Sarah’s Cafe & Bar

Enjoyed lunch with friends. The food was fantastic, I really enjoyed the mussels. Cozy bistro, unhurried, warm service from staff. Shall definitely return.

Went for brunch this weekend (Saturday) and wasn’t all impressed with Sarah’s. I had the eggs Benedict with smoked salmon and the English muffin wasn’t toasted well enough so it all tasted soggy. Also in just found it very bland — it looked good but had no substance or taste! Disappointing because I love brunch and it was just a wasted outing food wise. My hubby and I both commented afterwards about how we left there feeling hungry! It came out to about $ 35 for the two of us (food plus coffee).

Best patio in the hood, but that’s the best thing they have for you. Inconsistent service and food. Good beer though, and it’s nice inside as well.
A classic example of a place that’s been the best the hood can offer for too long. Complacent.

A group of us came in there the other day, we walked through the restaurant to get to the patio as the sign had said to do, and after we went inside and asked for a server three times, a girl finally came out. (There wasn’t anyone else in the restaurant) At this point a couple guys had already gone inside to get their drinks because they had the same experience last time they were in. The server had such a bad attitude and that’s the only reason why I’m writing this review. When we got the bill she brought one over, I find this silly. If I can remember and figure out what everyone had I’m sure she could have, she definitely would have made more in tips if she had put a little bit of effort in. Guinness is cheap, wing and fries were good. Service was brutal. If we go back hopefully we get a different server, or this one gets a better attitude or we will have to find somewhere else to spend a few hundred dollars.

I can’t get past the smell. As soon as you walk in, you were hit by a wave of grease smell… The kind of smell you get when the hoods in the kitchen have not been cleaned for a very long time.
The look and atmosphere of this place has the potential to be great, although it’s quite worn down and tired looking at this point. The food is nothing special, in the past three times that I have gone for drinks, my cider or beer has been flat.
Service is blah — every time I’m there I am served by the same person, who doesn’t really seem to want to be there and wonders by your table rarely. He has also argued with me in the past that cider is supposed to be flat, but it’s nothing wrong with the keg.
I wouldn’t bother visiting — there are so many great places on Danforth now, why waste your time with something that is subpar or at best mediocre.

If you have never been, it’s worth going to. I made it for brunch and enjoyed my meal and service. Two people cost me $ 28 so it is fairly inexpensive.

A beer snob’s delight in the East end. Food is great. Staff is casual and friendly. Great for groups or private parties and they have a nice covered patio too!

I love the look of this place but I just can’t get past the smell. As soon as you walk in, it’s an overwhelming smell of old grease — it’s the smell that comes when you don’t thoroughly clean your hoods over the fryers/​stove, or when you don’t regularly change the oil in the fryers (and of course clean the fryers). Puts me off eating every time, so I no longer go.
My friends and I will go to Sarah’s in the Summer only, when we can sit outside. And when we do, its for drinks only, not food. The last two times I’ve been I’ve ordered a pint of cider, and both times it came to me with no carbonation in it. When i mentioned it to the waiter, he let me know that it was «supposed to be like that — its not the same as beer». Needless to say I sent it back and didn’t bother with a new drink. We paid up and left — there are many other places nearby now that we’d rather frequent.
Sarah’s needs a bit of an overhaul and freshening up. Until then I doubt I’ll be back.

This place was pretty middle of the road. It didn’t leave me itching to come back but it didn’t turn me off either. I had the portobello appetizer. The server said it wasn’t big enough for a meal and tried to upsell me. It was fine and quite tasty. Drinks were re-​filled quickly. I tried my friend’s salmon cakes and nearly gagged but I hate cooked fish so it’s possible it was just my taste buds and not the product itself. One thing I didn’t like was that it was extremely dark. I couldn’t see what I was eating. It would work well if I were there to drink but wasn’t conducive to eating dinner.

Terrible service. There is always 1 waitress even on the busiest of days. I came 3 times during my 1 hour lunch break — the first of which I had to gulp the food down because I had 5 mins to eat, and the other two times I had to leave because the waitress had taken 20 mins just to bring out water.

i met a local friend there for lunch, this was our 3^rd time. the others were meh? but meeting place was convenient for us, the daytime waitress is wonderful she gives good service.
i ordered the falafel sandwich on pita with the sauce on side. (im so glad i ordered it on side) it tasted a bit off in my first few bites and then ignored it.
i got the most violent stomach ache and vomiting and diarrhea for the next 2 days. it was hell!
i can’t confirm for sure it was from sarahs, but i had dinner the night before at 5pm and then their lunch at 1pm, and that’s when it started.
one star for the lovely waitress.

Nice atmosphere, but very overpriced for the quality of food. Taco Trio was pulled pork sopping in super sweet bbq sauce, chicken in an inedible amount of another strong sauce, then a fish taco with zero trace of flavour outside the cilantro leaves. I really wanted to like this place because there are so few options on this end of the Danforth, but was sadly disappointed. Will not go back for food other than brunch.

I went here with my boyfriend acouple of months ago. It’s right by my house and we said hey why not. The place was packed when we got in I believe it was a Friday or Saturday. Staff was friendly but they seems overworked. Like they needed someone else on the floor. The kitchen is in the middle and from the high table we were sitting at we could see into it. Which I don’t mind. It’s better to be able to see what’s going on with your food. We got muscles wings and ribs. Muscles were extremely tasty and they have a wide variety of flavours to choose from. The wings and ribs were good and the sauce was very tasty. While they have a small menu they have good options. But I’m giving this place a 3 star because their prices are way too high. They’re at danforth east in a neighbourhood full of families. Not in a downtown location! There good was good but not good enough to charge those prices.
I also tried the pad Thai one other time. Surprisingly good for a non Thai restaurant

Once again I choose 3 because there is no 2.5.
Went there on a weekday after work for drinks. Seating area is divided into two. In front there is room for about 20 and then in the back there is another that can probably seat 50. I suppose the back room is also used for parties. There is a large patio on the side with a overhang and relatively smaller one in the front. Would be a nice to sit on a patio on a rainy day. I took a seat inside.
First of all, table was a tad sticky. Big turn off for me. Service was okay. I am Jack and Ginger man and my drink was fixed just right. They had a huge beer list. Price, the price is right. $ 32 for three mixed drinks, 1 pint and 2 half pints. I would like to go back and try the food, but it‘s a little out of the way for me. But if I do, will be sure to update.

I was committed to 3 stars until I saw the bathroom, which definitely had the distinct odour and wet floor of a dive bar. Not a happy place.
I shared a simple cheese plate and decent cappuccinos on a Wednesday evening. The patio looks cozy but it was a bit chilly for sitting outside. Waitstaff service was attentive, friendly, and efficient.

This place has good service and the ambiance is fine. The food is great too. The menu has some good ideas and then I realized that the cost to quality of food ratio is not fair to the consumer. Their alcoholic selection is standard and the options are more like comfort foods. But this is not the Senator on Yonge and Dundas. It’s an open kitchen concept with relatively skilled sous chefs. Everything is relatively nice but its the cost that doesn’t add up. Either they’re justifying the price cause they waste a lot of food or they’re capitalizing on the fact there isn’t any other restaurant in the area like it. But if you don’t have to live around here and you are mobile you can get a similar menu in more core parts of Toronto.
Their Goat Cheese salad was good their tomato soup of the day and chicken wings were all great but dominos pizza also has good wings.

I’ve been once, on a weekday evening, and found the service to be slow and disinterested. Yes, the beer selection is good, but this isn’t the 1980’s anymore: there are a million places with a good selction of beers.
The owner’s responses to the reviews below and the reviews that were filtered out are quite shocking, and perhaps an indication of why the service was so poor: The customer is never right, it seems.

The worst brunch I ever had in the East End was at Sarah’s. The lettuce was rancid and black and the waitress served us coffee poured over our tea bags instead of water, by mistake, but still.
The only reason I give them a two is that it’s an okay place for a beer and dessert. But avoid the other food.

Ouch. Just came back from here and I guess my 5 star rating was way out of date. Fish & Chips were probably the worst F&C I’ve had in 20 years. French onion soup was really bland and uneventful. Salmon was great. Steak and frites came with a grilled veggie kabob that was a nice addition.
I think the trick of this place is to order things that are good for you. The closer you stick to salads and hummus-​like things, the better the place looks.

Just ordered salmon cakes and steak frites. Here it is. Oily coleslaw, sauce from the bottle and a strangely thick breaded deep fried oval fish stick. Greasy, tasteless. And now for the steak frites. The steak is wobbly and grey! We requested med-​rare. The fries were greasy soggy and the veg kabob burnt.
Honestly: Come for drinks but forget ordering food for now unless the menu changes radically and turns into exciting, crisp, colorful fare.
Atmosphere is acceptable and prices for beer are fine. But again, with all the options on the Danforth I’d pass on the chow. 3 stars for good effort service. 1 star for lame food…
Edit after owner commentary (see below):
My dear, «why don’t you improve your soggy dishes instead of making hopeless wishes?»