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We have a trivia question in order to register to prevent bots. If you have any issues with answering, contact us at cass@bartowel.com for help.
Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!
Amsterdam Brewhouse & Grill
I wonder if there is a closer entrance? The SkyWalk near the Dome is almost the same time as just walking to Union.grub wrote: I haven't explored this option, but I was told it's quite close to the path system, so even on brisk days you can choose to be indoors for a decent portion of the trip.
Bottom line is it is about as easy for me to get to +/- a few minutes of walking as many other local beer destinations. Easier than Bellwoods or Bar Hop really factoring in rush hour and transfers.
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midlife crisis
- Beer Superstar
- Posts: 2010
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 7:00 pm
- Location: Toronto
Not to beat this subject to death, but really? The King car goes right by Bar Hop's front door! Anyway, that will be the case for Amsterdam too someday, once the devastation of Queens Quay West is completed and that streetcar line re-appears. As for the Path, I would think the closest it could get you is the ACC/Telus building. Not significantly closer than Union itself or the SkyWalk.JerCraigs wrote:I wonder if there is a closer entrance? The SkyWalk near the Dome is almost the same time as just walking to Union.grub wrote: I haven't explored this option, but I was told it's quite close to the path system, so even on brisk days you can choose to be indoors for a decent portion of the trip.
Bottom line is it is about as easy for me to get to +/- a few minutes of walking as many other local beer destinations. Easier than Bellwoods or Bar Hop really factoring in rush hour and transfers.
Bottom line is it is about as easy for me to get to +/- a few minutes of walking as many other local beer destinations. Easier than Bellwoods or Bar Hop really factoring in rush hour and transfers.
You would think... Lately it is often easier to just get off at St. Andrew and walk depending on time of day rather than gamble that a street car is not full/not delayed/not on some weird weekend schedule.Not to beat this subject to death, but really? The King car goes right by Bar Hop's front door!
You can take the PATH into the Convention Centre, actually. Come out of the South building onto Bremner, and it's about a 5 minute walk south on Rees and across Queens Quay to get the the Brewhouse.midlife crisis wrote:As for the Path, I would think the closest it could get you is the ACC/Telus building. Not significantly closer than Union itself or the SkyWalk.
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midlife crisis
- Beer Superstar
- Posts: 2010
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 7:00 pm
- Location: Toronto
I was never so physically fit as when I relied on Toronto Transit to get me two-thirds of the way there, 70% of the time.nickw wrote:... or take the TTC, which invariably involves some sort of walk.
Walking is great. It's the anti-beercarb. Would be good if an improved TTC system encouraged everyone to use transit, rather than we all try to punish motorists and blame the symptom.
In Beerum Veritas
just wait until they push to close down King. then how can I drive to BarHop, Home of the Brave, etc??Belgian wrote:I was never so physically fit as when I relied on Toronto Transit to get me two-thirds of the way there, 70% of the time.nickw wrote:... or take the TTC, which invariably involves some sort of walk.
Walking is great. It's the anti-beercarb. Would be good if an improved TTC system encouraged everyone to use transit, rather than we all try to punish motorists and blame the symptom.
At the moment, getting there on King is pretty reliable, as the Queen cars are all diverting to King anyway. That ends next week.JerCraigs wrote:Bottom line is it is about as easy for me to get to +/- a few minutes of walking as many other local beer destinations. Easier than Bellwoods or Bar Hop really factoring in rush hour and transfers.You would think... Lately it is often easier to just get off at St. Andrew and walk depending on time of day rather than gamble that a street car is not full/not delayed/not on some weird weekend schedule.Not to beat this subject to death, but really? The King car goes right by Bar Hop's front door!
I have yet to eat/drink at the Amsterdam Brewhouse personally so I cannot speak to the customer/consumer side of the experience. I have read very mixed reviews (including in this forum). However, I have several friends that work there and have told me about what an outrageously disorganized mess this whole opening has been.
Without going into petty details, the staff is owed 100K in back-pay already. Hard to believe considering the place has been packed since opening (and with Tall Ships, Pride, Canada Day, Indy and Jays games all within three weeks!) Some staff have yet to be paid at all, including some were who already let go without valid reason given. (*The reason given is that they are "overstaffed" despite twice recently putting out more adds hiring for servers). The restaurant also takes a percentage of the servers' tips - the number of which fluctuates depending on the active manager. No one has seen that money yet nor is the restaurant clear about how much is owed or how it will payed out. Those who have been partly paid haven't been given pay stubs.
I have heard many stories, too long and perhaps too trivial to go into detail over here. Perhaps it is not my place to share them. And some are to be expected (kitchen screwing up orders, servers given misinformation, etc) But the way these incidents have been dealt with (or not) and why they've arisen in the first place, taken as a whole, paint an overwhelmingly negative impression of the restaurant and its management. None of this unusual in the industry, I acknowledge, but I have been very put-off by what I've learned about how the place is run. That's just my two cents, since we're sharing.
*Full disclaimer: how a company or its management treat their employees and run their affairs is likely not a concern to many of you - and maybe it shouldn't be. It's also not necessarily reflected in their products or services. And many hiccups are expected with the opening of any new place...Granted.
Without going into petty details, the staff is owed 100K in back-pay already. Hard to believe considering the place has been packed since opening (and with Tall Ships, Pride, Canada Day, Indy and Jays games all within three weeks!) Some staff have yet to be paid at all, including some were who already let go without valid reason given. (*The reason given is that they are "overstaffed" despite twice recently putting out more adds hiring for servers). The restaurant also takes a percentage of the servers' tips - the number of which fluctuates depending on the active manager. No one has seen that money yet nor is the restaurant clear about how much is owed or how it will payed out. Those who have been partly paid haven't been given pay stubs.
I have heard many stories, too long and perhaps too trivial to go into detail over here. Perhaps it is not my place to share them. And some are to be expected (kitchen screwing up orders, servers given misinformation, etc) But the way these incidents have been dealt with (or not) and why they've arisen in the first place, taken as a whole, paint an overwhelmingly negative impression of the restaurant and its management. None of this unusual in the industry, I acknowledge, but I have been very put-off by what I've learned about how the place is run. That's just my two cents, since we're sharing.
*Full disclaimer: how a company or its management treat their employees and run their affairs is likely not a concern to many of you - and maybe it shouldn't be. It's also not necessarily reflected in their products or services. And many hiccups are expected with the opening of any new place...Granted.
Last edited by biegaman on Mon Jul 08, 2013 5:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
On another note, my mother went to the restaurant last weekend and was told that they could not serve alcohol on the patio because they didn't have a liquor license for it yet. Obviously they do (or else were breaking the law for a few weeks, which I seriously doubt) so this server was obviously just misinformed. But seriously, common! Really?
If they want to grind this city into the ground, that shows us what the TTC really are: out of touch, reactionary and self-serving.atomeyes wrote:just wait until they push to close down King...Belgian wrote:...Would be good if an improved TTC system encouraged everyone to use transit, rather than we all try to punish motorists and blame the symptom.
In Beerum Veritas
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groulxsome
- Posts: 470
- Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2012 3:24 pm
OK, I was at the Brewhouse on Saturday. I had -really- intended to not tempt fate while they were still working out the kinks... but, well, we had a friend in town and needed to get some food in the downtown area.
We showed up at around 6. Waited in the very long line. Got put on a "call" list, meaning that they'd call us when there was a free seat. They estimated around 30-40 min. It was fine, we sat by the water and enjoyed the weather. After 40 minutes we asked about the list, but he bouncer - who by that time was the only one posted at the door, the maitre had scrammed in the face of a large crowd - didn't know anything about it. A manager, I assume, was now letting people in in a first-come manner from the now very long line. A group of disgruntled "call" list people rallied and were finally ushered into the maitre station, which was surrounded by about 5-6 girls trying to scramble to figure out where to seat people.
We couldn't sit outside and the amount of time I heard people in both lines complain that they could see free seats but were not allowed to even enter the brewhouse was well over the amount I can count on two hands. If you have a big patio with empty seats and you a making people wait in a line where they can see said seats, then you're optics are pretty bad.
Once inside (around 7) our server was great and apologized about the slow service (it would be 8 before our food appeared). I must say, despite all the hickups with getting in the service was great from this point on.
Lesson: If you go, make a reservation. But also, if you make a reservation be advised you cannot make one for the patio. The patio will be full if you are just a walk in, so I have no idea how you actually get a seat out there.
Anyway, on to the food and beer. The Tempest seemed a little fresh, not as rich and deep as the bottled version, which I guess is too be expected. The Gose was great to have on tap and the Boneshaker tasted super fresh.
The Burger I had was fine, but the bun was a little dry. For food I prefer Indie Ale House's version of the Smoke House (I had a short rib-toped one). The garlic aioli with the fries was, however, very good. I could see other people similarly smudging their last few fries into the bottom of the dipping container to sop it all up.
The overall beer selection was still showing the place's newness. The Kuyt table beer was not on, neither was the smoked porter. See the below list. Without those two it was just standard Amsterdam adventure stuff, without the extras of a brewbup. Some of these are really great, but I was hoping for a few new brands given the grandeur of the whole place. (There is also another beer menu with all the Amsterdam classics and a very well executed sample flight selection.)
The extras did seem to come in the form of their "cellar" menu where they did have some brewpub one-offs. Though, as you can see from the photo below, at nosebleed prices. While they look great, it's a lot of money to spend on a beer that has virtually no reviews at a brand new brewhouse (though I do trust in the brewmaster).
Overall, it's a beautiful place which needs some major seating and slow service kinks worked out. Hopefully within a year they place will evolve into a more proper brewpub with a little more than Amsterdam's usual selection. Right now, though, unless you want Amsterdam flagship beers or have missed any adventure brews, you're mostly out of luck. The food is solid, but it's about what you'd expect from a very polished looking brewpub. It's a place that feels to me more for the tourists and the folks going to the game - or the folks dragged along with a beer geek - rather than the beer geeks. I'm not saying that's a good or a bad thing and their menu has lots of recommended pairings for beer and food to help ease people into craft beer, which is great, but I'd love to see a little more stuff aimed at, well, me that wasn't so gosh-darn Cantillion-expensive.
Edit: The brewstore is 100% great though and I picked up a Rye Peppercorn Saison for $9.95. They also had the Goedenavond, but no Godenmorgan. I kinda get the "double price" mark up for bottles if you're a bar getting a limited order, but when you're selling them in the same building for less than half-price... it's a little odd.
We showed up at around 6. Waited in the very long line. Got put on a "call" list, meaning that they'd call us when there was a free seat. They estimated around 30-40 min. It was fine, we sat by the water and enjoyed the weather. After 40 minutes we asked about the list, but he bouncer - who by that time was the only one posted at the door, the maitre had scrammed in the face of a large crowd - didn't know anything about it. A manager, I assume, was now letting people in in a first-come manner from the now very long line. A group of disgruntled "call" list people rallied and were finally ushered into the maitre station, which was surrounded by about 5-6 girls trying to scramble to figure out where to seat people.
We couldn't sit outside and the amount of time I heard people in both lines complain that they could see free seats but were not allowed to even enter the brewhouse was well over the amount I can count on two hands. If you have a big patio with empty seats and you a making people wait in a line where they can see said seats, then you're optics are pretty bad.
Once inside (around 7) our server was great and apologized about the slow service (it would be 8 before our food appeared). I must say, despite all the hickups with getting in the service was great from this point on.
Lesson: If you go, make a reservation. But also, if you make a reservation be advised you cannot make one for the patio. The patio will be full if you are just a walk in, so I have no idea how you actually get a seat out there.
Anyway, on to the food and beer. The Tempest seemed a little fresh, not as rich and deep as the bottled version, which I guess is too be expected. The Gose was great to have on tap and the Boneshaker tasted super fresh.
The Burger I had was fine, but the bun was a little dry. For food I prefer Indie Ale House's version of the Smoke House (I had a short rib-toped one). The garlic aioli with the fries was, however, very good. I could see other people similarly smudging their last few fries into the bottom of the dipping container to sop it all up.
The overall beer selection was still showing the place's newness. The Kuyt table beer was not on, neither was the smoked porter. See the below list. Without those two it was just standard Amsterdam adventure stuff, without the extras of a brewbup. Some of these are really great, but I was hoping for a few new brands given the grandeur of the whole place. (There is also another beer menu with all the Amsterdam classics and a very well executed sample flight selection.)
The extras did seem to come in the form of their "cellar" menu where they did have some brewpub one-offs. Though, as you can see from the photo below, at nosebleed prices. While they look great, it's a lot of money to spend on a beer that has virtually no reviews at a brand new brewhouse (though I do trust in the brewmaster).
Overall, it's a beautiful place which needs some major seating and slow service kinks worked out. Hopefully within a year they place will evolve into a more proper brewpub with a little more than Amsterdam's usual selection. Right now, though, unless you want Amsterdam flagship beers or have missed any adventure brews, you're mostly out of luck. The food is solid, but it's about what you'd expect from a very polished looking brewpub. It's a place that feels to me more for the tourists and the folks going to the game - or the folks dragged along with a beer geek - rather than the beer geeks. I'm not saying that's a good or a bad thing and their menu has lots of recommended pairings for beer and food to help ease people into craft beer, which is great, but I'd love to see a little more stuff aimed at, well, me that wasn't so gosh-darn Cantillion-expensive.
Edit: The brewstore is 100% great though and I picked up a Rye Peppercorn Saison for $9.95. They also had the Goedenavond, but no Godenmorgan. I kinda get the "double price" mark up for bottles if you're a bar getting a limited order, but when you're selling them in the same building for less than half-price... it's a little odd.