Leslie Jones

The service was terrible. We sat waiting for 20 mins only to be given water. We then had to ask for menus. Another 15 mins later, we placed our orders — all at once, drinks, appetizers and mains. The appetizers arrived quickly but it took an hour to receive our mains. The patio was a little busy, the restaurant was not. I will say the food was good but not worth all the frustrations.

Service was slow but friendly. I wouldn’t recommend the pizza for what you’re paying.

We arrived 6 minutes late for our reservation to be greeted by a warm vibrant atmosphere, a lovely aroma and a very friendly server — two thumbs up.
We started with two cocktail a Sea Hare for the lady and a French Italian for myself — both lovely two thumbs up
We decided to start with the appetizer platter — marinated vegetables, cheese and cured meats — very vibrant and tasty and great value — two thumbs up
We eagerly await the mains
The lovely lady (my Mrs. took the cod special and it was the piri piri pulled pork — both were excellent — two thumbs up
We decided to skip dessert but they all looked fab. Overall it was lovely, service a tab slow but very friendly helpful. Two thumbs up.

The food was amazing for a quick find late night dinner. And not too pricey. Will definitely recommend and be back!

I really can’t say anything negative about Leslie Jones. It’s a great little spot in Leslieville and the food it it about as homemade as you can get. The staff were very friendly and helpful (we had a lot of questions about the menu), they were very patient us and made great recommendations.
We ordered the following entrees:
Braised beef brisket — with dark ale, red wine, caramelized onions
Stacked eggplant — w/​spinach, leeks, roasted peppers and goat cheese
Both of which we’re really good, I would definitely recommend both options.
I did not have the dessert due to an allergy but I was told the carrot cake was incredible…

We enjoyed a surprisingly good Valentine’s Day dinner here. The $ 45 price for 4 courses was excellent value, especially since each one of the courses was a tasty treat. Well prepared, good sized portions, quality ingredients, (super tender beef) and attentive service. The ambience was pleasant too, music not too loud, friendly, informal. Bravo. We shall be back. And recommend to all Beachers who will appreciate a nearby restaurant with a good chef and competent staff. One suggestion: add a little more light on the tables… we saw a young woman using her iPhone to read the menu.

My husband and I recently moved to Leslieville from the Danforth area.
We have passed by Leslie Jones many times and have always wanted to try it.
We had friends staying with us from NB and we decided that Friday was the perfect time to check it out.
There were 6 of us, and we sat out back on the patio. What ambiance!
We had cocktails, wine, beer etc., and we each ordered an app. Meatballs and muscles were out of this world, the polenta which we all tasted was so-​so, turned out none of us were big fans of polenta.
We each ordered a main and were not disappointed, the brisket was succulent, the piri piri pork was outstanding, the eggplant was moist and delicious, and the linguini was delicious.
My friends from out of town said it was one of the best meals they had ever had.
We all had dessert and coffee and it ended up being about $ 80 a couple, really reasonable.
I’m already thinking about what I’m going to order next time.
Try it, you will not be disappointed.

Did we go on an off night?
Thought Leslie Jones was overpriced for the quality of cooking. We ordered the charcuterie board, which was mostly preserved/​pickled items with goat cheese and 2 meats and we shared a pizza that was good. If someone made it at home (not a chef) and served it to me then yeah I’d say it was really good. But for the price of the food here you can get way better in the area.
Drink menu was good.

Great little restaurant in Leslieville. It’s probably the closest thing you can get to a home cooked meal at a restaurant. It’s family run and cozy.
There’s quite a variety of options ranging from pizza to pasta to veggie or meat entrees. There’s a pulled pork dish that’s to die for. It may be one of my favourite dishes in the city.

One of my favourite restaurants in the city. Great service and incredible food every time. Love it here

Lovely little restaurant in the Leslieville area. It has a casual yet intimate ambience. I would recommend reservations as the place was quite full by 8pm. I really enjoyed the beef brisket, the mushroom risotto with pulled pork (this was a special) and the escargot. Wash all this down with a negroni and you’re good to go.
The service was stellar. Our server was friendly and attentive which makes the experience that much more enjoyable.
The back patio area looks really nice but unfortunately it was a rainy day in Toronto. So I’m looking forward to coming back on a sunny day and enjoying more eats at this Leslieville joint.

Excellent establishment. I visited here on Friday night with my girlfriend. The place is quite small but the atmosphere is great. The food was excellent! I had the Peri Peri Pork which was amazing! I will definitely be back here again.

Fantastic!
Friendly, relaxed neighbourhood restaurant. Intimate, but it can handle big groups (although I would recommend making a reservation if you have a big group).
Lovely private, tree lined patio at the back of the restaurant — away from Queen Street traffic.
Meals were very tasty, well presented and portions are appropriate… you should not be disappointed.
Wine list has lots of great selections — clearly someone with wine knowledge had some input in its creation.
The service is terrific and they and the kitchen is friendly.
Just Go!

Felt compelled to update after another visit last night.
The portions seem to have got bigger and the food even fresher and better presented (didn’t even think that was possible).
One of the best restaurants I’ve been to in T.O.

Extremely good neighborhood spot. Appropriately named. Unpretentious. A variety of options. Great portions. Relatively nice people. No screaming children. Spectacular pulled pork. Decent music. Fresh ingredients. Outdoor BarBQ. Open kitchen. Romantical patio. Can’t lose.

We arrived early on a Saturday evening and greeted by friendly staff for a seat on the back patio.
Our beers were brought to us quickly. We shared the beet salad ($ 9). It was fresh with the perfect amount of dressing. For our main courses we had the daily fish ($ 19) and the piri piri pulled pork ($ 18).
We noticed the portions were very large. The flavours were outstanding — fresh, natural without a lot of grease and not overly spicy.
No dessert for us, as the main courses were plentiful.
The only critique I had for the back patio was the loud rap music coming from the neighbours’ next door. I guess it adds a little flare to the evening!

*On this particular evening — it started pouring at 7:30pm, so all of the patio diners rushed inside, making the restaurant a bit flustered and busy. The staff handled this chaos as well as anyone could have.
The food was good — but did not leave a lasting impression. I ordered the fish special with a salad ($ 24 for a very small piece of fish and lettuce) a price which did not match the quality of the dish.
The cocktails were bland. One cocktail served to me included tequila, grenadine and soda water… I would stick with wine next time.
I would return for sure — the staff was lovely, but I would make sure I order completely different dishes/​drinks to see what that does for overall experience.

I wanted to love this place. We moved not too long ago to Leslieville, and Leslie Jones is one of the places that we set aside for a special night. Tonight was one of those.
The service is awesome, and the menu looked great. But in the company of great Leslieville restaurants like Lil Baci, and Queen Margherita, which have similarly priced menus that include pizza, comparisons are bound to be drawn.
The wine was expensive at $ 12 for what seemed like a 4 ounce glass. The Beet salad was pretty good. But the pizza was not to the level that we’ve come to expect in Toronto, especially not at $ 16 for a small 4 slice pie. The sausage was chunky and comparable to what one might expect at a lower priced grab and go chain. The unannounced Parmesan cheese, below the layer of mozzarella was an unwelcome surprise. But above all, I took issue with the crust which was heavy and brittle for what was supposed to be a thin crust.
I have a feeling the other menu items, especially the dessert might be worth trying, but unfortunately due to this pizza experience I probably won’t be back to write about it. Such a shame, I was hoping to have a 4 star experience and truly ended up with about 2.5.

Leslie Jones is a fun place for food and friends. It is located on Queen between Leslie and Jones, hence the name. Here are a few highlights…
1. Leslie Jones has a nice variety of pasta dishes, beef, seafood, and pizzas. I opted for the chicken pizza, which was the slightest bit too salty, but otherwise great. At 15 $, it was priced in line with others around town.
2. The service here is very good, especially by Toronto standards. The chef and the server both had a real warmth and welcoming attitude that was refreshing.
3. They have a great selection of wines and spirits here.
4. The dessert here could give anyone else’s dessert a run for its money. The chocolate flour less torte and the cheesecake were both smash hits at my table.
5. The space is small, clean, and inviting. It is well worth a visit here.

It was my first time here tonight and I had a very pleasant meal. First off, the ambiance and the décor were great. Relaxed and cool, very unpretentious but current. And our server was very nice and did really well for being the only serving staff that night.
Started with a glass of wine (good selection, stuff you can’t find at the LCBO) and split the beet salad with my friend. It was good, but not the best I’ve had. I had the pasta of the day which was a gnocchi with a cream and gorgonzola sauce with mushrooms and white wine. It sounded better on paper than it tasted in my mouth but I have no complaints about it. It was just a little predictable and flat in flavour and couldn’t taste much of the gorgonzola, but I still ate the whole thing. Dinner ended with an absolutely wonderful slice of flourless chocolate torte and rounded off the night very nicely.
My friend had the eggplant which was pretty great, and other dishes like the ratatouille looked wonderful too… Maybe next time. My main could have used some imagination to match the personality of the restaurant as a whole, but I would definitely come back and give their other dishes a try.