Category: Casual restaurant/upscale diner. DeSotos is a simple restaurant which serves simple food well executed. I would categorize it as upscale diner food. Their lamb burger is fantastic. Their meat lover's pizza is awesome. Their kids burger is one of the better burgers I've had in a while and is huge. It's served with very tasty fries. read more

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We visited here on Saturday for lunch with my wife. Good atmosphere ! Good friendly service ! Good Cleanliness ! Taste good! We couldn't find another restaurant open except here. Affordable restaurant with good atmosphere! Thanks Sotos! read more

DeSotos Eatery - Today's special - Gastropubs Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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So glad to be back! I always get the thai coconut curry mussels with the fries which I love so I'm happy I brought friends that ordered other dishes so I could try other dishes. I am really impressed with their grilling here. The steak was grilled to a perfect rare as per request, very juicy and delicious. we also got the pita and hummus. The hummus wasn't exceptional as I've tasted better but the pita which was more like grilled naan I really enjoyed and that made up for the hummus. The fries are always what impresses me, tastes like it is freshly made in house, thin and crunchy which are my favourite way of preparation. My friend was very impressed with the margarita pizza especially with the jalapeño as he complains most of the time other restaurants use milder jalapeños but the spice factor was great. Great food great time. Will definitely be back! read more

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Came here during the COVID pandemic because the patio was open. We started off with bruschetta and the yam fries. The baguette was crisp but the topping on the bruschetta left something to be desired. It was simply tomatoes, red onions, green pepper, parm and basil (?). The basil was tasteless to be honest and I wish the topping had been mixed with some olive oil but I'd understand if it was to make it healthier except the yam fries completely contradict this. The yam fries, oh where do I start? First off, they're more like yam strips, probably cooked before they went into the fryer. The batter is thin and tries to go for light and airy à la tempura but because it's so thin it feels like there's nothing there. To add to that, it was so greasy there was a pool of oil at the bottom of the bowl and I could squeeze out oil from each piece. For our mains we ordered the penne and the fish and chips. The portions were huge. The fish was dry to be honest and the batter was too hard. The fries were kind of soggy. The pasta was creamy and the penne was cooked perfectly. Personally, I found the pasta a little too rich but other than that it was the better entree of the two. Would I come here again? Probably not. read more

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I have heard a lot about DeSotos Eatery given that I live in the area. It comes well recommended by neighbours, and I now see why! My partner and I stopped in for brunch one day. The service was very friendly. The patio outside was nice and spacious, as was the interior. The brunch menu was small but varied. The portions were just perfect. I finished everything on my plate, so no food waste, and I left full. The food was very fresh and clearly homemade. A wonderful small business I will continue to support! read more

My husband made a reservation at this place because on Sunday mornings they have live jazz (and I love jazz!). They are a cute little restaurant with a rustic feel and outdoor seating with string lights. So adorable. We went a little past 11 and the place was pretty empty until we came out. We ordered a Philly cheesesteak sandwich (which came with steak-cut fries) and a Veggie wrap with yam fries. The yam fries were C$4 extra but so worth it!!! SOOOO DELICIOUS. The Philly cheesesteak was good too with actual thick cut beef strips. I think the Chipotle aioli sauce here is particularly flavorful. We also ordered a latte, which was only C$2.50, and was pretty good. The reason I gave a 4 star is because of the service. They weren't very attentive to us and we had to wait a while for them to refill our waters and bring us the check/to-go box. Overall, LOVED the live jazz! Definitely worth a visit. read more

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This place is in our neighbourhood so we finally decided to check it out. The food was flavourful and great portions. We got the chicken wings and mussels. Quite impressed; a little on the pricier side compared to what's out there, but nonetheless, they do serve up delicious food! read more

This spot has an awesome patio to enjoy a nice cold beer on a sunny day. I really enjoyed every food I've ordered here but their Philly cheese steak sandwich is to die for. And the fries!!! Oh my!! I highly recommend! read more

DeSotos Eatery - Philly cheese steak sandwich, fries, sweet potato fries - Gastropubs Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Five star ambience with average food. It's such a nice place to sit - I hold out hope for brunch. Nothing here shone. Cheesesteak sandwich? Very cafeteria meal of the week. Chicken Parmesan? That sauce was so tomatoey sweet it had hints of ketchup. Burger was average. It's such a nice place to sit - I hold out hope for brunch. read more

I loved their oysters as an appetizer and their mussels in white wine sauce. Service was a bit slow. I also wished they had more dessert options but their lemon cheesecake in a mason jar hits the spot. Their patio is fairly spacious and I'm glad they had sangria on their drink menu. My girlfriend loved their bacon burger so overall it was a good experience. read more

The part that stands out about this place is the service, particularly because it's often by the owner. The patio is also probably the best in the area, definitely worth visiting if your in the area during the patio season. read more

Our go-to brunch spot! The fire-grilled PITA & HUMMUS is smoky and addictive. EGGS FLORENTINE: perfect every time with runny yolks and creamy hollandaise. STEAK & EGGS: satisfying cut of striploin that comes out cooked exactly the way you order it (almost every time). Fresh oysters, prosecco, mimosas and an extensive list of Brickhouse brews and ciders. Coffee is good, and they have organic green tea. Service is usually good (better if you arrive early before things get really busy) and the staff are *always* friendly! Love this place! *Updated review from 4 to 5* as we've been coming here for nearly a year with consistently delicious food and friendly service. They changed chef last year and we noticed a dramatic difference in quality of food!! read more

We're back in Toronto for a few days (we live in Los Angeles) so remembering the good meal we had the last visit went back to Desotos with 4 friends. This time I ordered the seafood stew touted in the menu as containing "Mussels, Calamari, Cod & Shrimp". Well, the pot contained: 2 small shrimp 1 small piece of calamari 6 mussels No discernible cod This seemed to me to be much below what a reasonable diner would expect reading the menu given the high price of this item. I asked to exchange it for another dish and the server called in the manager who refused to take it back because "we've never had a complaint like this". After much embarrassing discussion in front of our friends, she finally agreed to let me exchange the dish for something else "because a couple of your friends come here often". read more

What the... why have I not reviewed this place yet? This is my Hubster's and my main spot. We come here all the time for drinks, dinner and wings! They don't really specialize in wings (only two sauces and only one size) but they are absolutely fantastic every single time. Oddly enough, we also get non-wing food sometimes. Right now I can't remember the other items I've had, but they've all been very good. The one that stands out is the charred rapini and spinach. It's a great way to get your veggies and it's really really good. Service is always incredibly friendly and the atmosphere is relaxed and dark, perfect for a casual date night. read more

DeSotos Eatery - Chicken wings!! - Gastropubs Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Solid neighbourhood go-to. I had the Philly Cheesesteak and the curry muscles. My wife had the Kale Salad and the house made hummus. We enjoyed it all. Their thin cut fries are good too. Our food was still warm when we got it home as well. read more

This review is just for the bar and not for food. Came here on Sunday to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather. Nice list of Ontario craft beers on tap including Nickelbooks Scadanvian ale. Quite fruity. Service was good and the place was quite busy. read more

Came here with a friend a month ago when patio reopened after lockdown lifted. Masks not enforced when patrons went to washroom. When staff was informed, they simply shrugged their shoulders. Raises what other health protocols have been breached. Wait staff also tried to give our order to another table. They returned it inside where it sat for awhile on the bar top. We had to catch their attention to let them know it was our order sitting there. read more

In general: Great food, great service, amazing patio. The only downside is that a lot of the food on the menu was unavailable at the time, such as the pizza and some of the specials. read more

It'll take a lot to ever beat De Soto's Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich! This is actual steak, sliced into strips - not some pressed deli facsimile! BEST I've ever had by far! read more

DeSotos Eatery - Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich, fries, grilled rapini, & grilled calamari - Gastropubs Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Been going here ever since we moved into the neighbourhood a year and half ago and have had nothing but great experiences with food, staff and the owner. The patio is lovely during nice weather and the inside has a nice local gastro-pub feel. I've taken friends, family and my little kids and they too have had great experiences. Staff have always been happy to accommodate the little ones. Pizzas are fantastic, grilled octopus just great and some delicious pasta dishes - it's Mediterranean/Italian fusion. Something special I feel is that DeSotos has been around for years and it's not a two year hit wonder that's obnoxiously soon going to fail - it's stood the test of time and from what I've been reading it's also dealt with some reviewers with seriously large pickles up in some unique places. (*Read people pissed off because they heard happy birthday being sung to adults and many more not worth mentioning) :-) read more

Not too sure why this beauty neighbourhood spot isn't rated higher. This is the best spot to bring a family to. They are so incredibly kid friendly and the service is EXCELLENT. If that statement scares you off - don't worry, the clientele changes over around 7:30 and is a perfect spot for a friends dinner or date in their cozy bar. The food isn't going to gain Michelin stars HOWEVER it is consistently good. Worth noting - the burgers are AMAZING. Other favourites are the mussels (any type) and the yam fries. Don't miss out on this awesome place!!! read more

I really wanted to give it a 3 star. After a gruelling practice with my softball team on Sunday, our captain suggested we come here for post practice bites and drinks because this is her go to place. DeSotos has a variety of burgers, pizzas, pastas and other entrees, as well as daily specials. I was thinking a burger was appropriate, but then my captain mentioned fried chicken. I didn't actually look at the menu properly and totally missed the fried chicken part of the menu. Now I just had to have it. It comes with a side of fries, but unfortunately, it was lent and I had given up potatoes. There's no free substitute, despite telling the server I "can't" have potatoes, not even for a simple green salad. The charge was $3 for a simple substitute for a salad or onion rings. Minus half star. My fried chicken was decent, and there were 6 onion rings, I remember because after trading food with friends, I had 2 onion rings left for myself. A friend had a salad, taste was pretty good and was a decent size. Another friend had a craving for mushrooms, so she picked a pizza that had mushrooms on it, but when it came, it definitely lacked mushrooms. When she asked a server about whether there's actually mushrooms on the pizza, she pointed at something that may have looked like a mushroom, but that was only one on the entire pizza. Minus half star. I guess it's not too bad for a restaurant that would have something for everyone, I'll probably come back here again, seeing as our team doesn't play too far from here. read more

This was a great local find! I could tell by the vibe and number of people here on a week night it was going to be a good choice. Then when our accommodation hosts also recommended this place so we knew it was a must try. We had EXCELLENT service and food. Fantastic filet mignon and my partner's pork ribs (hugggeeeee plate) were to die for. Old fashioned decor and a bit warm inside during summer but we quickly acclimatised as we were enjoying ourselves there! Will go again this trip for sure. read more

DeSotos Eatery - Gastropubs Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

We wanted to go across the road to Emma country kitchen but it was packed so we came over to Desoto. The place was just starting to serve brunch and the little jazz band started playing(Sundays 11 to 2pm). The food was basic brunch, nothing fancy but simple home cooked food. The atmosphere is great, very family friendly and the service was awesome. Will come here again for sure. read more

DeSotos Eatery - Sunday morning live music - Gastropubs Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Some friends and I had dinner here on Sunday January the 8th and spent almost $250 but it was well worth it. The grilled calamari was out of this world, and the pesto chicken spaghetti was amazing. Our server was fantastic, however the hostess that greeted us and seated us had a real bad attitude problem. If the food wasn't so good I would never go back based on the hostess that acted as though we were troubling her to seat us. Miserable with no cheer. She also had staring problems throughout our meal. However the food was so good, and our server was so sweet, we will be back! read more

DeSotos Eatery - Gastropubs Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Worst place ever they only care about the new customers coming in 15 times asking for water then 20 mins latter they give you piss warm water worst restaurant ever shitty waitresses read more

DeSotos Eatery - Gastropubs Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Fantastic restaurant. Great service. Cannot go wrong with any of their mussels. Fresh and tasty. The philly cheese steak sandwich is delicious. Great wine and beer list. read more

DeSotos Eatery - Gastropubs Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Cute restaurant with a pretty patio in Corso Italia. I highly recommend for a first date or for families. I had the hummus dip which was great and the rapini and spinach salad which was also good but does have a lot of oil. The pricing is fair for the portion you are getting. Servers are also very friendly. I live in the neighbourhood so I would definitely come back. read more

Man oh man. It very rarely happens, but the star rating for De Sotos led myself and my dining companion, the rarely amused Kent P, astray. Cute patio, casual atmosphere and a full bar had us hopeful. The "gastro house" menu was appealing enough and I started with a french onion soup and moved on to the fettuccini. Fatty order, I know. It's how I roll on a chilly fall evening. They were both edible, but the soup was too sweet and the pasta was a bland. KP's pizza was pretty much a disaster with what appeared to be cold lunch meet sitting atop an sub-par 'za The kicker? We had zero alcohol and our bill came to $50. PEPPER POINTS for the music. Solid 90s tunage happening. PEPPER'S PISSED: Stop singing Happy Birthday in restaurants unless it's to a child. Just stop. annnnd many moooore... read more

Living in the St. Clair W. area I've passed by De Sotos a few times and have been curious enough to put the place on my 'To Do' list. Having seen a sign out front the establishment advertising weekend Brunch I decided to head down this past Saturday just after noon to sample their fares. De Sotos is a very comfortable establishment to eat and/or drink in. It has a warm restro-pub feel to it. I can easily see it as a good neighborhood hang out spot. It is much classier than the many whole-in-the-wall establishments heading east toward Oakwood and yet is not as expensive as some of the Italian restaurants near Dufferin. For brunch I was looking at eating something unique to the establishment, like their Stirred Eggs Helene (2 eggs over easy baked with a ragout of tomato, bacon and mushroom, topped with pesto served with toast), however the waiter recommended the Eggs Benedict as being freshly made and a favorite of the clientèle. Benny it is then. The food arrived, timely, just as the jazz duo started their second set. Oh, I forgot to mention, this was a "Jazz Brunch." I can't imagine any more of a creature comfort than eating brunch in a warm establishment with live Jazz playing. Delightful. Seriously, bring a date. The food was good. In fact I found the Eggs Benny to be one of the better in Toronto. The hollandaise sauce was perfect and noticeably homemade. Perhaps my only small disappointment was that the home-fried potatoes were pealed and blanched in a fryer before being pan fried to order. It seemed to me that with a well made Benny, with fresh hollandaise sauce, should be accompanied by baked potatoes that are then cut and pan fried in herbs and olive oil. I actually recommended this to the waiter who was serving me whilst trying not to be a food snob or risk a visit from an angry, butcher knife wielding cook. "Just a suggestion." I said with a smile while feeling guilty about being a food critic. Most definitely I will be back for Brunch again, as well as for dinner and/or late night drinks when the mood strikes me. I'm glad to have discovered the place and anticipate it being a local haunt. So far my experience is positive, De Sotos is a warm and friendly establishment with good food and service. read more

Once upon a time, in 2008-2009, I worked here. Some may say writing a review for a place I used to work for is biased but biased or not, I challenge someone to find a better hollandaise than this place! Best brunch I've had in Toronto. Period. It's not pretentious, it's decently priced and the staff knows how to make a proper cappuccino which let's be honest, can make or break a dining experience. As far as dinner goes, I recommend the grilled calamari doused in heated olive oil and balsamic, with anchovies, roasted garlic, capers, red peppers and olives, yam fries with chipotle aioli (this aioli makes just about anything taste good!) and traditional margherita pizza. Even though I don't work here anymore and I no longer get an employee discount, I go back regularly with friends and family to eat. Highly recommend. read more

I figure a brunch place that doesn't always have a 30+ minute wait for a table deserves at least 4 stars, right? But actually, this place does deserve a good rating. I wouldn't rave about it, but the food is good and comes out pretty quick, and there's been live jazz the couple of times I've been here. Overall, just a really enjoyable experience. Not vegan-friendly, but fine for vegetarians (I can personally vouch for the eggs Florentine and my dad seemed really happy with his French toast). Oh and it's a good place to bring kids - they have crayons :) read more

Food is ok, but not worth a 2 hour on a not busy night. Server brought me the wrong beverage and upon request to get my drink corrected the server was unpleasant and unresponsive. After this, we are still waiting upon a full hour, and all we have ordered is burgers and pizza. Very unimpressed. read more

I live nearby so I've been walking past DeSotos for a while now, and finally decided yesterday to give it a try. We ate outside on their sidewalk patio since they definitely have the best one in the Dufferin/St-Clair area. We had the thai chicken wings as a starter to share. I would say that they were good. A bit too saucy, but that's nothing to complain about. I then had the "home" burger, which was the most basic hamburger (I like to keep it simple). It was garnished with some avocado bruschetta (AMAZING) and lettuce. The beef was really good, but the bun was a bit dry. It also came with the biggest pile of fries I ever got a restaurant. They were so good- thinly sliced, crispy and salty. Just the way I like them. I would give the food a 4/5 stars but the service bumps it up to a 5-star rating. Our waitress was so friendly and checked up on us just the right amount of times. I would definitely come back here again to eat. Maybe inside this time since the restaurant looked very cozy and a bit classier than most of the restaurants around. read more

We love this place. It is very family friendly, has reasonable prices, good portions, and most of the servers are fantastic. I normally order wine (generous pour) and the mussels or a burger. read more

I recently moved to the area and have been having a hard time, as a young person of discerning taste, finding a bar that's not populated by old men. I was looking for a local haunt not another low-rent (read: vinyl banner for a sign, and that's the thing you invested the most money in) sports bar. On a very bitter snowy/rainy night, looking for a beer to unwind with I popped in. I think I've found my "local". The women who served us was darling. Great to chat with, attentive and kind. Happy to see Beau's on tap. We only stayed long enough to split a plate of fries, but the dip was great, as were the fries. The menu looked like it would be worth going back for. Even with the negative reviews I'll be heading back to dive in deeper. read more

Fun neighbourhood spot, love the patio and wonderful to actually get a spot on a Toronto patio without waiting a million years. Prices are low, drinks are plentiful, food is decent. read more

Gone here off and on (mostly off) for about four years. Friendly place for a pint but the food is not good. I don't know if there is new ownership/management but there is definitely new staff and its an improvement. Their menu has not changed in at least four years or so... I feel they would benefit if they totally overhauled the menu and started from scratch. Having said all that, the place is often packed so I guess they know their customers. read more

Food - 2 stars. Having a beer and kid friendly - 3 stars. I will come here again because it's local, a good space, very kid friendly, AND they have Beau's on tap, but the food was definitely less than stellar. Mussels were shrivelled (probably cooked from frozen) and our fettucine was dripping with oil. Next time i'll try the pizza, and maybe have better luck. read more

The reason I am giving my experience at DeSotos 3 stars instead of 1 star is because the food is averagely good and the the servers I had on my last two visits were lovely. What was not a good experience was the lack of hospitality and customer service provided by the general manager Michelle. It is clear to me that the servers are afraid of her and I can see why. On one recent visit she refused to make me a Margherita with premium tequila because they had run out of the bar rail tequila. She was inflexible and made no effort to provide options, including charging a little more for a drink made with premium liquor. At another dinner she again took over from the server to explain that if you order a drink you have to pay for it even if it tastes insipid which it did. After her admonishment and finger wagging she agreed to take the two $6 cocktails off the bill... this time! As someone who works in the restaurant industry I am shocked by her lack of understanding of what it means to deliver even average customer service. Treating staff and customers like children isn't it. Speaking harshly with a fake smile on your face isn't it. Instead, making sure that people feel respected and taken care of is what keeps staff and customers happy and coming back. I live in the neighbourhood and will not recommend or return to DeSotos as long as the leadership remains the same. There are too many better restaurants on St. Clair to choose from that know how to treat their customers right. read more