Burdock

They charged me $$ for extra cheese for my pasta dish. Haha. I love these new high end everything is natural we just killed the pig places. A tiny little silver bowl of extra cheese. Italians everywhere shed a tear. No need to go back.

Loved every beer we tried (and we tried all of them — the Belgian table beer was a favourite), and the Brussels sprouts poutine are a must. We didn’t try any of the main courses. Server was efficient, attentive, and friendly. Go early because it fills up fast.

The Burdock opened about six months ago. Gord and I checked it out tonight.
They have a shop where you can buy beer to take home.
Their brewhouse is in the back.
We sat at the bar, which is in the middle of the restaurant.
They only serve their own beer. Gord enjoyed their saisons and brought some Wet Hop Pale Ale home.
The staff obviously like each other … they spent a lot of time hanging together. As such, I wouldn’t give them high marks for customer service (Sam was the most helpful and friendly).
This is the first brewpub I’ve been in that was upscale. In addition to the food offerings being higher end, a DJ starting spinning tunes at 10pm.
I might stop in again if I was in the area but it wouldn’t be a destination for me.

Great to see another new microbrewery pop up and their beer is great. Interior décor was well thought out and designed, patio is nice and they have a bottle shop that’s open until 11.

3 – 3.5 its a place that has invested in a micro brewery in the back of the restaurant. Good selection of beer and food that also feature beer in its ingredients. Its a minimum menu but its has enough variety for casual dinner for sharing or small apps. Although I did enjoy, the bread and cheese/​beer dip it was very overpriced at $ 10. The décor and service was cosy and casual. Main of ribs were tender but the mix of vegetables on the side was not overly unique. Its also has a nice patio. I would recommend it as a place to chill, and have drink but food is ok to not bad.

Disappointing. The beautiful patio was so tempting on a warm summer night, but after we sat down, we were told (kind of rudely) that it was closing in 10 minutes and we had to go inside. After my friends and I went inside, it took about 15 minutes before someone came and acknowledged our presence. Service the whole evening was very slow for our very simple order. The acoustics of the space weren’t great, so it felt louder than it actually was. Far better options in the area, in my opinion. We ended up at Wise Bar and the contrast in terms of quality of service and atmosphere was very stark.

Nice romantic décor inside. Quick service. The beer was eminently affordable and quite delicious. Tried the Hoppy Heffé and the Cider.
Also ordered the bread basket and had the best sour dough in a long time! Needed some more oil with it though.
Great place for a date or a catch up with an old friend.

We were impressed by the venue but when we went into the concert part, even tho we were seated away from the stage behind the bar, a girl friend of the band told us we were talking too loudly… thought this was a bar not a church… list your rules at the entrance unless you think only locals are what you care
we were not talking that loudly… this is an insiders only hang out

The Burdock is a very new restaurant/​bar/​venue and it does all three very well. The food is fresh and delicious, and is prepared artistically and creatively. The friendly staff know just what beer to pair with your food, and I see they are nearly finished building their own in-​house brewery. The beer selection is diverse and carefully thought out, and the team of brewmasters are very knowledgeable and like to share this knowledge to those who are curious.
On to the venue, it’s in the same building but is isolated in a sound-​proof theatre space through a couple heavy doors. The space looks to hold about 100 people and is beautifully designed with extreme attention to detail with regards to the acoustics. The shows they book are extremely diverse.
All in all, not too many places have such a dedicated staff of friendly people striving for something special. Highly recommend!

My favourite new bar in Toronto.
This place has everything you could ask for: excellent food (the bread alone is worth the price of admission), a solid beer selection, friendly service, great ambiance and décor, and a killer patio. Also awesome: concerts every night in the other room, kombucha on tap (!), clean bathrooms, veggie-​friendly menu, conveniently close to the subway, and from the looks of it, they are opening their own brewery in the back. This place checks every box for me and has rapidly become my go-​to when meeting friends on the Bloor line.

Burdock has a really nice ambiance. The space has great lighting, décor, and just a nice overall vibe. The staff was very friendly and welcoming and we had good service (although I was there on a quiet night). The food was good but not great. Good ingredients and everything tasted fresh, but I found some things my friend and I ordered were a bit bland. I do appreciate that they use a lot of local and seasonal ingredients, and they are very vegetarian/​vegan friendly. Also the vegetarian plate (which was all vegetables, no protein) was priced the same as the meat dishes and so seemed a bit overpriced. That being said, they have a good selection of beer and drinks and snacky food and I will definitely be back for those!

Ambiance was great, servers are nice. Entrée took over 40 minutes. Cancelled our mains and left. We gave it a shot. Bread was burnt.

Excellent find for a vegetarian friendly place with a great atmosphere! I love the lights, tiles and plants.
With 4 main course options, 2 were veg friendly. The sweet potato croquette and Swiss chard were delicious! The service was great and friendly!
It was a little bit noisy (maybe all the hard surfaces as well as a few rowdy people). I enjoyed the 90s hip hop, although not sure all crowds would (maybe a Sunday night thing).
And kombucha on tap! Yes! Just wait till they start making beer! Definitely like what they are doing there!

We wanted to try this place because of the positive BlogTO review. Our experience was not good. In fact, it’s one of the sadder dining experiences I’ve had. Service was extremely slow even though it wasn’t busy.
We actually tried to make a reservation for a party of 4 as it was a Saturday night. We were informed that it wasn’t necessary and that they would have «space for sure». That in itself should have been a warning.
Apparently this place is known for its bread. Yet every piece of bread we tried was burnt and charred black. We had the bread and olive oil — burnt! Steak on bread appetizer — dry as hell and burnt! Basically every bite was the taste of, as Ralph Wiggum put it, «burning».
We ordered our mains: 3 pork shoulders, a steak frites, and a roasted cauliflower to share (we were a party of 4). They forgot the cauliflower and I wish they’d have forgotten the rest of the food. The pork came with a side of kale and cabbage — it was sour to the point of inedible. Basically it was like the food was cooked by someone who never tasted it.
The pork itself was under-​seasoned and bland. All you could taste was the dijon mustard slathered on. I threw in the towel after a couple bites. The meal is nicely summed up by Homer Simpson at the Chili Cook-​off: «A bland, timid entry — suitable perhaps for patients recovering from surgery.»
My friends and I left hungry, with a taste of burnt toast in our mouths. So many mediocre places to eat in Toronto that are stellar in comparison. In a word: bad. NEXT!

Perfection. Food and drink menus have something to offer everyone. Music and lighting are pure taste. Servers are beyond kind and helpful.
A great, inclusive place to bring your date, your family, your birthday, or just yourself!
They’ve also spared no expense on the venue: clean sound in a beautiful, cozy-​feeling room.
New Bloor West friends!

Burdock is a brand new bar/​resto/​microbrewery and music venue. Heard about it through a friend who is booking bands there and went by tonight. Really sweet spot, great atmosphere and delicious eats/​drinks.
Food wise there are a few mains — the steak frites beside our table looked amazing — but we were there for snacks/​drinks so sunk into «Dufferin Doubles» (chickpea spicy greasy dough liciousness) and sampled the grilled cauliflower and Mennonite curried micro kernal popcorn (yes, tiny spicy yummy popcorn! Heirloom at that!).
They have a select beer/​wine menu. Friends were happy w the IPA and I with the cider. They just had brewing tanks installed and their passionate, resident brew master will begin concocting their own signature craft beer in the coming months.
The music venue room (separate from the main dining area) is acoustically designed for optimal sound and is a gorgeous space with warm lighting and wood panelled nooks for drinks. Looking forward to catching some show here in the near future. From what I heard, a welcome addition to the neighborhood!