Uptown Tavern

Went late at night with a friend hoping to catch the kitchen before they closed. The head chef was kind enough to reopen it when we arrived, since it’s been slow earlier that evening (Thank you again for that). The food was great (Turkey Burger with Wedges), tap selection isn’t the widest, and the place itself is super clean. Nothing like the Pluckers before it. The owner was manning the bar and was good conversation. I’ll be coming back here again.

We have eaten at the Uptown Tavern on 4 separate occasions and have been very satisfied every time with the taste and quality of a variety of menu items.
Food is always top quality and well prepared and arranged. Service has always been prompt and friendly and the Uptown has a real «neighbourhood» feel.
This has become our «go-​to» establishment for great food and service at a reasonable price.
Favorite menu item: the meatloaf sandwich.

As every Friday goes we go out for lunch and this week was Ryan F’s turn to choose. He had selected Uptown this week.
I was a little wary of the fact that he couldn’t remember the name of the place so we were kind of going in blind not knowing the name of the place to check it out ahead of time and only where it was. Well we arrived shortly after noon and the place wasn’t that busy and we had our selection of places to sit.
We were shown menus quite quickly and they had a small card for lunch menu items in which I didn’t necessarily find anything to my liking on it but I did see a burger that sounded pretty good so I went with that. It was the Gouda burger which included caramalized onions, bacon, gouda and cream cheese. The bun didn’t look that impressive which for me is a big deal but the patty was really good, fresh and overall the burger was a really good tasting combination of rich cheeses, savory bacon and a good patty of beef. The fries that came on the side were nicely cooked Yukon Gold type which had a nice amount of salt to them already before I had added my own amount of black pepper on top as well.
My colleagues ended up getting the lobster tacos and fish and chips which looked like decent servings as well.
Goose Island pale ale is what I had today and it went well with the meal. Their beer selection is decent. The service was a-​OK, and we were served a little after half past the hour but we still didn’t have to rush and we ate at a normal pace, paid and were still back in time. This is a decent place to have lunch so I can see us coming back.
The owner came around and introduced himself and said he was working on getting a loyalty card made so that will be nice too when it comes out.

This place had a rocky as hell grand opening in October but they’ve recovered brilliantly. Great menu. It’s pure gastropub without the pretense. Some seriously intriguing mains (lots of duck-​based dishes and some interesting curries) and apps. Beers are nothing to write home about, although there’s something a little better here than Bud and Molson’s. I realize Goose Island is now being brewed by some massive globe spanning beverage company but, so far, its about as good as any Toronto craft beer I’ve had. The wine list is pretty decent.
My GF had great things to say about their women’s bathroom. And dining area is quite well done and comfy. This place can get a bit loud and has rapidly become «the local» for after work sports enthusiasts. The owner works the front of the house and seems honestly interested how his guests are doing.