Axis Gastropub

Sunday. Early Brunch time. I found myself on the streetcar pushing to Axis. A Friend’s idea.
It was the perfect Sunday morning place for a cup of coffee, a thick sweater and the friends you spent your «totally awesome» weekend with.
The service — aside from our waiter being ridiculously good looking was super nice and I never had to ask him to re-​fill my coffee. It came naturally. That’s good service!
Here’s what I had, right off their menu.
Axis Slaw — asian slaw, toasted sesame-​oregano vinaigrette, crispy noodles, smoked chicken & tosated almonds
I had my reservations ordering it. But it was so delicious that everyone was trying to poke their fork in my dish.
I have not been to Axis on an evening or for a night out and I’m curious to see what kind of atmosphere it offers on those different days of the week, but for me, it’s definitely a Sunday brunch go-​to.

Lost my credit card on a bar tab

Every patio this past weekend was packed, so I was surprised to walk past this one last night and see that there were actually no customers either inside or outside. That’s when most people would continue walking.
I, however, refused! I know, I know, I have had so many negative experiences on Markham Street lately, but who can resist so much patio when the sun is out? Apparently not me.
We just ordered some appetizers — nachos and a pizza/​flatbread thinggy. It was oh so gross! Nachos are not supposed to be so dried out and stale fresh out of the oven. That is, assuming they were fresh and coming out of an oven.
I think it could be a really good place for drinks, but the menu is so all over the place and if the appetizers are that bad, I would be scared to order any more food. And why were there no other patrons? It’s such a big patio in such a prime location. It didn’t make sense.
Either way, blech. I don’t think I shall return.

Ok i didn’t eat here, but the place is good for drinks too.
Service was not bad. Crowd was good. Drinks were good and great selection of scotch.
Pretty big and not crowded so it was welcome to be able to sit comfortably with a group of 10 and get seats at 11pm on a saturday.
The special touch for me was a jazz band playing softly in the background.
I’m going to go back here and eat. Any place that replaces the plum tomato will have to be tested in its entirety.
for now, axis is a 3. a good and reasonably priced scotch list wins my heart.

Went this past Saturday night. Our male server was snippity and rude. He actually gave me attitude about ordering a water. (I also ordered a drink.) I was thirsty, forgive me. The ceasar salad my friend ordered was nothing more than a bagged salad. The spring rolls were $ 7.25 for a 3 small rolls on a bed of lettuce.
Let’s recap. Food=Not nummy. Price= Not a bargain. Service= Rude.
Would not go back.

Three friends and I went here for brunch today and we were all super happy with what we got — a scramble, two traditional breakfasts, eggs benedict on crab cakes, coffees, and a peach ginger tea. Plus fruit and salad that came with the meal and didn’t look like a slightly pathetic afterthought.
Everything was delicious, the eggs were cooked perfectly, and the server was really friendly; I like it when making special requests isn’t accompanied by any attitude. I’d come here over Insomnia any time.

Let me count the ways this place gets a big thumbs down.
Met up with some people at around 3pm on Saturday. The place was empty. I ordered a cup of tea, the water wasn’t even hot enough. They have specialty teas on their menu, but when we asked they had normal tea aka Orange Pekoe and only one other tea variety that I can’t recall. Word of advice, if you don’t have something don’t write it on the menu, because Orange Pekoe is about as special as a common cold in the dead if winter. That and it makes you look stupid. We wanted to know what the soup of the say was… There was a chalkboard behind our table which read «Specials» and it was blank. It’s 3pm. We flag down the only employee who is hostess/​cashier/​bar girl and server. I guess thy really do believe in extracting the most out of their employees. We ask her what the soup of the day is… She says «oh we don’t have one yet because we just switched over from our brunch menu.» again… It’s 3pm.
Their menu is not very extensive. My girlfriend ordered a grilled veggie wrap and the carrots that were part of the salad seemed so stale as if the had been julienned a week ago and then left in the fridge and sprinkled on sloppily. I ended up ordering a Greek Salad. At $ 11, it was way overpriced and unimpressive. It was basically a plate of lettuce sloppily thrown together with some tomato, onion, feta and olives. I could’ve done so much more with that $ 11 at any Bloor Street diner.
Definitely a place I won’t be visiting again since there are so many options along Bloor Street. I’ll be surprised if a place like this survives.

I thought this was a pretty decent place, and I hope it gets busier, because it really deserves to!
I came here Friday evening with some girlfriends for some drinks and appetizers.
We were very happy with our selections.
The bruschetta was fantastic, topped with brie and a pesto drizzle. The calamari was some of the best I’ve had. Great batter, not too greasy, and the rings themselves were tender and not rubbery. Served with a lemon aioli, it was a taste sensation. The nachos were not super great, they did have lots of layered cheese, but near the bottom was not fully melted.
Good beers on tap (Stella, Amsterdam (s), and Mill Street Organic, to name a few). Lots of wine, and full bar.
Service was stellar. No, really. While it wasn’t particularly busy, our server (Andrea, I think), was fantastic. Not only did she use the latest technology to split our incredibly complicated bills, she actually offered to, and made no mistakes! And it was seriously complicated. 3 girls share 3 apps, 2 more arrive and order meals. 1 of the girls from the first group and 1 of the second group share ½ litre of wine. Last girl arrives and also orders food. Seats are traded. In most other places, this would have given the server an aneurysm, but not Andrea! Nope, she divided the appz by .33, and the wine by .50, and remembered who drank what and when. It was amazing.
So I’ll definitely be back next time I’m in the area!

Having grown up enjoying pubs far and wide, it doesn’t take much to cajole me into visiting the newest local for a pint and bite to eat. This was the case a few days back when a number of friends thought it would be fun to get together at Axis Gastropub on the corner of Bloor and Markham in Mirvish Village.
Axis sits in the old Rocco’s Plum Tomato location and is the sister pub to Axis Gallery and Grill in the Junction. This corner seems to be one of the those ‘Bermuda Triangle’ hospitality locations, with new establishments failing to get a foothold over and over again. Maybe the Axis folks will succeed where others have not.
Arriving, a number of us remarked that the large room, decorated in a modern style, was a little stark and very empty for the time of day. It certainly didn’t scream ‘Pub’.
Within seconds we were greeted by the two servers/​bartenders and warmly directed to sit wherever we’d like. Both of these guys seemed genuinely happy to see us and quickly told us about the pint special for the day.
Taking a large table in the back of the room, we sat, chatted and waited for our drinks that soon appeared.
Perusing the menu, it was soon clear that this place was trying to please everyone. The choice was almost limitless with the usual pub fare coupled with ‘build your own’ pizzas and an entrees list that went from curries to fish and all the way back to steak and pasta.
At the server’s recommendation we tried the Pulled Pork Nachos. What came was a healthy portion topped with a mound of pork and all the normal nacho toppings. Tasty, but not remarkable in any way, and the amount of topping-​less dead space at the bottom was quite disappointing. Hot wings soon appeared followed by a number of comments of: ‘Okay’, ‘Not stellar’, ‘Not that spicy’. Following another suggestion, my Axis Club sandwich soon arrived. A Pub staple, the clubhouse has almost as many variations as there are pubs. This club was well prepared, but again not remarkable. Combining chicken breast, ham and bacon on whole wheat bread it was pretty standard, much like what you’d find in a veteran diner or truck stop.
Overall, Axis Gastropub does not live up to its name. It doesn’t really feel like a Pub and there isn’t anything remarkable about the food. Maybe it is a case of higher expectations, but I can’t imagine returning when there are so many other better options nearby.

We went here for brunch because there was a ridiculous line at Insomnia. I had high hopes as soon as I looked at the brunch menu. Inside was warm and comfortable. Nice ambience. We sat at a comfy table by the window with a view of Bloor street. The waitress was friendly and attentive and the coffee was decent.
The food was utter garbage. I had a boring omelette with dry homefries. My partner had «eggs florentine» with totally solid yolk and watery spinach. Meal came out to $ 25. Blech, I didn’t really want to pay.
I would go back here to drink some beer and maybe brave some pub food, but never again for brunch. It is otherwise a nice place and the service was good… they just need a new cook.