1 Star - The Twisted Toad: A Drag, Not a Show Walked into The Twisted Toad on a Friday night expecting live music and maybe a little magic. Instead, I got the kind of silence that makes you question your life choices. No music. No ambiance. Just me, my date, and the sound of our expectations dying slowly. We ordered jerk wings. They were lightly breaded, which was cute, but the flavor? Saltier than a Grindr breakup and spicier than a Scorpio with a vendetta. I couldn't tell if I was eating chicken or being hexed by a Caribbean warlock. The chips came in bulk--some crisp, some soggy, all emotionally unavailable. It was like dating in Toronto: promising at first, but ends with you staring at a pile of disappointment wondering what went wrong. Then came the wine. Served with fruit flies. Not metaphorical ones. Real, buzzing, winged creatures doing laps in my glass like it was a gay pool party. The server offered to scoop them out with a spoon. A spoon. I've had more respectful offers at bathhouses. My date paid for it just to end the horror. I wanted to love this place. I wanted it to be quirky and bold and full of flavor. Instead, it was like a bad hookup--awkward, unsatisfying, and you leave feeling sticky and confused. The Twisted Toad? More like the Crooked Frog. Ribbit ribbit, run. read more

The service was efficient and friendly but the food quality was mediocre at best. Portions are very large, American sized, but the quality is below par even for a suburban place. You won't expect restaurant quality in a pub but then limit the menu to what you can do well. read more

was one of the fun spots of happy people. and workers that smile. now a morgue with faces like who died. once the owners come or go. the miserable workers move like old age home. live music good. beer cold. food now terrible. asking the 5 ft son gor a menu was like pulling teeth. wings now suck. fries great. washrooms stink. drunks at bar. what happen yo this place after vovid? please fix my fun spot back up. and smile. chat. blackboard specials gone. atleast get the gsmes on at 7 pm. so we all don't beg. read more

The staff were enforcing the COVID precautions. Large jugs of hand sanitizer were at the entrance and exit to the patio; it was necessary to use it before being seated. The menu and table were also sanitized before we could sit. The menu is typical pub fare (ie. don't expect anything too healthy). I ordered the chicken fingers which were way too salty as were the french fries that came with them. There were carrot and celery sticks on the plate but no dip except for the plum sauce for the chicken fingers. The service was good. Our server took our order quickly, came back to check on us after the food arrived and presented the bill in a timely fashion. The restaurant is located in a strip plaza with adequate parking. read more

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I went in with my service dog in a harness with documentation and they were screaming in my face to get out!!!!! I was also wearing bring them home dog tags for the people held hostage. Was it my dog tags or my dog? I had been in this establishment with my dog, at least six times Prior to this day!!!!! I've never been refused service in a public establishment. My dog and I have travelled all across Canada and we also volunteer in hospitals and seniors homes. It was crazy and terrifying!!! read more

$3.00 for two 1-ounce portions of ranch dressing to dip fries in (which was watered down) is RIDICULOUS. I would give you less than one star if possible. If you are going to rip people off like that you should let them know up front - absolutely RIDICULOUS. read more

Tickled Toad Pub & Grill - Solid gold ranch - Pubs Near Me - Thornhill, Ontario

Great bar to come hang around at and watch the game or converse with friends. The food and drink quality is great but it is a little above average. I would recommend the fish and chips as always a classic great dish. The staff is extremely friendly, and will not rush you like several other areas. read more

Tickled Toad Pub & Grill - a sign for tickled toad pub and grill - Pubs Near Me - Thornhill, Ontario

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I visited this bar earlier this week to watch the Raptors games. The TV screens are a good size and the male employees were very friendly. (The female employee was actually kind of rude). Allover, we had a good time watching the game here. The Service: When you sit at the bar the service is great. When you sit at a table, the service is slow and they forget to check up on you. One of my friends wanted to buy food for a full hour and the waitress was making her way to our table. The Food: If you have any food allergies you can maybe get one of the salads with a few adjustments. My salad was pretty good. My friends were not fans of the wings or the meat dish that they ordered. One friend said the wings were too breaded and the other friend said they meat dish was kind of disappointing. If you want a low key bar with decent sized TVs to watch the game, this is a good place to check out. If an owner sees this: Please sell popcorn on game nights! read more

I visited this pub and grill restaurant called Tickled Toad Pub and Grill a few weeks ago. The food was terrible which gave me belly ache for a few days. I also noticed a mouse was running out of kitchen. I complained to one of the waitresses. She said they will take care of it. A few days ago I went there with a fried just to find out they refused to give me any food. They said last time I was there I was rude to staff to my surprise. Instead of taking care of their problem, they too care of me!! read more

Pretty good, not great, pub food. Pretty good, not bargain-level, prices. Pretty good, not always snappy, service. Pretty nice, but not exceptional, ambience and layout. Pretentious, it is not. It's just a friendly neighbourhood pub where you and your mates can go for a good time and leave with a smile. read more

We thoroughly enjoy this place. The service is top notch, the food is wonderful and it is very affordable. We find ourselves having a meal here once a week. My favorite is the buffalo chicken wrap...make sure you are hungry when you order this as it is not small. He enjoy the fish and chips...the fish is done perfectly with not a lot of batter and for a Brit to rave about the fries...you know they are doing something right. If you are looking for a starter I recommend the popcorn shrimp. They kick it up with some nice spices and have a nice red pepper dipping sauce instead of a cocktail sauce. If you are looking for good food at a reasonable place...you need to try this spot! We were not disappointed. read more

Many years ago, although not sure if the business opener changed hands, this was the go to location for cheapie Tuesday wing night with the purchase of a drink. My friend and I returned on a Saturday night to watch some of the Leafs-Canadiens game and enjoy some IPA while having a good plate of Pub Grub. This is a place where everyone knows your name if you come back enough times. This was obvious with the bar folks enjoying the evening throwing back whiskey in between the frequent outdoor smokes. It's a clear bar with big bar stools and clearly written specials on chalkboards both inside and out. The aroma of fresh fries and cigarette smoke is a throwback for sure, but the place has obvious updates to appease the millennials playing $2.00 games of pool in the dining area. For about $12 bucks, you can enjoy a good Louisiana Chicken sandwich and a mess of crispy fries with an extra few dollars for a delicious dark IPA. How can you not enjoy both the food and atmosphere which I'm sure has a lot of stories to tell. Just don't expect the most attentive service, as it appears like they do double and triple duties as bussing, cleaning, tending bar and serving. Be patient with the folks and show the, a smile, and you'll get a good experience. So, if you in the Steeles west of Hilda area in a rainy evening, go and check them out. Just make sure to map it on Waze or you'll pass it by. read more

The service is always bad. The food is always worse. But if you live in the suburbs, or need a stiff drink after a visit with your parents who live in the suburbs, this seems to be one of the hot spots to do it. If you like to party with first-year York University students mixed in with a few Thornhill highschool kids with fake IDs, you're going to feel at home at The Tickled Toad (or "The Toad" as locals call it). The patio isn't bad, in the summer, for happy hour beers, but other than that, I cannot recommend this place in good faith, unless your initial plans were to dine at McDonalds. read more

Tickled Toad Pub & Grill - Pubs Near Me - Thornhill, Ontario

The thing about the toad is that it is the best bar in Thornhill. The issue about that is that the bars in Thornhill suck. Of all the choices, the toad is the best choice available. The waitstaff is decent, pending on the night and I've never had many problems with them in the past. I usually end up getting the nachos or the potato skins. It's basic pub fare and its decent enough but not spectacular. read more

Walked in and tried to find a server. No luck for about 5 minutes. Finally someone came over from the bar, gave us menus, and left. 15 minutes go by and no one has come to check in on us, bring drinks, or take our orders. We left the pub shortly after that. Great service! read more

I'm a fan of Ken Domik's YouTube channel where the owner of the Tickled Toad (Paul) is featured on some "Cook & Review" episodes. After seeing Paul make some tasty looking dishes I decided to make the drive to Thornhill to experience it myself. The place is truly a dive bar, pure pub food. The restaurant is quite big on the inside, lots of tables and room to move around the large bar. It's also quite dark in there, and a little dingy. Our server was very nice and our food arrived quickly. My table ordered the Smothered Fries, Paul's Rueben, and Butter Chicken Poutine. All dishes were very good, especially the Smothered fries. Only criticism is that my sauce on the fries wasn't overly hot , no real cheese curds, and I expected the butter chicken to be much more spicier, because I know Paul loves hot and spicy food. Finally thoughts: the Tickled Toad is a good place to come for beers and classic pub food. I'd like it if the menu was a little more adventurous, as I know Paul has the ability to be very creative in the kitchen! read more

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Although the atmosphere is pleasant..and food specials are great the service is crap! The waitresses are clueless to customers around. They only tend to those sitting at the bar. Even if the place is not busy the service is horrible. I agree with the other reviewer, the women attendants are worse than the men. You raise the minimum wage expecting better service...not in this place. I would go elsewhere. read more

Honestly the worst bar/pub i've ever been to. It's around the corner from my house so about once a year i give it a second chance (it's sooo lovely to be able to walk home from a bar), but honestly they disappoint me EVERY time. On more than one occasion the beer has been stale, and when we complained they said that's how the beer's supposed to taste (seriously?). When we go on a fight-night or game-night to watch the game, they'll have it on all the TV's but will have the sound off (and no close-captions either). If we ask for the sound (on even just 1 tv, not the bar speaker system) they just say no, despite our group of 10 being pretty much the only people there. Servers have all been pretty rude, but service is usually pretty quick. Food has always been hit or miss (mostly miss), i've had a couple good appetizers but all the typical pub foods have been disappointing. If i could i would give this place 0 stars. read more

Discrimination!!!!!! We were there last night and were not served alcohol because the manager decided that my friend, who is Indian and has a thick accent, was drunk, when in fact, my friend did not have ONE DROP of alcohol in him!!!!!! We were a party of FOUR and only the THREE of us had ordered drinks!!!!! read more

Food is below average. The nachos are really bad. It honestly looked like they put some cheese and jalapenos on some tortilla chips and microwaved it. The fajitas are a bit better, but still nothing I would be bragging about. Tickled Toad would be ok place to have a beer, watch a game, or play darts, but that is about it. They have a nice dart board. Staff is also nice, and they have free parking read more

Monday chicken wings special is the BEST! Staff is friendly and good portions. Never had a bad meal at this pub. Friday live bad is fun!

The toad is OK.... Food is average, and the service was friendly but a tiny slow. There is a patio, which is nice if you want a view of the parking lot..... Inside is rather large and clean. I have never been at the Toad when it is busy. I would not go here if you were on a first date...... but if you are a York U student on a budget this works just great. read more

I drink at different bars all along Yonge between Sheppard and Finch (St Louis, Jack Astors, Boston Pizza, Frog and Firkin). This one compares favourably with them all. I guess the closest comparison (decor and "feel") would be the Firkin pub - although this one doesn't look nearly as nice as the Firkin inside (what's with the random stuff, like license plates and a gas pump? Haven't they watched any of the restaurant makeover type shows?). The service when I've been there has been friendly and decent speed. I was there tonight and the manager came to check how things were - she was very nice. I've eaten here a handful of times and it was okay. Nothing that I would say - "you gotta try this". If they updated the decor and the bathrooms, I would probably be more likely to frequent. ps. Try the butter chicken. It was spicy and yummy. read more

Amazing go-to place for addictive chicken wings and bloody Caesars.

Food: Portion size is solid, food quality itself varies based on what you order unfortunately. Some meals taste reheated while some taste freshly made. Look at the daily specials if you want to maximize value ! I personally recommend burger day, Service: Service isn't great, but not terrible either. It's what you would expect for a bar/pub. Decor: Slightly dated some could say but for me I appreciated it as it added to the environment. read more

Local old school sports pub. Has good beer selection, decent menu. Wait stuff is good, especially once you get to know them, but service can be slow sometimes, especially when they are busy. It is what it is for what it is. read more

The menu consists of general pub fare at a reasonable price. Mondays is their wing night where you get a great deal on mediocre wings. They are accommodating for big groups and will put tables together to make everyone comfortable. The decor hasn't changed in years and the crowds are generally thin. There are lots of TVs where you can also catch a live game. You can have a good time here so long as you keep your expectations realistically low. read more

I ate here 10 years ago we ate one of the most delicous wings We were back today WORST WINGS EVER Pizza Pizza are 100% better No taste dried as a bone boring (Cajun? suicide?) a real shame, we left half of the wings just imagine not going back read more

My friends have dragged me here more than once because it was a local for them growing up and the place has a cheap wings night. I once went here in the winter and the took absolutely forever to bring us our wings and fries. Once they brought them we noticed that the food was stone cold. The server's excuse when we called them over was that "the kitchen isn't heated and it is cold in the there." (That makes no sense because unless the food sat there for a while if it had just been cooked it wouldn't get cold that quickly). I went there again last week and while the food wasn't cold this time I experienced other issues. I was really hungry when we got there so I ordered an appetizer - a Beef Tostada - figuring that it would come before the pound of wings I ordered as well. I waited and waited and waiter some more. Finally, they brought me my appetizer and a minute later they brought my friends' wings... but mine were nowhere to be found. (They clearly fail to understand the concept of the appetizer and how it is to come BEFORE the main dish.) I waited for the server to wander back over and asked her where my wings were. She expressed regret for screwing up the order and rushed to fill it. I got my wings when my friends were about halfway done theirs and , thankfully, they were cooked and hot. When we finished eating and drinking we looked around for the server and she was nowhere to be found. We waited and waited and waited and after a good 10 minutes she finally reappeared (we hadn't seen her the entire meal either so it had been quite a while since she checked on her table). We noticed on the bill that they had graciously added a tip in for us (probably because we were a group of eight) and yet, there was no mention of this practice on the menu (that I saw, and that I see on their website) and the server made no effort whatsoever to draw attention to it. All in all, if you live near Steeles between Bathurst & Yonge and have nowhere else to go I understand why you'd come here. Aside from that, keep away. read more

Terribly rude staff. Ignored us. Had to go over to bar to wait for 10 mins to order a beer. Bartender was too busy with the locals. Do not recommend. read more

Not as bad as most reviewers say. This is an old school style pub. Large bar area. One of the few bars around that actually still has a pool table and a dart board, although there in crappy condition. Good selection of beers, even added a Hops Bolt. The food is actually half decent, although I wouldn't choose this place for dinner. Needs to be fixed up it's starting to look very dated. read more

Food: The meat of the wings was okay given that we went on a "cheap wings" night but the sauce was slopped on and left a pool at the bottom of our basket. I was excited to order the Caribbean flavor as it's one of my favorites at Wild Wings but it was absolutely disgusting here; this particular batch felt oddly slimy. The Sweet Chili flavour tasted better than the Caribbean. We both ordered diet pepsi and was given regular pepsi. First world problem, I know, but I'm paying for it so I might as well get what I ordered. I asked the server about it and he just told me that it was diet pepsi and walked away. Service: We stood at the door for a few minutes before flagging someone down and being told that we can seat ourselves (this was not initially evident.) The place wasn't packed yet our service was somehow slow. Not a big deal but I saw our server watching TV a few times. Venue: Clearly a cheap college pub. The restrooms smelled like a gas station pit stop; I didn't want to touch anything. read more

Worst service ever. Walked in sat down and waited for the waitress to comes over. It was the manager who then procedded to ask us our order before she gave us any menu's. As we were ordering our drinks, before we were finished, she stopped us and felt it was important to tell us it was a business and we should order food, again before we had any menus. This discouraged us from ordering food and after waiting a considerable amount of time for our drinks which were served in plastic cups the manager made a rude comment about us still not ordering food and accused us of loitering in an empty restaurant. Very rude never again read more

Great place with very nice beer selection. Food was solid pub fare and we were not disappointed!!

the Toronto Lover system: 5 stars = Must visit! 4 stars = Really good. I take my friends here. 3 stars = Somewhat worth it... if you have nowhere better to go. 2 stars = Below average. Attend only when necessary. 1 star = Do not visit! There are many things to love about the Toad, but what brings most people to this place is the fact that it's the only bar in the neighbourhood. For what it's worth, it has the feel of a Bathurst/Steeles Cheers. For real flavour, sit near the bar at the north end where the regulars drink beer and eat wings. If you're with a group, grab a booth at the other end and watch a leafs game. The patio is great, considering it's a bar that overlooks Steeles Avenue. The best deals are Wing nights on Mondays. The service is usually very good and friendly. This is one of those places where you will get pretty much what you expect. 3 stars read more

The Toad serves as the local watering joint as there really aren't many other options in the area. Service is incredibly slow, draft beer is poorly kept and food is average bar food. The place is usually full of the young York U crowd and the odd older bar-goer. Patio is nice in the warmer weather, but no one abides by the no smoking by-law (nor is there any visible enforcement) and it is closed well before closing time. read more

It's a pub, sports on the tv, so ok, but still the décor could be a lot better. Not that inviting. We had fajitas- mine was good- Saturday night is 2 for 1 fajitas night. My friend's glass of wine came in a...glass. The service was fast but.... There is music sometimes, not the night we were there. read more

Not nearly as bad as everyone else is saying; food is subpar, but service is relatively fast, and if you go for a weekday special, the food is a fair value. The day we went, they had a Santa Clause character walk around and distribute gifts; everyone at the table either got Toronto FC scarves or free headphones. Beer on tap wasn't stale - though, as we chose Canadian and Rickard's, they were probably two of the more popularly tapped choices. They also have strongbow on tap, which is a plus. read more

Tickled Toad Pub & Grill - Dark, dingy, but everything you'd want a dive bar to be. - Pubs Near Me - Thornhill, Ontario

Nice enough with good wings, especially when it's cheap night. The beer selection is so-so, but it's clean and friendly. Very nice service!

Best in the area, The only thing is they changed their french fries love the old fries hate the new, people, atmosphere, value and food best in the area just hate the fries. read more