The Hole In the Wall

Cozy, good food, really good Bourbon Sour. Friday night, we went early. Seated by 5:00, and this place was almost full. The Hole in the Wall is a very tight little space.
Our drinks were very well made. We had spiced nuts before our meal. The spice was not hot, it was more like a sweet and spicy. I had the BLT, my friend had the burger. Both came with fries. No complaints here. Very good food. We will go back one night to catch the live entertainment. I would recommend The Hole in the Wall to anyone that wants a night out without breaking the bank. The interior is worth a visit.

One of my favorite spots!
charming, bohemian, great food, good prices
gotta get the caesar
beer
and order a bunch of things-​chances are you’ll like most of them
Only problem is it fills up quick
guess my review aint gonna help ;(

Cool place to check out in the junction. It’s literally a hole in the wall the place is really narrow but absolutely cute. Was recommend to try the burgers and it wasn’t bad. Wasn’t the best ever but I wasn’t asking or looking for that. The drink menu is extensive with different price points. Would go back again.

calamari was nice when I first visited a year and half ago, fish and chips dry — tried them twice. Nice atmosphere though. Duck salad dry, cold and hard to swallows.

As tourists, we didn’t know that the Monday after the New Years weekend would mean that many restaurants and bars closed. So having this place be unintentionally planned after driving to three closed bars on our to-​do list, I immediately felt bad that it wasn’t even our first choice after doing some research on the food and bars of Toronto!
When I walked in, the bartender greeted me near the door with enthusiasm and led me to my seat. There was a girl performing in the back of the bar with her ukulele, and probably about 5 – 6 people drinking near the entrance. The place was dead, but the bartender still managed to keep a great attitude as our host and even made great conversation! He recommended 4 – 5 more bars and clubs for us to visit and even described the type of live music that was to be played there. I admit the cocktail I ordered (something with Rosemary) felt kind of weak (this was my first bar that night too) but the food was DELICIOUS. I ordered the veggie burger, while my boyfriend ordered the mac and cheese. At first I thought it may have been typical boxed mac and cheese, but when I tried his dish, I was so jealous at how rich the cheese was, warm and melted all over the pasta. My veggie burger was great too, I could even see the pieces of veggies in my patty, so that’s always a plus for me. Great fresh food, great live music, and best customer service I could ever ask for!

I was in the neighbourhood with my girlfriend for shipping vintage stuff. When we became hungry, we decided to check out that hidden place at Dundas west.
It was worth it.
We ordered two waters and had the best veggie burgers in our lives. The side potatoes were crispy and well seasoned. It was a big portion but not too much. Awesome sauce on the burger, the Avocadoes were really good as well. The place is cute and very cozy, reminds me of some sweet little pubs in Ireland. The waitress was very nice and kind too

Came on a buck-​a-​shuck oyster night and it was PACKED. This place is a literal «hole in the wall», super tiny, but dressed up nice. Loved the vibe of this place and the food was great (I had several oysters and I stole some of my sister’s mac and cheese, all very good). I definitely would come back, though my boyfriend did complain that it was «too hipster» for his liking so if that means anything to you, take that into account.

37 $ for the worst coffee and the most boring huevos rancheros in the world should’ve went home. 5 $ for mud coffee bla. Service was dismissive at best. Eating out in Toronto is getting sad.

I come here way too often for a drink or for food. First, it really is a hole in the wall — and so you’d expect a dive bar. But this is not a dive bar. If you expect to dive bar like food, or save a bit of money for some cheap drinks — sorry, you’re out of luck.
What you can expect here is some great food. There is always some duck or special menues. The veggie burger, was new, and just was very well made — like a piece of art. Calimari, I always find fried to perfection. Drinks, are like many places in the junction and at market price. I don’t really recall any special drinks.
I’ve been for their English breakfast, and it has been a rather wonderful meal with a good price. The servers always take care of you even if they are extremely busy.
So is this place for getting trashed under 20 dollars? No. But for a reasonable budget of 40 dollars, you can get a 2 – 3 drinks and good snack/​meal. The place is tiny, so don’t bother on a weekend with more than 4 people unless you’re you come really early.

Probably the most aptly named bar in Toronto, and definitely one of my favourites.
There’s live music 5 days/​week, and open mic on Mondays. They’ve been around for something like 15 years, and it shows. Every part of the operation is really polished: great service, solid menu, and decent beer selection. Really, if you’re in the Junction and feel like something a little more authentic than the Indie Ale House across the street, it’s probably your best bet.

Good food, cool mood, kind of cramped. It had a very hipster vibe to it.

Went for late night eats in the Junction and their kitchen was open until 1 which was perfect. Great atmosphere! Solid food! And excellent draft selection. The «spicy Chinese takeout» calamari (I think that was the name) was really flavourful. The baked artichoke dip was delicious. And the fries were good. Nice touch that the condiments offered (without asking) were ketchup and a tasty hot sauce. I will come back again for sure!
Live band was playing and every seat was occupied. Great atmosphere!

The best staff. The best atmosphere. The best beer. The best food.
Where everywhere else in the Junction closes early and is unreliable the hole is a good friend you can count on. So glad to have it in the neighbourhood.

The chicken and waffles were excellent. At first I thought it wasn’t enough but then I started eating it and it was very filling. My partner ordered the Huevos Rancheros which was also delicious. We have also ordered the duck wings and meat and veggie platters which were great but small for sharing. The service here is ok. The food is great but the portion sizes are rather small. If you go at night the atmosphere and staff is fun and lively but during the day is quite the opposite. Dead.
I would go back… in the evening.

I had read lots of positive things about this small bar, and was excited to grab a drink here. Well, I didn’t realize just how small of a small bar it actually is… Not many tables to choose from. The décor is fine, and our waiter was very nice. But it seemed to be an average beer selection with average prices. And it did feel a bit too small for my liking.
As for the live music it hosts, I would have been curious to see how a band could possibly fit on their tiny stage in the back! Probably would have been entertaining to see. But apparently 8pm on a Saturday is not the time to catch live music here…

After coming here, I was definitely craving some more calamari and pot de crème. Unfortunately when I came back it wasn’t quite as good. Actually, it was pretty bad. The calamari wasn’t fried long enough, so it was soggy and chewy rather than crispy. Each bite taken was accompanied by disappointment, and I’m not the one to hide my expressions, so one my friends thought it was hilarious. The pot de crème was alright, the flavour was the same but it had a grainy texture, like the sugar didn’t quite fully dissolve.
My friends got the cheesecake, which came with some burnt dulce de leche resembling clump on top, and the cheese and artichoke dip, which was more like cheese and grease dip.
What made it worse was the service. Oh my god, the service. There was one waiter and one buser, and we sat at the entrance. The waiter was too busy chatting with people around the bar that it was impossible to get any service. We had to wave him down for our bill via charades, then waited for the machine. I usually don’t mind waiting but we waited just about over an hour to pay our bill, finally escaping the night of disappointment.

I’ll just say up front that we were tourists in Toronto, we are not locals. When we travel we like to eat at local places not fast food or «tourist vacuums». So we listened to Unilocalers and headed towards this place because of the good reviews. While the two appetizers we got were REALLY good, I have to give 3 stars. I suppose it’s my own fault for not reading reviews closely, but this is not what I was expecting. It is a tiny bar with snacks. It is not a restaurant type bar, so be warned. We went in around 4 on a Saturday and it was just kind of awkward. It is literally a hole in the wall place and when we walked in we really felt out of place. We tried some food anyway but kind of just wanted to get out of there.
Bottom line is this place seems to be for locals and I don’t recommend it at all for tourists.

Late Saturday night found a friend and I hungry and in need of some serious food therapy. We stood outside in the cold for about a minute outside of Indie Ale House contemplating before opting to cross the street and check out THITW. I am so glad we did. We showed up at 10:15, at which point they were obviously operating at full capacity, and were able to get seated by 10:30. Sweet!
From the sunken in entrance-​way to the long, narrow dining/​bar area with a wall of exposed brick and groovy light fixtures, this place is just so rustic and home-​y. The best way I can describe being here is like being wrapped in a big warm blanket and not wanting to get out of bed, ever. We got seated right at the back next to the fantastic live band and were taken care of diligently by some great, chill and friendly staff who obviously enjoy what they’re doing. Being next to the band, it was occasionally too loud for conversation, but we were stuffing our faces for most of the time anyway. It was a nice treat.
After 10:30, they have a smaller menu to choose from, which disappointed my friend (she had her heart set on the mac ‘n cheese) but the food we did end up eating was great all the same. I started out with the Singapore Sling to sip on while we decided on food. Not too sweet at all and refreshing, I almost ordered a second one before I remembered that I’m poor. Onto the noms!
We ordered the duck wing confit, calamari and veggie burger w/​fries to share, and finished with the pot de crème. The wings were brushed with a typical buffalo sauce but were so tender and rich, successfully achieving melt-​in-​your-​mouth status. The sauce was too hot for my friend (weakling), so I had two out of the three wings that come on the plate. We split the veggie burger and fries between the two of us. The patty itself was mostly made up of bean, quinoa and other goodies and was tad crumbly, but very appetizing. The toppings on the burger itself lent great flavor and my friend really enjoyed the sauce on it. I approve! The fries were pretty standard but good, we got the aioli dip for them and that was pretty tasty too.
The star of the meal was definitely the calamari though, and that is saying a lot coming from me. I suppose I’ve had a lot of bad squid in my lifetime, so until recently I’ve been pretty biased towards calamari. Eating at more reputable establishments lately has opened my eyes to a world of possibilities. We loved this calamari. The batter is light and has good crunch to it, the squid itself had a pleasant texture to it and the sauce. The sauce! It was some kind of spicy sweet concoction that had me trying to get as much of it onto my calamari as possible. I’m all about that sauce and sauces in general. Try this dish!
As if we weren’t stuffed and rotund enough, we had to get dessert. They offered two options on the late night menu, and while I love me some cheesecake, we were set on that pot de crème. Garnished with walnut pieces, we ventured into layers of peanut butter-​y and chocolate-​y goodness. It didn’t last long until it was all gone. I have no regrets, but I probably gained 10 pounds last night.
After paying our bill, it was a veritable struggle to get back to the car as we waddled along Dundas in the snow with our engorged stomachs. Laughing at anything became a struggle of trying to keep our food down, and we were basically on a food high, so that was no simple feat. To quote my friend, «I just wanna keep this food down (whispers) because it was so good!» It was one of the most desperate and hilarious moments I’ve recently had.
THITW offers everything I look for in an establishment. Great food and drink, great staff and service, comfortable and cozy atmosphere, not pretentious at all and just a great spot to hang out and feel good. Check it out if you haven’t already. I will certainly be going back to try their larger dinner menu, although I might need someone to roll me out next time.

Great ambiance — rustic, woodsy and cozy! Really tiny so it’s not good for large groups. I’m told they frequently have live bands. Quaint craft beer selection. Absolutely loved the food! It’s a pretty simple menu. We had the burger added bacon and cheese and my bf loved it. Full of flavour and juicy. I had the pork pita sandwich which was good. The highlight was the Mac and cheese… A little steep for a small ramekin at first sight, but it was worth every bite! Definitely will be back! Oh yea, my only complaint was that my double Caesar cocktail didn’t have the horseradish that I’ve seen pictured so beautifully!

After coming here a gazillion times, I have to update my review.
Yes, it gets crowded here.
Yes, the service can lag at times because the layout of the place is quite tough.
Yes, you can’t easily predict when it will be so crowded you can’t move
However…
1. They have damn good food. If you want to skip the super crowded late nights, you should come here around 630 or 7 for great food. Not only do they have great burgers, they are always trying new things that go beyond bar food. In fact, their specials could easily be served at any restaurant in town. The other night I had a beef rib plate that was sensational.
2. Great musical acts here. They have a schedule they usually post on line.
3. Great mix of people. Yes, it is hipster, but it is also neighbourhood as well. The neighbourhood crowd adds to the diversity of the place. It balances «scene» and «friendly» well.
4. Cold, regional beers. No big name beers on draught, just a solid variety of awesome beers from around Ontario.
5. The staff are generally friendly and give great suggestions. You can tell they appreciate what they do.
6. They also have a small wine selection along with endless cocktail options.
Hole in the Wall is an all around great place that has done a lot to help usher in positive transformation in The Junction.