Bistro 896

After reading the reviews I was expecting something better. May have been an off night but none of our meals were cooked properly or very good. Meats were either over done or under done. Desert was a rock hard brownie. Between the five of us no one got a meal they were happy with. Was very disappointed and would not go back.

I first went to Bistro 896 with my friend Jennifer and 7 others. I was intrigued by how much of a good deal the dinner was going to be. We went on a Tuesday evening, and for 4 courses the cost was $ 15! Below you can find the cost for dinner depending on the day you visit. I was so impressed with my first visit, that I returned 2 weeks later with 12 members of my food Meetup group.
Prix Fixe Dinner
Early Bird Tues — Wed 5pm to 9pm $ 15.00
Early Bird Thur — Sat 5pm to 6:30 $ 15.00
Thur — Saturday After 7pm $ 25.00
Tuesday to Thursday a Burger (with a side of fries) and a Beer is $ 10
Is this place too good to be true? I was certainly ready to find out! On my first visit we arrived for dinner at 7pm and we noticed that the menu differed slightly from the one online. For example, online you get the option of a sausage roll as an appetizer, but this evening it was replaced with a brussels sprouts salad (though Jennifer, our host, was allowed to get the sausage roll since she had her heart set on it). Another difference was the soup. On my 2^nd visit the soup was a cream of asparagus soup, not a leek and potato soup. Other than that, everything else was the same.
Appetizers
With all of us combined, we pretty much tried everything on the menu. On my first visit I ordered the brussels sprouts salad and the fact that the brussel sprouts were grilled brought it to a different dimension. The flavors of the salad were very well balanced and we all agreed that it was delicious. Jennifer had the sausage roll and it was also delicious. I particularly enjoyed the flaky and buttery crust. The mixed green salad however looked boring, and non-​appetizing compared to the other appetizers.
Mains
For my main on my first visit I ordered the Fettuccine Putanesca with Calamari & Shrimp and I was impressed with how the pasta was cooked (it was cooked al dente), and it had large pieces of shrimp and calamari throughout. On my second visit I ordered the Tourtière with Pickled Beet & Feta Salad and I loved it. The pie was flaky and buttery, and the meat was well seasoned. I can’t quite put my finger on the seasoning that went into the meat, but I tasted a hint of cinnamon. Or something like it. I have never tasted anything like it, and it worked! I am also a huge fan of beets and feta, so I was pleased with the side beet salad. I also tried the Red wine slow braised Short Ribs with Mash and most of us agreed that the meat needed to cook longer as it still tasted chewy, and lacked the tenderness you would expect from braised meat. We also found the mashed potatoes to be lacking in seasoning and on the watery side. One of my guests wanted to try the burger, and I was impressed by the size of it. The only downfall was that the fries were a little hard; they needed a bit more time in the fryer.
Desserts
For dessert I had to get the bread pudding. I love bread pudding and I was not disappointed. I specially liked that it was not overly sweet and the tartness of the berries were a great contrast to the creaminess of the whipped cream. I heard that the brownie was also great, specially because it was served warm. I am not a huge chocolate fan so I did not try it.
I had a great experience at Bistro 896 at both my visits. The food was not only delicious, but it was amazing value, good portions, and the service was phenomenal. I highly recommend that you pay them a visit.

I had a lovely meal at Bistro 896 last night. A 4-​course meal for $ 15? Amazing value for delicious food. The leek and potato soup was simple, but tasty. The appetizer of Brussels sprouts salad was full of flavour and just delicious. The main of tourtière with the beet and feta salad on the side was really nice. Tourtière is something I eat a lot of every year during the Christmas Holidays & this was a good iteration: the meat was well-​seasoned and juicy (tourtières are often dry when not well prepared), and the pastry was flaky. The brownie for dessert was simple, but very nice. It was still warm, and served with whipped cream, it was the perfect cap to the meal.
Overall, it was simple but tasty food that reminded me of home. I couldn’t ask for more! In addition, the service was very good. It’s a great option if you’re on Queen St. East. I really enjoyed the experience, and I’ll definitely be returning!

Literally just walked through the door after having dinner here and ran to my computer to write this review.
Bistro 896 is such a hidden gem of the Leslieville area. My party of 8 and I were extremely pleased with our experience here.
The service was fantastic. The owner was super sweet, friendly, and accommodating.
The deals here are OUTRAGEOUS. $ 15 for a Prix Fixe dinner if you come Tues/​Wed between 5−9pm, or Thurs-​Sun between 5 – 6:30. $ 25 for Thurs-​Sat after 7pm. $ 10 burger & pint of beer deals Tues-​Thurs. $ 3 cesars and mimosas for brunch. The list of specials goes on & on. You just can’t beat that value.
For the prix fixe I had:
Potato & Leek soup: awesome. Simple but executed perfectly.
Sausage Roll: the pastry this roll comes in is perfect. Light, fluffy, moist, yum. The sausage was also nice and moist, and seasoned very well. Quite a large portion.
I also snuck a few bites of a friends Brussel Sprout salad and it was extremely tasty, too. I have a weakness for brussel sprouts and these hit the spot! Crunchy, bursting with flavour, OmNomNom.
Tourtière with Pickled Beet & Feta Salad: Like with the sausage roll, the pastry shines here, and the meat is not in the least bit dry & is super flavourful. The beet & feta salad is a nice refreshing side, and compliments the dish nicely.
Brownie: simple, no frills brownie with whipped cream. But it was still warm and had that melt in your mouth feeling. Yum.
Bistro 896 was pretty deserted on a Tuesday night, but with the quality of this place that needs to change — stat! If you’re looking for some fantastic food in the Queen East area, you absolutely have to check out Bistro 896. I’m already planning my next trip back for brunch!

Having read the positive Toronto Life review of Bistro 896 (
), we decided to check it out last night. We ordered the prix fixe menu, $ 25 for 4 courses — impressive not only for the number of courses for the price, but also the care and quality of the food. The french onion soup was tasty enough, though I was not used to the thickness of the bread with melted cheese on top. The mixed green salad and in fact the greens on the entrée were amazingly Fresh. The salmon was poached to perfection — just right and still tender. Oh and I should not forget how I appreciated the half lemon served grilled — somehow the grilling really added to the fullness of the taste. Finally, for dessert, I had the brownie. That was the weakest. It was too crunchy for my liking and I wished it had been warmed… Overall, this place is a HIDDEN GEM — opened only 4 months, it is ready to be Discovered. It has the Best Value For The Money Anywhere, but especially in Leslieville where prices for food of that calibre tend to be higher. Do check it out and spread the word! Bistro 896 deserves our support, and it won’t disappoint!

A friend and myself wanted to have dinner together and catch up. I suggested bistro 896 to her cause I had such a great time on my last visit.
We arrived a little damp from the rain but found a nice quiet table and ordered some drinks. My friend had the IPA micro brew and loved it and I had a margarita, super fresh lime and a good kick. :-)
We both decided to try the prix fixe menu. I had the mixed green salad, chicken Kiev with asparagus and cheese mashed potatoes. The salad was fresh and perfectly dressed and when the plate of Kiev was even more tasty than it looked.
We finished with a fresh chocolate brownie and enjoyed our dinner out immensely!

We went here for brunch on the weekend. It was delicious and I’ll be going back.
I had a standard Eggs Benedict. The eggs were poached just right. The hollandaise sauce was quite good too. It came on a whole wheat english muffin, which creates a different texture vs a normal English muffin. They had a few other Eggs Benedict options that came with things like mushrooms and so on.
My companion had the frittata of the day. I’m normally not a fan of blue cheese, but I think her dish was better than mine. The frittata was very good.
Both dishes came with a salad and a small potato creation.
Caesars were $ 3. I tried them — not bad!
The Eggs Benny was $ 9.50 and the Fritatta was $ 11.50. Very reasonable. They have daily meal specials as well.
The server was very nice and attentive. Top notch service, really.
I’m not sure why more people don’t come here. It seems to be like that restaurant from Seinfeld, with a new restaurant popping up in this location every year. Perhaps it’s the shadow from the very popular Lady Marmalade next door. I hope this place catches on.
There are some people complaining about the prices of specific menu items. Complaining about the price of something after you ordered it when the price was clearly listed on the menu and you just didn’t bother to look says more about the reviewer than the restaurant.
They also accept credit cards here, which is a bit of a rarity for the neighbourhood.

We stopped in here for brunch today. They currently have brunch drinks specials that include $ 3 mimosas and $ 3 Caesars.
I ordered the Frittata of the day. It was absolutely delicious. Today’s frittata contained mushrooms, green onions and blue cheese. It had a really nice texture and was super tasty. It was served with a side salad of spring greens, strawberries and a raspberry vinaigrette, some tater croquettes, and an english muffin. The tater croquettes were super tasty (they were made of seasoned mashed potatoes with some cheese I think). These were super yummy, especially considering that I’m not a huge fan of potatoes. The english muffin was great and they offered a variety of homemade preserves. I went with Strawberry.
This place was delish. I wouldn’t hesitate to come back!

I was led into the place because of the French onion soup posted on the outside chalkboard. It was Friday night and the place was empty, I think I understand why. I get weak for good French onion soup. Was very disappointing for several reasons. They left the stems (multiple) of the basil in the soup, I almost choked, was lacking in flavor and because I didn’t have my glasses on, I didn’t notice the price of $ 13+ dollars after tip and tax. A bit steep for an appetizer. I will try it again, for three reasons, the owner sincerely seems to care, I want to try the eggs benedicts and the burger, they look good. They proudly claim the beef comes from rowe farms across the street, not the best when it comes to antibiotic free but I guess it is an effort. Keep in mind, the rowe farms across the street did get a «warning» from the health department.
Ok, first update, I went back and I tried the eggs benny on a saturday afternoon and again I was the only one in the place. While the food looked ok, it wasnt that great and most likely the reason why the place was empty.
I will give an update when I try the burger.

Stopped in because of sidewalk sign promoting a $ 10 beer and burger special. The burger was just ok. Not bad but not great. I didn’t like the bun, it was too dense and chewy for me but that’s just personal preference. My problem with the place is the drink my girlfriend ordered. Vodka soda… $ 11. Not a grey goose or anything fancy. Bar rail vodka soda. I asked if it was a mistake and was told no, that’s the price. I was stunned. Then when my change came I was forced to tip either 5% or 25%… Not breaking up bills in change for tipping is a pet peeve. I like to do 20% but don’t like being forced. Waitress was polite enough but I don’t think I’ll be back. Menu was interesting though.

They have a great happy hour, all appetizers are half off! My favourite meal is the mac an cheese and comes with a nice salad, but everything is fantastic. The servers are all really nice and attentive, and want to have conversations with you. Its become my new local place! Also, there’s a hot Irish bartender there.

Notice that every review talks about the Prix Fixe and the bargain. If you’re looking for large quantities (massive by french bistro standards) at good prices then this is the place for you. We went as a table of four and everyone left saying good thing it was $ 25. Taste, quality and ambiance is average and dishes are hardly innovative. Nothing I’d run back for unless I was very hungry after a pint or two at the Roy next door.