Maple Leaf House

I had a great first experience at this locals bar! No one greeted us when we walked in so we seated ourselves, but other than that, the service here was quite good. The workers were all really nice and seemed genuine.
The poutine is really great here. The fries are big and airy and tasted delicious. The burger was okay. It didn’t taste like anything really special, but it was still satisfying. I got the Canadian.
It’s nice how it has that locals pub feel though. Also, I love the music they play here. They played a lot of Canadian songs! I recognized The Strumbellas immediately.

Used to go here quite often; okay food okay price, bad service. Last time I went there with my boyfriend, we went around 4−5pm, it was absolutely dead; we sat towards the back. When we left, we noticed that my boyfriend had left his expensive sunglasses behind. We were gone not even 15 mins and called them; we were on hold for 30 minutes. The waitress said she couldn’t find them. Almost positive it was the waitress who stole the sunglasses because the only other patrons inside were at the bar, and our waitress cleared our table as we were leaving (she was the last one at our table). Quick and easy dollar for her to sell, I guess. We were poorly treated on the phone and the waitress was extremely rude about the glasses, further pushing our assumption that she stole them. Haven’t been back since. Sketchy people working there.

A decent, friendly «locals» bar. I put locals in quotations because it has that warm vibe of a local even if you live many miles away. After just a couple of visits the staff and regulars knew me and my favourite drink.
The food is ok, nothing amazing but certainly good enough to fill a hole when needed. That being said, the sweet potato pouting is definitely worth trying, I do recommend that dish. There’s often a live band playing, especially on the patio on Sundays in the summer, which despite being on Lakeshore Blvd, isn’t too disturbed by traffic noise.

The Leaf is a good place for a beer and a quick snack. It’s also safe and well controlled by Dave and his staff. Owen, if you don’t like the neighbourhood and the people please stay the fuck away. I live here with my family and love the fact that neighbourhood is changing but at the same time not becoming Bloor West Village (where I spent 8 years).
We try to support all of the local businesses and have relationships with the owners and staff.
Yes, there are some dodgy places but there are also some wonderful places like the Leaf or Spitfire Grill. It’s not Queen West and we love it that way.
Order a club at the Leaf, delicious and enough to share.