Wandered by today and was surprised it was open already. A soft opening perhaps?
Anyone been yet?
We're definitely going next week once the mother-out-law has left.
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Amsterdam Brewhouse & Grill
Amsterdam Brewhouse & Grill
lister
Was there yesterday afternoon.
They apparently opened Saturday and it has been slammed both days. They suggested a grand opening later in July. They had an admitted 45 min wait for food and not all beers were available yet. But what we did have was good.
The Market Ale and the Boneshaker are great beers. The Fracture on tap is a treat for me. It would have been even nicer if the Tempest was available.
Like all new places they needs a bit more time to work out the kinks and then I predict a very successful enterprise for Amsterdam.
I have a longer broader rant about the "main streamization" of craft beer in me, but someday I'll post that under a separate thread.
They apparently opened Saturday and it has been slammed both days. They suggested a grand opening later in July. They had an admitted 45 min wait for food and not all beers were available yet. But what we did have was good.
The Market Ale and the Boneshaker are great beers. The Fracture on tap is a treat for me. It would have been even nicer if the Tempest was available.
Like all new places they needs a bit more time to work out the kinks and then I predict a very successful enterprise for Amsterdam.
I have a longer broader rant about the "main streamization" of craft beer in me, but someday I'll post that under a separate thread.
Not sure how cool it is to 'review' a place before it's official opening. Looks great though.
http://www.blogto.com/restaurants/amste ... se-toronto
http://www.blogto.com/restaurants/amste ... se-toronto
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midlife crisis
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grub
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my understanding is that all the "regular" beers will continue to be made at the production facility and the one offs/seasonal/wacky stuff will be at the pub. so i don't believe there will be multiple versions of the same beer.midlife crisis wrote:Looks fantastic. Can't wait to go. Is it the case that all beers will be brewed on site? If so, will we be treated to reviews comparing Leaside Boneshaker to Harbourfront Boneshaker, etc? Could be interesting.
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midlife crisis
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I was in on Tuesday for a quick drink, a bottle of De Wallen (sour framboise). I had it when it was younger, and it was tart and lively, it has mellowed just a bit, and has more of the vinous characters. Lovely. As far as the sales go, yes, I assume they are technically buying the core products that they serve on draught from themselves. For retail, if the location produces a certain amount (the number escapes me and I can't be bothered to look it up), you can sell products from both breweries, as long as 50% of the products offered were produced on-site. Which is how Mill Street sells core/scarborough products at both its brewpubs.
I went yesterday evening with some friends. Making reservations in advance allowed us to avoid a lengthy line.
Unfortunately, this restaurant has a LOT of problems to work out. There seem to be a ton of servers, but yet it is very hard to get ahold of somebody to order a new drink. Worse, food orders took an incredibly long time to be delivered. Several tables around us gave up and left before their food arrived. At the same time, the open kitchen concept allowed us to see that a huge amount of food sits under heat lamps for a long period of time- perhaps while the other dishes in a table's order are prepared. We returned an order of poutine that looked like it had spent a long period of time under heat lamps. There were many dissatisfied customers all around.
The food, when it arrived, was pretty sub-par.
While I didn't see for myself, my friends reported that the bathrooms were in outrageous conditions. Multiple stalls missing toilet paper, water leaking everywhere, no soap, etc.
Eating dinner (no appetizers but with dessert) took us about 2.5 hours.
On the plus side, the staff were very friendly, and the beer was good (I thought the Fracture was very nice). Hopefully the problems they were having last night can be fixed because this place does have potential.
Ren
Unfortunately, this restaurant has a LOT of problems to work out. There seem to be a ton of servers, but yet it is very hard to get ahold of somebody to order a new drink. Worse, food orders took an incredibly long time to be delivered. Several tables around us gave up and left before their food arrived. At the same time, the open kitchen concept allowed us to see that a huge amount of food sits under heat lamps for a long period of time- perhaps while the other dishes in a table's order are prepared. We returned an order of poutine that looked like it had spent a long period of time under heat lamps. There were many dissatisfied customers all around.
The food, when it arrived, was pretty sub-par.
While I didn't see for myself, my friends reported that the bathrooms were in outrageous conditions. Multiple stalls missing toilet paper, water leaking everywhere, no soap, etc.
Eating dinner (no appetizers but with dessert) took us about 2.5 hours.
On the plus side, the staff were very friendly, and the beer was good (I thought the Fracture was very nice). Hopefully the problems they were having last night can be fixed because this place does have potential.
Ren
i was there for lunch pre-Jays game on Canada Day.
very nice space. possibly too nice, if that makes sense? feels clean and big and has pop music playing decently loud. definitely not a hipster bar.
menu looked pretty good. prices are expected. not insanely high for food.
some of the bottled beer is really high. $25ish for a bomber, if not more. $13 for a sour in a 330 mL bottle. not sure if Torontonians will get it.
i had a Maverick & Gose on tap. ON TAP. man, that is a nice thing to see. comes in a wine glass, so $7 for a semi-pint.
serving staff: our server was really nice. just of note: it isn't Hooters-esque, but it appears as if certain attributes were commonly seen among the serving staff. at least that's what i saw the day I was there. kind of funny, kind of fun.
service: it was pretty good. hostesses seem a bit lost, but it just officially opened on Canada Day and it is a huge space. so i expect major bugs. and there weren't any major bugs. wasn't a gong show. i suggest utilizing OpenTable for reservations. when we left there was a line 10 deep. not sure if it was deep to hostesses being disorganized, but just be warned
food: had the burger with the bacon on it. 2 others had the brisket burger. mine was better. pretty tasty, but missing a bit of flavour. i needed ketchup to make it very good. fries looked good but were not hot and were a bit soggy. brisket burger was good but lacking flavour. mine was the better one.
my expectations for food were really low. like, Mill St Brewpub low. and they were much better than that.
take-away message: some great beer available, a very pretty space, a very nice patio. it will be packed during the summer and more calm during the winter. great place to take your wife (and kids) but maybe not the place you're drop by with your friends for a quick pint and a snack.
very nice space. possibly too nice, if that makes sense? feels clean and big and has pop music playing decently loud. definitely not a hipster bar.
menu looked pretty good. prices are expected. not insanely high for food.
some of the bottled beer is really high. $25ish for a bomber, if not more. $13 for a sour in a 330 mL bottle. not sure if Torontonians will get it.
i had a Maverick & Gose on tap. ON TAP. man, that is a nice thing to see. comes in a wine glass, so $7 for a semi-pint.
serving staff: our server was really nice. just of note: it isn't Hooters-esque, but it appears as if certain attributes were commonly seen among the serving staff. at least that's what i saw the day I was there. kind of funny, kind of fun.
service: it was pretty good. hostesses seem a bit lost, but it just officially opened on Canada Day and it is a huge space. so i expect major bugs. and there weren't any major bugs. wasn't a gong show. i suggest utilizing OpenTable for reservations. when we left there was a line 10 deep. not sure if it was deep to hostesses being disorganized, but just be warned
food: had the burger with the bacon on it. 2 others had the brisket burger. mine was better. pretty tasty, but missing a bit of flavour. i needed ketchup to make it very good. fries looked good but were not hot and were a bit soggy. brisket burger was good but lacking flavour. mine was the better one.
my expectations for food were really low. like, Mill St Brewpub low. and they were much better than that.
take-away message: some great beer available, a very pretty space, a very nice patio. it will be packed during the summer and more calm during the winter. great place to take your wife (and kids) but maybe not the place you're drop by with your friends for a quick pint and a snack.
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midlife crisis
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I was there last night, fairly late. I know what you mean about the space - it is almost a bit sterile, a bit Bier Markt-ish. Perhaps it will warm up. I also had the Gose on tap, which was fantastic. Much better than the bottled version. It was already late so I didn't eat. Place was relatively empty, despite a Jays home game having ended about an hour or so previously. I wonder if the absolute gong show that is Queen's Quay West at the moment will keep crowds down? You have to be pretty determined to get there (or live in the area, which I do not).
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grub
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I spent most of the afternoon there on saturday. it was dead when i arrived, but definitely picking up by the time I left. I was in no hurry, so I didn't mind the slight delays in getting a fresh beverage... it does seem like there are a few kinks to get out, but I'm sure it's going to improve. they might consider reworking the zones where servers are - the one in my area was constantly running in and out between the inside tables and patio, making it tough to get her attention if you needed something. having someone dedicated to the outside would probably make that easier.
as expected, the beers were all in top form. never had a finer pint of Market Pale and could have easily spent the day running through more pints of it. the new batch of Tempest is tasting great too. always love Fracture and Boneshaker.
as for the food, I thought it was awesome. I was alone, so I didn't have to worry about heat lamps and such and my burger arrived in great condition. I'm already looking forward to the next time I go.
There was a couple that got seated behind me and all they did was complain from the minute they sat down. I mean, the audacity of a new brewpub doing a soft opening that doesn't have a WINE LIST?!?? can you even imagine the horror? Having a manger come over and apologize that they weren't printed yet and orally give them the list didn't seem to quiet their discontent much. They arrived just as the skies darkened and everyone on the patio was attempting to move inside, so there was more than a little chaos... the 5 minutes they waited for their drinks were too much for them and they skipped ordering food and left. Personally, their screaming baby and constant whining made me happy to see them go...
I'm sure we're all doing so anyway, but try to cut them a little slack and provide constructive feedback where you can. I can definitely see this place pulling me into the city more often.
as expected, the beers were all in top form. never had a finer pint of Market Pale and could have easily spent the day running through more pints of it. the new batch of Tempest is tasting great too. always love Fracture and Boneshaker.
as for the food, I thought it was awesome. I was alone, so I didn't have to worry about heat lamps and such and my burger arrived in great condition. I'm already looking forward to the next time I go.
There was a couple that got seated behind me and all they did was complain from the minute they sat down. I mean, the audacity of a new brewpub doing a soft opening that doesn't have a WINE LIST?!?? can you even imagine the horror? Having a manger come over and apologize that they weren't printed yet and orally give them the list didn't seem to quiet their discontent much. They arrived just as the skies darkened and everyone on the patio was attempting to move inside, so there was more than a little chaos... the 5 minutes they waited for their drinks were too much for them and they skipped ordering food and left. Personally, their screaming baby and constant whining made me happy to see them go...
I'm sure we're all doing so anyway, but try to cut them a little slack and provide constructive feedback where you can. I can definitely see this place pulling me into the city more often.
@grubextrapolate // @biergotter // http://biergotter.org/
Really? I actually thought it was a surprisingly short walk from Union. (A little over a kilometer depending, 10-15 minutes) Cut across the marina bridge and zig zag up to the ACC and it didn't feel far at all.midlife crisis wrote:You have to be pretty determined to get there (or live in the area, which I do not).