The Bar Towel

I've got to say I'm a little surprised about there being no reports about this place on Bartowel.
It's located just north of the Village Idiot on McCaul and Dundas and owned by the same people.
They tried to go a little more upscale with both the beer menu and food offerings, and everything mostly works out. They've got the Toronto standards like Keith's, Bud, etc. on tap but nobody really orders those once they see the Fuller's (Honey Dew, London Porter), Delirium, and Koningshoeven (Witte, Dubbel, even the Quad). Everything's reasonably priced, with pints ranging from $5.50 to $7.50.
The food is decent as well, if not quite up to the 'gastropub' standard I think they're trying to reach. In all honesty, I usually just order the frites to go along with whatever the table happens to be drinking at the time and they go over really well. You can check out the rest of the menu (both food and beer) at their site (http://www.sinandredemption.com/).

Check it out if you're in the area.

Sounds like a nice joint... I'll definitely pop by when I'm next in the area.

Thanks for the report dsouzad and welcome to the site.

Lots of places can fly under the radar, but fewer will if people sign up and post like you just have.

That's a nice import tap lineup and pretty good prices for those brews compared to other establishments in the city.

Jeff

Reviews on chowhound: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/557064

We went for a visit back when the weather was good and thought the tap selection was good as well as the prices. The food however we didn't care for and the service was slow for a not even quarter full place. It's been a while perhaps both have improved but we don't have much interest for a return visit.

The tap selection is quite nice, especially with four Koningshoeven taps, but I've never been impressed with the food, frites aside. The last time I was there it was also exceptionally noisy for a place that was a quarter full, so there are definite trade offs.

Went last night...

Pros: nice atmosphere, some good taps (Koningshoeven Dubbel, Witter, Delerium Tremens), decent food, cool glassware.

Cons: Hipsters, noisy, slow service, server charged us for a beer we didn't have and refused to remove it from our bill, no Ontario micros.

Overall, I doubt I'd go back. Service makes a huge difference to me, and it was just completely lacking on this occasion, which leaves a bad taste in the mouth. It was pretty awesome to try the two rarer Koningshoeven beers, though, but looking at the others on the list there isn't really anything that jumped out at me to try. I could see it being a decent neighbourhood bar.

I just stumbled on this place today. The beer list our front got my attention. Great selection of euro snob beers

The service was actually pretty good but with a bit of friendly joking around. Our waitress knew her beers and was comfortable recommending beers at the next table, including good pairing advice. It was not too busy, so I can't say what the service would be like when they are full, but I was pleased.

We did not eat much, but tried some appetizers. They were generally good and the menu looked very promising. I plan to go back for a full meal sometime soon.

Maybe the issues mentioned by other posters have been resolved. I like the spirit of the place so I hope they stay on top of their game and do well.

We were in the area on late Sunday morning, parked right in front of this place. When we were done and about to leave, we got the kids all locked up in their car seats. Then I noticed Urthel Hop-It on their draft menu, so I offered "brunch?" and we got the kids back out and went inside.

Overall, I was quite happy with the visit. The wife went for the Belgian beef stew - her, me and the baby liked it. I went for the Salmon Benedict - hit the spot. The boy liked the french fries. The wife's De Koninck wasn't too exciting but my Hop-It was divine.

Nothing local on the draft menu, but lots of Belgians (including three Koningshoevens and Delirium Tremens), also some Germans (Weihenstephan, Hacker-Pschorr), English (Fuller's) and Czech.

No complaints about the service, though we were their only customers for a while.

Bobsy wrote:Went last night...



Cons: Hipsters

Always a con and no matter where you go, they seem to be expanding their territory. Hipsters are like the European Starling. Invasive and expanding their breeding range.

Sin & Redem can only update their menus so often, so the next time you're in try asking about their "secret taps"

Robbie Stuntman wrote:Sin & Redem can only update their menus so often, so the next time you're in try asking about their "secret taps"

What has been on these "secret taps"?

they are playfully referred to as "secret taps" by staff, essentially it's whatever is new on tap, so it can be anything really, the newest additions are Beau's Lug Tread and Kronenberg

Was here as a side-stop on a Toronto pub crawl recently. Despite the place being almost full, and us looking horribly out of place in our jeans and pub crawl t-shirts, the six of us were seated immediately and had great service. Tap list was pretty much exclusively European imports, but mostly good stuff. Nice atmosphere and reasonable prices. Not something I'd seek out again given how many other places there are in Toronto, but if in the neighbourhood, I'd happily go back.