Houston Avenue Bar & Grill

Did the trad burger. Good. Beef carpaccio was on the menu but the slicer broke. Tuna appetizer. Was really tasty and full of flavour. If you can do it raw that is. I loved it.

I came here on a Saturday night around 5:30PM and thought it would be more busy but glad it wasn’t as we were seated promptly. The interior is chic. Hostess was very friendly. We were seated at a booth and it was not long before we had a server get our drink orders.
I chose to get the 9 oz. glass of Smoking Loon Cabernet Sauvignon for $ 15. It was tasty but I thought it was a tad bit on the pricey side for 9 oz. My friend got the Clean Slate Riesling 9 oz. for the same price.
My friend and I got the calamari that was really good and came within a reasonable time. Nice and crispy served with a spicy mayo for $ 12.75. For our main entrees I got the beef sliders with sweet potato fries for $ 13.00. The fries were good and I did somewhat like the sliders but it felt like the patties were from a frozen box which made me sad because I expected more from a place like this. The buns were a bit too dry for my taste. My friend ordered the lobster tacos and she did like the tacos somewhat but each taco probably had about 0.5−0.75 oz of lobster meat. If you’re looking for lobster tacos please don’t get them here and go to a restaurant that’s known for seafood. There are plenty in the GTA.
Overall I probably could have had the same meal or better at a Shoeless Joe’s or Turtle Jack’s for the same price.

Service was great. Décor was wonderful. Ambiance was excellent.
But I ordered the Salmon entrée and some draft beer, and then 10 min after I left the restaurant I had explosive diarrhea. Not sure what happened. I am afraid to return.

Came to watch the Raps game last night at Houston. Started at 8:30 and on a Tuesday this place was really quiet.
We started with the tuna tataki, which was pretty good. Had a little kick at the end. For an entrée we had the Thai beef salad and the salmon salad. Although the steak was cooked the way I like, the flavour just wasn’t there and the salmon had some bones in it – a little disappointing.
I’ve been here before for drinks and I think that’s the best this place can do – drinks right after work and then maybe venture elsewhere for food.

I met up with some friends for drinks one night. I’d never been here, so I had trouble finding the front door, so if you’re walking from the north, the front door is just past the patio on Yonge. *facepalm*
This place is very nice. I felt super trendy being there. The décor is classy and cool; even the bathrooms were cool. Seriously.
I didn’t have anything to eat while I was there, but the service was good. This place has a great vibe and plays some good tunes. I’d love to come back again!

Went for dinner and drinks after work and had a great time. Extensive drinks menu, excellent food (both the prime rib and steak & fries), and friendly service. The ambience is dark and red but also open and airy. A great place to start a night. Will definitely be back!

Came in for a drink sat at the bar, was helped by a really nice girl — Rae, maybe? Great convo, great wine selection, and good music. Not so busy for a friday though

On our way back to the hotel from our dinner spot we decided to stop by this restaurant for a quick drink at the bar. The drinks were very overpriced and the service was quite crappy. Needless to say, if I had to describe the overpriced crappy drink I’d say most expensive little glass of Coke I’ve ever paid for. Did I taste Crown… Yeah I don’t think so. The only reason I gave it a second star was because I thought the décor was great and unique. Even though I guess thinking about it for a steak house kind of disappointing it feels more like a club if you’re coming here for that. Otherwise, location is great but there are better places in wonderful Toronto that one can visit for a better drink and service.

I came in here because it was cold, even though everything about it (the red lights, the blaring music, the cleavage) said it was not the place for me.
The music outside was much louder than the music inside, perhaps to deter homeless people from camping on the patio or to give the illusion of a party that wasn’t happening. It was pretty cold and earlyish in the night, so it was mostly just a few lost souls. They have some very pro-​Toronto décor.
I hope my bartender is going to mix a good cocktail, but that’s not what they have to offer here. The bartenders do have boobs. A lot of boob action going on. And they are very sweet and happy to chat with you. There’s an audience for that.
Their bathrooms are exceptionally clean. Five stars on the bathroom situation. Six stars, if we’re comparing them to most of the bathrooms in downtown Toronto.
I wouldn’t intentionally come back here, but ending up back at Houston wouldn’t be the worst thing ever. I’d stick with beer.

It was cold and we wanted cocktails so we stopped in for a drink at the bar. That was a bad decision. While the staff is all really nice, this is where I experienced possibly the very worst Maple Manhattan that I have ever had the misfortune of drinking. In fact, I’m calling it: this was literally the very worse Maple Manhattan that I have ever tasted. Granted, it didn’t stop me from finishing it. Learn from my mistakes.

I will keep this short and sweet. I went with a friend. Being a steakhouse, we ordered steak. I got the Prime Rib Au Jus and she ordered the Steak & Fries. I can cut my meat with a butter knife and ate the steak before anything else. It. was. THAT. fantastic. Prefectly seasoned, great cut, soft and delicate. My friend also loved her steak. Service was great. We are definitely going back for more! On the pricier side but it is definitely worth every nickel (you know, since we don’t have any pennies anymore).

Terrible service, steak and prime rib under cooked, seafood topping over cooked and dry.
Our server was doing shots at a table rather than serving us. She was elsewise no where to be found… Food was eatable, but not great.
Terrible experience, report experience to hostess she said she would report it to the manager.
Very noisy

Have walked by this restaurant countless times, but never actually gone in. Just happened to be going to a concert in the area, so decided to go here since I’d never been. It was a nice day, so we went out to the patio. Hostess was super friendly and quickly sat us at a table.
For food, I got the Beef Carpaccio and the Sausage Orecchiette. The carpaccio was really good, with there being a light array of toppings to go with the beef, yet still giving a full dish feeling. The pasta was pretty good, but a bit one dimensional. Although it had different ingredients inside to give it some depth, it ended up being all one flavour.
Service was okay, but definitely could of been better. Took quite a bit to get in drink and food orders, and the busboy kept bringing dishes to the wrong tables! (Not just us). Our server was quite nice though (which helped), and we weren’t in a rush.
Saw that others said the music was too loud, but the patio wasn’t too bad. However, with the mix of street noises and the background music, it was still quite loud. But hey, some people enjoy that!?!

Only got the salmon here (multiple times) but it is delicious! Take-​out service is better than dine-​in in my opinion since the service is so slow for dine-​in.

VERY POOR SERVICE! This place is lucky I’m giving them any stars. We were a group of 6, it took about 20mins after we were seated to get a waitress to come to our table. Once she got there we order food & drinks; drinks arrived a little late but the food took a LONG TIME. A equal sized group next to us arrived AFTER we did and they got their food before our table. When our food finally arrived it was ok, nothing special. Someone in our group ordered a medium rare rib eye steak that was very over cooked; any carnivore knows how disappointing that can be.
We asked for the manager and he obviously had no clue how to deal with our situation. The restaurant was not busy; it appeared they had enough staff. The manager offered the silliest excuses. Very poor customer service.
I wish I hadn’t left a tip.

We came here for an office social dinner on a Friday evening. We had several rounds of drinks prior to our prix fixe menu which was $ 35 per person.
I had a red wine sangria as well as a mojito. The mojito wasn’t done quite right the first time. Brought it to the attention of our server and shortly thereafter a bartender came to apologize and explained that they had run out of lime juice which was why it tasted so off. He offered to make me one of his own versions of it and I could see if I liked it. Great service.
For appetizer I had the beef carpaccio. It was delicious and surpringly a decent portion. For my main I had prime rib and mash. And dessert was crème brûlée.
Overall, great experience and delicious food.

We went to the Houston Ave Bar during Summerlicious. It was great; food and drink, attentive wait staff, nice surroundings. We had Caesar salad and Clam chowder for appetizers. Both excellent. Caesar had grated fresh cheese with bacon and croutons, all very fresh. Clam chowder was substantial and really tasty.
We both had ribs, which came with coleslaw and fries. Ribs were worth the whole Summerlicious fee; full rack of fall of the bone ribs with a good BBQ flavour. Coleslaw and fries were also good.
We had cheesecake and sticky toffee cake after this. Over the top desserts, both really nice.
Great place, service was perfect not too fast so you would feel rushed but food was perfect when served.
Would recommend it, especially during Summerlicious as it was a great price!

Been here for drinks before and quite enjoyed the ambience on the patio. Went for dinner tonight. Sat on the patio again and they had a dj playing so it was loud but the music was good so we didn’t mind.
Menu is decently priced and they have $ 5 rail after 9pm which was a plus.
The hostess was welcoming, the food was good although my steak was overcooked but it still tasted ok so I didn’t bother complaining. Service was painfully slow. The server was nice enough but couldnt answer any questions i had about the menu which were really quite simple. On top of that everything just took sooooo long. Mind you they weren’t busy as I have seen them before. Maybe understaffed though. I’m not sure.
Anyways I would go back for drinks in the future probably not a full meal. Maybe service in the dining room is better!

We went to this place last Friday because we were on the area and the decoration seemed very attractive from the outside.
The hostess of the place is the hottest and nicest girl I´ve seen working in a restaurant in Toronto. She gave us the option of sitting in the lounge, or in the restaurant, so we picked the lounge.
I loved the decoration; mostly red with modern accents. Houston looked like one of those trendy restaurants that Sex and The City showed. Even the bartender looked like a character from a funny sitcom: pony tale, bangs, matador attitude, and flirty with only girls tables.
Although the place was really noisy, we managed to sit in the coach beside each other, facing the crowd while enjoying a Malbec (they have good selection of wines). It was fun to see the affluence of such diversity of people (office workers without suit and tie, couples, ladies night out groups, annoying drunks, and loners) enjoying themselves, and the live Dj’s music.
We ordered a Tuna Tataki for appetizer, and that was the best part of our meal. The tuna was tick, cooked at perfection, and melting in the mouth. The greens that accompanied it where crunchy, fresh, and gave the perfect contrast. Amazing!
The but came with the steaks… If the place is going to consider itself a Steakhouse, it must give the whole attention to the term the customer asks for their meat… My husband asked the Rib Steak, and I ordered the Prime Rib Au Jus, we both asked them to bring them Medium-​rare. However, the rib Steak was overcooked, it was a Well Done term… Which was extremely dry, a shame because we could tell the steaks where good quality. Half of the Prime Rib was excellent, the weird part was that after half the steak, it was just red…
I liked the place and the modern-​party ambiance, I just would recommend them to pay attention to the food they serve, because after all, it’s a restaurant, not a nightclub.

Been here several times for an overpriced drink or meal. Only went here because location, but there are much better places in the area. The food is decent, but expensive. The drinks are expensive. The décor is too look at me. The music is loud.
This is a bar that wants to be a club maybe.