Shoxs Billiard Lounge

Went here on a Tuesday night to play pool. Place was empty which was nice and got our pick of tables and tvs!

#SHOXS # UnilocalTO
Probably the grungiest eatery in this area, and the cheapest. There’s a decent selection of cocktails and beers. And decent bar fare. Oh, and don’t let the outside fool you — it’s actually pretty spacious.
The guy had 5 beers and a shot of tequila. I had a margarita. Can’t even remember how it was because this was one of the worst dates I’ve been on. And I paid for all of it.
I’d like to go back and experience the place sometime.

This place is made for big groups, and locals.
We’ve been coming on and off for years with our sports teams after whatever beer league we’ve just finished playing in the area because they always have room for a big group and the servers do a good job of keeping your pitchers full of beer.
The food is pretty standard pub food at a pretty standard price. Wings, burgers, sandwiches, a few salads made with cheap lettuce and lots of deep fried apps.
They have a few pool tables, lots of televisions playing sports and a bar that is always lined with 40+ year old men.

We just moved into the neighborhood a few months ago, and Shoxs is our closest watering hole. We’ve been there a couple of times to play pinball and pool, and always found it fit the bill for a nice, basic sports bar with decent (if not slightly overpriced) pub food. A solid 3-​star kind of place.
On our most recent visit, we noticed that the (already overpriced) menu had been completely overhauled. Half of the menu items we enjoyed were gone, and the remaining menu items had gone up in price… even more?
We tried to order nachos with pulled pork, which was our Shoxs standard. Our waitress informed us that they are no longer serving pulled pork. We asked if there was anything the kitchen could do (like add ground beef, or something?) Our waitress came back after a long spell looking a bit embarrassed, said something to the effect of «my boss is a bit of a stickler on this front, we’re not supposed to add anything to the nachos now.» Okay, whatever. It’s not her fault. At this point we’ll just order them and see what we get. The price of the nachos had gone up, so maybe there was more to them? When they arrived, we realized that we were paying $ 15 for a plate of nacho chips covered in cheese and a few black olives. That’s it.
Shoxs was in the running to become our no-​frills local pub. But ever since this menu-​revamp, we’re pretty sure that we’ll never go back. They get one star for having a pinball machine, and that’s it.

I like it here.
I order food to go. Always great. Nice charred burgers. BIG, good salads.
Yum.

Decent and compared to many places in the Junction, unpretentious place.
Claims to be the first bar to open in the Junction since it stopped being a dry ward in the 1990s. Judging by the décor and the style this seems to be true. Standard beer selection along with one craft beer from the junction. Decent pub food as well. There are 4 pool tables and the price goes up depending on how many people you have in your group.

The closest bar to me so I’ve been here many times by default.
Large comfy booths are a draw, and there’s usually one available. Many, MANY tv’s showing sports but the excellent staff is very accommodating and will switch the tv closest to you (and there is one very close, rest assured) to whatever you want.
Beer is just the usual low-​level brands but recently they got a good local beer (Hops and Robbers or some such) so kudos to them for coming around at last.
Food is the low point, though I have had and enjoyed the weekly lasagna special several times. The rest seems to be average (i.e. not very good) bar food. Wine is low-​end, a short pour, over-​priced and not chilled (in the case of red, that is, which should a little cool, imo).

My go-​to bar because it’s located so close to home. Love their large, roomy booths and pool tables, very unpretentious and welcoming environment, standard bar fare that can easily accommodate a veg person. Always great service.

Love the junction, and this is a good place to go with friends.
this Pool bar has decent selection of food in their menu.
We had some vegetable chips, they fried them in not so hot oil, so they were a little damped, not crispy.
We were bar hopping and will definitely go back and try other items.

one of the worst bars i’ve ever been to
shit food, horrible service, badly priced drinks

food was frankly, kinda gross and the service was… meh. but they show the NFL homes!!!

While having drinks at this bar, my husband was assaulted in the washroom by a man that had a problem with homosexuals. When I spoke with Gus, the owner, I was advised that we were «lucky» that we were «tolerated» there and was advised, after my husband suffered an assault without physical provocation, that we were not welcome there anymore. Oddly, I spent the entire time trying to calmly rationalize with the owner after being called a «faggot» by someone that assaulted my husband and fled the locale, knowing he’d done something wrong. Even though I was calm and reasonable, he continued to yell simply that we were not welcome there. It was a surreal experience that seems contrary to the progressive, highly liberal, dynamic of the Junction. Fortunately, I write for two national publications and will be making this hatred public and known.

Finally got the chance to visit and shoot some pool. Tables are a little on the pricey side (I guess I can kinda admit that the place does maintain upkeep so its no biggey, really…) But, at 12 $/​hour I had an awesome time all the same! Ordered some bar food, and was quite impressed with the coconut shrimp and Calamari rings. Suicide wings were awesome, even though I’ve had spicier. Worth visiting again, no doubt.

I’ve stopped going to Shoxs about 2 years ago even though I live very close by. On a couple occasions, myself and my friends have felt that we were being treated differently for being non-​white. We ignored the sign that says «no baggy jeans» (although many white men in the bar wore baggy jeans). The service made us feel a little uneasy but again, we ignored it. The second time I went back, the waitress didn’t bring back all of our change. I guess she figured we weren’t going to tip so she’d just take her share. Ironically, what we would have left, would have been more than what she kept. We were so shocked and disgusted we didn’t even bother to complain, just decided to never come back.
I didn’t leave a review before because it was based on a feeling and not any overt acts of racism but after reading this review (
), which was unfortunately filtered, I decided to add my experience.
It’s too bad because it’s very handy to have a pub so close to me for those late night cravings.

Gord and I had a late supper here tonight. We hadn’t been there before.
We shared an order of garlic bread and cheese and mozzarella sticks. They were good.
Gord ordered haddock fish and chips. He said it was good, not great.
I ordered medium wings. There were ten to a pound and they were good. The medium sauce wasn’t too hot.
Caitlyn was our server and she took care of us. She was friendly and fun.

I’m a fan of sports bar food, and this place serves a below-​average example of it. Will not return.
Fries B
Burger B–

The owner, Gus, lead the charge to make the Junction «Wet» after local temperance crusader William «Temperance Willie» Temple died in the late 1980s. Temple’s ghost «haunted» the area, because he won two-​more temperance related plebiscites posthumously, before Gus’s pro-​drinking side finally won the right to make the Junction-​area, east of Keele Street, wet in the year 2000 municipal elections. I mention this, because it is kind of important to the history of the area: Shoxs was the first drinking establishment in the eastern part of the Junction neighbourhood since 1903!
This is a sports bar, and also a pool hall. It is also an NTN/​Buzztime trivia facility, which is how I first heard of it. There is a regular crowd of locals, but this place really comes to life during Maple Leafs games, or other marquee sports events (plenty of TVs to choose from at the bar, including a few in true-​HD Quality).
Like many of my other reviews of bars in the area with pool-​tables, I don’t play, but apparently the people that do, like it. If you don’t like a sports-​centric pool hall bar, than more than likely, you are not going to like this place. I happen to like this kind of venue, but in moderation of course.
I have only had good experiences with the service here. When Gus isn’t out politicking, he sometimes fills in as a late-​night cook, once the evening chef leaves for the night. I have seen him specially fry something up for me, after midnight, when the kitchen was «officially» closed. The wait-​staff have always been friendly to me, but I’m hardly the type of customer that puts much, if any, demands on the wait-​staff.
Another thing going for it is its downstairs section. There is a comedy night every month, usually on the last Friday. Other events happen down there, but I do occasionally attend the comedy night, which is pretty good, and filled with local West Toronto Junction talent.
The beer selection is mostly Molson products, so don’t expect Black Oak’s 10 Bitter Years beer here, but if you want to play trivia, play a round of pool, or be surrounded by fellow Leafs fans during a game, Shoxs is hard to top.

The Toronto Lover system:
5 stars = Must visit!
4 stars = Really good. I take my friends here.
3 stars = Somewhat worth it… if you have nowhere better to go.
2 stars = Below average. Attend only when necessary.
1 star = Do not visit!
The place has «Billiard Lounge» in its name, but it’s really just a great sports bar. The food is decent, the prices are what you expect, and there is much seating to watch whatever game it is you want to watch. For big games, I recommend calling ahead and reserving a spot downstairs, which has large leather couches and feels a bit like your friend’s dad’s basement. Service here is very good, and they offer enough beers on tap to please anyone’s interests.
I don’t know if I would go out of my way to visit Shoxs, but it’s a really good place, and this city is lacking in excellent sports bars.
3 stars

I visited the Junction area since I am buying a property there and decided to give this watering hole a try.
The décor is much like your run of the mill sports bar. I was surprised by the size of the establishment. Some key features included: booths, pool tables, CLEAN WASHROOMS!
Our waitress was very friendly and gave us some pointers about visiting places in the area. We ordered a Chicken and Rib combo (~$ 18) which was cooked to perfection for bar standards.
The atmosphere was slightly lacking but I think it was because of the long weekend so there weren’t too many people in the area.
Overall, this is definitely the place to be if you want to grab good food at a reasonable price and shoot some pool while you’re at it.

I liked it!!! It has very cheap green p parking near by. Waiters were nice. Has a nice eating section. 5 pool tables. And food and drinks are all reasonably priced.
Washrooms are clean and drinks come fairly quickly. It was good.