Toronto Review 15/Many. This was unfortunately my last meal in Toronto, aside from a small snack to…read morewash the taste out of my mouth on the way back to the hotel. We were originally going to go to Pai, but since there was a line out the door because we didn't make a reservation, we ate here. The interior was fun, with the original owner's face on many different things, and there was a loud-ish mix of rock and early heavy metal. Apparently, this spot is a chain, and they used to have some US locations, but I'm not surprised they closed. We got some Cauliflower Bites for 5.49 CAD to begin. These were decent and, unlike our poutine choices, not overly salty. The little bits of fried cauliflower could have used a bit more flavor, but they worked for texture, and both of us eventually added some pieces to our poutines. My poutine of choice was the Prime Beef Deluxe, with ground beef, mushrooms, caramelized onions, and green peas, for 13.99 CAD. As a whole, the poutine was rather nasty, with the whole thing feeling wet. The watery gravy lacked flavor compared to the couple of other examples I've had before. The fries, even though they were hot and looked crispy, were limp and potatoey, and they were getting limper by the second because of the bad gravy. The cheese curds were decent, but there weren't that many of them. The beef didn't help how wet the dish was, nor did the frozen peas, with the only decent parts being the caramelized onions and mushrooms. I had maybe 60/70% of it, leaving many very wet fries at the end. The other person had the Buffalo grilled chicken with grilled chicken, buffalo sauce, creamy ranch dressing, and green onions, which was a dollar more. From the little bit I tried, the chicken was certainly better quality, though still a bit gummy. The buffalo sauce had a little bit of heat. The whole thing was extremely overdressed with the sauce, dressing, and gravy, and he had maybe half of it at most. This meal was terrible. They were both a salty mess with bad fries and worse gravy. I've had better poutine in NYC, and there are barely any Canadian spots here. Go here if you're high or drunk and therefore lack proper taste buds.

Solid poutine. Not that I have much to go off of but I enjoyed every bite of my Classic Trad…read more Comfort food at its finest.

Food: Got the smoked meat poutine and really enjoyed it…read more The fries were crispy, the gravy was flavorful, and the smoked meat added a nice savory touch. It was very filling. Good portion for a quick meal and definitely worth trying if you like poutine. Service: Very quick and straightforward. You order on the screen, wait for your food, and grab it when it's ready. Perfect for a quick stop! Ambiance: It's a small stand/cart with shared outdoor seating alongside the other food stands. Very casual and more of a grab-and-go setup!

Very good poutine, possibly the best that I've had in Toronto…read more The fries were really great... loved the taste and texture. The poutine was a little sweet though... not sure if it was the fries or something else. We tried the original, and the smoked meat version. The original was better imo. Limited street (paid) parking. The restaurant itself is more like a food stall, so there is no seating, but they recommend eating at the community center, which is right next door. We elected to do this, and there were a few tables available fortunately.

This was our first dinner on our trip to Canada. My son had a mission for this trip; to eat as much…read morepoutine as humanly possible. My son ordered the Butter Chicken Poutine, my daughter ordered the Perogy Poutine and my hubby ordered the Avalanche Poutine. The Butter Chicken poutine was the clear winner. It was so good, I still talk about it. Service was fine, the young lady who helped us walked us through a couple of the poutines. Place is small but it was super clean. They had a lot of take-out/food delivery orders while we were there. We will probably eat here again on our next visit to Canada in a couple months.

Read about this place for our trip to Toronto. It was close to where we were staying so we had…read morelunch there. I ordered the butter chicken poutine and we also got the cauliflower one. The portions are huge and the flavors were really good. The food was fresh and prepared well. Felt it was a little overpriced for the amount of chicken added. Most of the base is fries and just the top is chicken cut to very small pieces. The cauliflower one only had like 4 florets. The ambiance matches the vibes of what Smokes wants to represent. There's rock music playing in the background and it's a nice casual spot. The service is quick and the workers were nice.

Smash burgers in Union Station food hall…read more Went for a walk on my lunch break to see what I could grab to eat that wasn't my usual suspects. Stumbled upon this smash burger joint in the food hall at union station. Located in an array of diverse restaurants I found this gem in the pocket between the bay and york concourses amongst the sea of new restaurant spots in the union station area. Not a huge menu, you got the classic burgers and some of their special items on the menu. Sides include "regular sides" and "premium sides", the premium sides is just a classic poutine. I ordered one classic smash burger combo with water and fries, and one extra burger on the side. (one order of fries is enough unless you plan on sleeping at your desk) The burger itself was good. It all the fixings you would expect in a classic hamburger. Lettuce, onion, tomato, pickles, american cheese and secret sauce. There was something lacking though that for me, didn't hit the spot. Perhaps the burger wasn't saucy enough for my liking? It was good don't get me wrong, but one of those "missing something" moments, y'know what I mean? The fries - decent portion, not five guys good, but still a good filler. Fries themselves were crispy and hot, the seasoning was good on the fries with the sriracha aioli. Albeit I did find the fries a little salty to my taste and needed that aqua to quench my thirst. Overall 7/10 experience - if you're looking for seating there's standing and sitting areas all around union but the space directly in front of the restaurant is a mixed bag and pretty busy during a monday lunch hour.

I really like smash burgers, and so I really wanted to try this place out because I saw it had good…read moreratings. Unfortunately, I was on a time crunch as I had a concert to go to after, and I'm a very slow eater. I figured I'd have a chance to try a bit more in smaller portions via a kid's combo. But turns out, you need a 12yo/younger child with you to be able to order one. - I get the principle, but there was no option to order a smaller portion via other menu items or combos, and no hate to your staff but they made it a big deal. But it wasn't a big deal. But it became a big deal because they turned it into a thing, discussing among their staff, about how I can't order it because I'm not 12 years old. I get it, it's the policy, why would I ask them to go against it, they're just the employees, not the rule makers. But what child is going to Union station to order themselves a kid's combo! Also!!! How do you know I didn't come with a child??? But anyway. Please consider offering a small non-kids combo in the future for people who don't like ordering large portions. I ended up ordering the classic smash burger. I loved the texture of the burger, it was so moist and the buns were soft. The patty was the perfect thickness. Unfortunately, flavour wise it was extremely salty. I had to wash it down with pop that I bought elsewhere. So disappointed. I really hope this was a one-off. Located in Union Stn beside Mean Bao on the same level as the food court. Closest exit to Scotiabank Arena. There's public seating all around because it's located in a food court.

Walked into Crack Burger after seeing the 1000+ 5-Star Google reviews posted on the sign outside…read more It's a small spot, maybe 12 seats and right away he questioned why I should trust Google reviews when he inquired how we heard about them. The owner definitely gave me a little New York attitude about that, and honestly, his personality ended up being half the experience. We ordered two Crack Burgers, poutine fries, regular fries, and a completely plain burger for my very picky husband. The owner originally thought the plain burger was for a child since he was outside and seemed low-key offended when he realized it was an adult ordering a burger and a bun :) Then I made the mistake of asking for ketchup before I'd even tasted mine. Absolutely not. He basically told me I needed to try the burger FIRST before I was allowed to start adding anything to it. And you know what? I respect it. His personality may be a little off-putting if you don't appreciate that kind of humor, but we thought he was hilarious. You can tell he's genuinely passionate about his food and wants you to taste it the way he intended before changing anything. He was super honest, a really nice guy, and made the whole experience memorable. And most importantly, the food backed him up. The Crack Burger was amazing and I'm not even a big burger person. Would absolutely return if we're ever in Toronto again. Just know before you walk in: you may be the paying customer, but apparently you're still trying that burger his way first. And for good reason and it's good!

Delicious Burgers served with lots of personality, comedy, honesty and plenty of banter. I thought…read morethe owner was from NYC the way he acted. He interacted with us like he knew us, same with other patrons. He's welcoming, friendly and a riot, very funny! First time here, I got you he said and proceeded to recommend which burger oh and DO NOT ask for mayo on your burger. He is adamant that mayo has no business on a burger lol! Onions.. oh they're marinated for 24 hours. He takes orders and delivers the food to ya. Graciously two other patrons left us sit at the other table next to them because the high bar was an option with my mom. He helped us get situated. Hands down best smash burger I've had... I had a double patty with cheese, bacon and those aged onions lol! The burger was flavorful and juicy! The fries, fresh cut hot and very good! It was a thoroughly enjoyable meal and experience!

The guy that owns sells the place is a very generous and great chef. The burgers with are very…read moretasty and authentic, way better than what most restaurants sell to be honest, and I love burgers. Feels like a really great burger at a bbq event or a cookout. I have also witnessed the guy helping out whenever students are broke by throwing in a few meal or a drink and a kind word though his Russian accent might trick you into thinking he is a russian mafia from one of the Hollywood movies. Could not say enough good things about him and his food. I still try whenever I come around. Definitely worth a try!

Usually parked in front of the Astronomy and Astrophysics buildings at the University of Toronto,…read moreit's hard to not notice this giant blue truck. I ordered a cheeseburger and fries from the super nice, mustachioed guys inside. They listened to classical music while the fryers were going, which was unexpected and quite nice. :) First, the burger. Don't order one. It's wretched. Nasty mass-produced patty, Costco-quality bun, anemic slice of tomato, sad little lettuce leaf. I took one bite and tossed it. On the other hand, the fries were the best I've ever had. I'm not kidding, they're absolutely delicious. They're chunky cut, skin on, and fried a crispy, beautiful brown. I don't care that the generous portion of fries probably equalled twice my daily calorie allotment. I ate every single one. From the other people crowded around the truck, I learned that I should have had the poutine -- it's supposed to be fabulous. They also have hot dogs and sausages, which I hope taste better than their burger. That said, I'm actually looking forward to being on campus again on Monday just so I can eat more of their delicious frites. Yes, I'm crazy. Crazy about the Blue Chip Truck! (Although next time, I think I'll bring a friend -- otherwise, by the end of the year I'll have my own show on the Discovery Health Channel: The Half Ton Grad Student.)

A proper chow-down meal in this fancy food hall. Stopped by this deli and bbq spot and got the…read moresmoked meat sandwich and the pulled brisket sandwich. I really liked the brisket sandwich - the brisket was tender, the sriracha sauce added a nice kick, and the potato bun was springy. The smoked meat sandwich was pretty good too - meat was a tad dry for my taste but liked the salty tastiness of it, and the rye bread paired nicely with it. Service was quick, and they text when your order is ready so that allows you to browse the rest of the food hall and clears up lines in front of their space. Overall, I like how this is on the heftier side of the offerings at Waterworks. Worth a stop.

Kind of average but appreciated that I was able to get a cup of water when I asked because this…read morepoutine was super salty. Would have enjoyed the beef with the Harry's fries actually, since they looked thicker and more like fresh cut. Found the cushy couches around where the Harry's is and that was a nice spot to hang out for a few hours with friends.

This is a small fast food restaurant, located in Queen's street. There were people lining up for…read morefood. And only 1 cook there for everything (cooking, garnishing, wrapping, and cash). And it was busy lunch time when we walked in. Most people ordered the Feature burger that $9.99 for 6 inch footlong with cheesy beef inside. We waited about 15 mins to get the burger and it was so juicy with cooked onion. People live close by should go more often and try something new.

Pantry located along King St. W. near Portland St. is a fast casual eatery serving nutritious and…read morehealthy eats. Owned by the Food Dudes, this location of Pantry is one of their five stores in Toronto. The concept is simple, they have a variety of sides and proteins where you can either order a combo or pick and choose which items you want to get (which will determine the price). Pantry is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They are actually one of my go to places where I know I can get some good quality eats. This particular location on King West is popular and is a good option for anyone looking a fast lunch which is healthy and delicious. I've been to this location as well as other locations of Pantry many many times and always enjoy their offerings. Everything always tastes great and the options and variety is great. I usually like getting the kale caesar, mac and cheese, as well as the jerk chicken (combo #3). Service is also great as well. This location also has some seating where you can also opt to have your food there. Overall, another great location of Pantry downtown where you can grab delicious and healthy proteins and sides for lunch or dinner. Don't skip out on their breakfast items as well - they are great as well! No doubt I will keep returning to Pantry where this location has some good options as well as friendly service.

In this area, King west, your game better be good or you ain't gonna last with neighbours like…read moreForno Cultura and Oretta just steps away. Pantry sets itself apart for serving up complete meal plates of amazing dishes all for reasonable prices. Check out my video to see what I mean. Just reading the menu doesn't do it justice. Great sit down lunch spot with a cafeteria vibe. Inside is fabulous! Nice asthenic with muted colours and plenty of organic wood. Love how they covered the AC wall unit, nice touch. Food is all hearty fare and stick to your ribs good. Friendly service at the counter although no table service. Good spot to drop in for a coffee as well. My double espresso was $3.