The Bar Towel

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

Yep, different strokes for different folks. I've always gotten pretty good service there and the location is great for me but really just because I live nearby.

skootles wrote:Yep, different strokes for different folks. I've always gotten pretty good service there and the location is great for me but really just because I live nearby.

Question: what service? Don't you have to interrupt your convo to fetch beer at the bar yourself or did they change that now?

FEUO wrote:

skootles wrote:Yep, different strokes for different folks. I've always gotten pretty good service there and the location is great for me but really just because I live nearby.

Question: what service? Don't you have to interrupt your convo to fetch beer at the bar yourself or did they change that now?

My top 4 places to drink in Toronto, with the top 3 being in no particular order:

1. Bellwoods
2. Bar Volo
3. The Only Cafe
4. BarHop

1 and 4 have table service. 2 and 3 don't. I'm not one of the spaceship residents in Wall-E. my legs work and i can get off my ass, walk the 20-30 steps, wait for 30-60 seconds and place an order. in that time, i have a conversation with the bar staff, who are friendly and recognize me. I can sample some beer on tap and make my decision on what to (not) order and, generally, have neutral to positive interactions with other humans.

oh, the humanity.

i kind of know what you mean and wondered a bit as to why Volo pulled their table service. i actually did some quick business math to determine if the hourly server wage is offset by the frequent table-asking "you guys all good here? anyone ready for the next round?" if you use a liberal equation of ppl consuming 1 beer an hour and figure that you can increase that to 1 beer every 0.75 hours, that means that you make an extra $5/hr in profit per customer. so a table for 2 should, in theory, break even on 1 server's wages. most bars would have 1 server per 7ish tables, so table service is a no brainer...unless you cannot adequately predict your peak volumes and end up having servers hanging out and not getting paid. so maybe that was the case at Volo? no one knows their business model better than the business owner. in theory.

getting back to Bellwoods: i can't imagine that bar having bar service simply due to space limitations. but the servers are on you frequently, making sure nary a glass sits empty. i'd think that it helps with the bottom line.

Either opinion is totally fine. I personally enjoy bar service at Volo (and anywhere else that offers it, really). I like interacting with the space and the people in it, and feeling more in control of my overall tab -- I pay for what I put on my bill, and nothing else. No awkward buzz-killing splitting the bill after a longer night out with people you might not drink/eat with often (which tends to be who I end up with at Volo more often than a lot of places). Another big plus is feeling free to move around Volo with a drink in hand and not having to settle in one spot all night without having to inform your server that you'll be moving. It makes for a livelier space, which I appreciate from time to time (and if I don't want it, I'll head over to Bar Hop or somewhere else).

atomeyes wrote: I'm not one of the spaceship residents in Wall-E. my legs work and i can get off my ass, walk the 20-30 steps, wait for 30-60 seconds and place an order. in that time, i have a conversation with the bar staff, who are friendly and recognize me. I can sample some beer on tap and make my decision on what to (not) order and, generally, have neutral to positive interactions with other humans.

oh, the humanity.

I guess I'd rather talk to my company versus staring at the back of someone's head waiting to place an order, or have to interrupt the bar staff's convo between themselves to buy my beer while my company sits twiddling their thumbs awaiting my return.
It all depends on what humans you prefer to interact with. It has ZERO to do with being lazy for me. Hell, I've walked many more than a couple times from Volo to Bar Hop in an evening to burn off the previous pint on my way to my preferred final destination.

C'est What... exactly. Reminds me of one of those semi-leveled lower halfs. Nothing overly appealing, house beers lacking. Not my thing.

nickw wrote:Either opinion is totally fine. I personally enjoy bar service at Volo (and anywhere else that offers it, really). I like interacting with the space and the people in it, and feeling more in control of my overall tab -- I pay for what I put on my bill, and nothing else. No awkward buzz-killing splitting the bill after a longer night out with people you might not drink/eat with often (which tends to be who I end up with at Volo more often than a lot of places). Another big plus is feeling free to move around Volo with a drink in hand and not having to settle in one spot all night without having to inform your server that you'll be moving. It makes for a livelier space, which I appreciate from time to time (and if I don't want it, I'll head over to Bar Hop or somewhere else).

Overall control over one's tab is a bonus that I hadn't really considered. Fair points.

FEUO wrote:
I guess I'd rather talk to my company versus staring at the back of someone's head waiting to place an order, or have to interrupt the bar staff's convo between themselves to buy my beer while my company sits twiddling their thumbs awaiting my return.
It all depends on what humans you prefer to interact with. It has ZERO to do with being lazy for me. Hell, I've walked many more than a couple times from Volo to Bar Hop in an evening to burn off the previous pint on my way to my preferred final destination.

C'est What... exactly. Reminds me of one of those semi-leveled lower halfs. Nothing overly appealing, house beers lacking. Not my thing.

i...i'm actually surprised.
we see eye to eye on most things in this thread (other than your disdain for Volo).
weird.

atomeyes wrote:

FEUO wrote:
I guess I'd rather talk to my company versus staring at the back of someone's head waiting to place an order, or have to interrupt the bar staff's convo between themselves to buy my beer while my company sits twiddling their thumbs awaiting my return.
It all depends on what humans you prefer to interact with. It has ZERO to do with being lazy for me. Hell, I've walked many more than a couple times from Volo to Bar Hop in an evening to burn off the previous pint on my way to my preferred final destination.

C'est What... exactly. Reminds me of one of those semi-leveled lower halfs. Nothing overly appealing, house beers lacking. Not my thing.

i...i'm actually surprised.
we see eye to eye on most things in this thread (other than your disdain for Volo).
weird.

Maybe I really should give Volo another chance. Their food menu has vastly improved.
Plus they carry beers from a brewery I'm constantly trading for, Jester King.
Wait, wat? $35 bottles? Ouch. Maybe not for a JK standard.... but I appreciate the fact that someone is getting it into the country. That deserves a pat on the back.

FEUO wrote: Wait, wat? $35 bottles? Ouch. Maybe not for a JK standard.... but I appreciate the fact that someone is getting it into the country. That deserves a pat on the back.

Consider going on Sunday, they do half price on select large bottles and I know they've done it for some Jester King bottles before.

Edit: scrolling through their Instagram posts it seems like Jester King ones are regularly discounted, along with Jolly Pumpkin, Trou Du Diable, and Dunham.

skootles wrote:

FEUO wrote: Wait, wat? $35 bottles? Ouch. Maybe not for a JK standard.... but I appreciate the fact that someone is getting it into the country. That deserves a pat on the back.

Consider going on Sunday, they do half price on select large bottles and I know they've done it for some Jester King bottles before.

Edit: scrolling through their Instagram posts it seems like Jester King ones are regularly discounted, along with Jolly Pumpkin, Trou Du Diable, and Dunham.

I would if I didn't live 4 hrs away. Usually in the city on work travel Mon-Fri.

Hellwoods is back in the bottleshop if anyone missed it a few weeks ago.

Skeleton Key is being released on Feb 12th, 1800 bottles, 4 per person, $12 each.

Looks like Bounty Hunter is also making a comeback later this month (date unknown) for $8/bottle, no limits per person. I'm really excited about this one actually, I love it.

Interestingly......Bounty Hunter is 20% cheaper than when they released it in 2014......hopefully they are not losing money on this! Lol.

Really looking forward to this though. One of my favourites from Bellwood's.

BakaGaijin wrote:Interestingly......Bounty Hunter is 20% cheaper than when they released it in 2014......hopefully they are not losing money on this! Lol.

Really looking forward to this though. One of my favourites from Bellwood's.

Demand dropping can definitely do this. Don't envision this instance would be a rise in supply for the brewery.

DaveBar wrote:

BakaGaijin wrote:Interestingly......Bounty Hunter is 20% cheaper than when they released it in 2014......hopefully they are not losing money on this! Lol.

Really looking forward to this though. One of my favourites from Bellwood's.

Demand dropping can definitely do this. Don't envision this instance would be a rise in supply for the brewery.

???
economy of scale, man. they may have more barrels (or got the barrels for less $$).

skootles wrote:Skeleton Key is being released on Feb 12th, 1800 bottles, 4 per person, $12 each.

i just had one from the last batch and it aged fantastically. it will hit its sweet spot at year 1. barrel and spices were fully there and the alcohol softened up quite nicely. another half year and it will be even better. probably one of Bellwoods' best.