White chocolate trifle is a gussied-up take on the classic layered dessert of custard, fruit and sponge cake. And while I've never been to England, I can't imagine trying sticky toffee pudding there or anywhere else that could rival the one at Crush.

Moving beyond traditional food and drink service, Kerr and the rest of the crew at Crush are looking to "foster a community of wine lovers" with a series of different wine tastings, courses and events that will be starting this week. Once a month, Kerr and his head sommelier Eric Gennaro will host a "Crush's Top Ten" night spotlighting some of their favourite wines. Also happening monthly will be "Brown Bag Tastings", where a half-dozen wines will be tasted blind and then revealed at the end of the night. And those looking for a bit of an education can enrol in a four evening "Introduction to Wine" course that will cover the basics of aromas, flavours, grapes and regions.

Add in the private rooms in the lower level and a side patio that is a big summer draw, and it becomes clear that Crush has been and remains an ambitious enterprise for Kerr and his team. But it's also obvious that they wouldn't have it any other way. Everyone there has a true passion for great food and fine wine, and wants to give others a comfortable place to enjoy them both, whether in the form of a full-on dinner or a more casual outing. If they can help change people's opinions of British food in the process, then that's just an added bonus.