The Only Cafe

Love the Only. A Peterborough institution with satisfyingly surly bartenders and an extremely pleasant side patio. Great spot for late boozy lunch, too, provided you’re not in a hurry.

This has got to be the greasiest most awful breakfast I have ever had. Everything was swimming in oil: the eggs, the pea meal bacon, the potatoes. The only redeeming feature was the charming, beautiful outdoor patio nestled under gorgeous mature trees offering shade from the burning sun. This is the second time we gave this place a chance. We won’t be giving it a third. Great place for a beer. Do not eat there.

An excellent experience. We came across this place on the advise of a friend when we were visiting from Toronto. I was okay with the bar service, but I’m glad my friend gave me the heads up or I wouldn’t have known and may have felt awkward. The service was friendly enough, but didn’t feel genuine. The patio was exceptional, one of the best I have seen. For a Sunday early afternoon the crowd was mixed– families having brunch, people reading, and those like us grabbing a bite and having a ceasar. The food was exceptional– an absolutely stand out jerk turkey sandwich. I love how they asked how spicy I would like it, I like feeling the burn and I found it thoughtful to ask. The beer selection was great. Overall a wonderful experience.

Alright, the Only Café. There’s only two things you need to know about the Only: 1. They don’t care about Unilocal reviews. They don’t care about any reviews, and never will. 2. Everybody there knows everybody else already, or at least knows their faces. Keep that in mind when you go there for the first time.
That being said, the Only is the Only for a reason. It has the best patio anywhere, in any city I’ve ever been to. It’s beautiful and magical. There are huge trees hanging overhead. There is a creek running beside it. They have a very good selection of microbrews on tap and on draft. Inside is nice. It’s kitchy and homey and feels warm and welcoming.
Yes, the servers might seem a bit rude or abrupt. Especially if they’ve never seen you there before. This might make you uncomfortable at first. You have to win them over. Either by being nice and friendly, or going there regularly. It’s the total reverse of other bars where you’re used to going. Deal with it. End of story.
If it’s not your scene, fine, move on. It’s not for everyone and it’s not supposed to be. Just like you can’t be friends with everyone, this bar is not welcoming to everyone. And that’s really nice sometimes.

not much new information from me based on the other reviews here… our party of 3 arrived for brunch when the restaurant opened. one of us had called earlier to find out when they opened. the owner hung up on him. i have had beers there before but had never eaten. we sat down to look at the menu and after a few minutes she said to us in a disgusted manner, «you know how this works, right?!». she was indicating that we had to order from the counter. (no, didn’t know this. sorry for not knowing how a place we’ve never been to before works.) we ordered though and the food was filling and tasty. tasty enough to overlook being made to feel like idiots? i don’t think so. but it was good and filling. we asked for some more coffee — a request that was greeted with an exaggerated eye-​roll. you’re supposed to get it yourself apparently. (didn’t know that either). would i go back? not in a hurry.

I visited The Only a few weeks ago with a few good friends after being told that this was THE place to go downtown to get a good beer and grab some truly amazing food. To say that I was disappointed is an understatement.
I should preface this review by noting that I’ve been to dive bars and hipster central locales all over Toronto and the Northern United States. The Only is very much a dive bar/​hipster hangout — which I’m fine with, I understand what comes with this category of bar. In fact, one thing that always draws me back to this kind of place is the passion that the servers/​bartenders/​cooks/​owners/​etc have for the drinks and food they serve. More often than not, they are happy to chat beer for a few minutes or offer up an interesting cocktail to try. But when I attempted to order a Sam Adams, which they don’t carry (and for a place that prides itself on the best beer selection in Peterborough I found a bit out-​of-​place) I asked if they had anything similar. I was met with an in-​my-​face sigh, a look of derrision, and a short conversation between the two bartenders as to what they could possibly have that «might» taste the same. How dare I order something they didn’t have.
As my initial apprehension over this first interaction wore off and I decided to order some of their raved-​about breakfast, I noticed that the unpleasant interaction I had with the bartender (who I think may have been the owner?) wasn’t a one-​off. No, these two bartenders either detest their jobs, the customers, or some combination of both. Again, I get that dive bars aren’t known for their smile-​painted-​on wait staff, but the woman I dealt with was snide, unpleasant, unfriendly, and made me feel very unwelcome. It was like us customers were bothering her from something infinitely more important.
Now, I might even suggest that everything I mentioned above could be (at least momentarily) overlooked for some truly epic level food. Well, worry not. The entirety of my review remains untouched by the unremarkable quality of the food here. I ordered the go to standard bacon, eggs, home fries breakfast. A buddy ordered the tabbouleh, and another ordered pancakes. I’ll tell you, that tabbouleh was hands down the best thing I tried. It was fresh, light, and simply delicious. Every bite of everything else was either burnt, overcooked, or simply bland, boring food. Come for the tabbouleh, stay for nothing else, unfortunately.
See, it’s unfortunate, really. I thoroughly enjoyed those two bites of my friends food so much that I have actually considered revisiting and trying something else on the menu, or maybe even attempting a second beer conversation. But, I can’t. I felt so unwelcome in so many ways that I’d simply rather spend my money somewhere else where I can at least take the gamble on whether or not my food will be good and where maybe, just maybe, I will be greeted with a smile.

I am always happy when I find myself sitting on a rickety bar stool in this art-​covered Peterborough institution.
We all know you don’t go here for friendly service. You go here for a good pint, some good tunes, and hanging out with friends.
The food is pretty good considering the lack of a kitchen. I went through a spree where I only ever ordered the daily special and was always happy with what I ate. The sandwiches are fantastic. I love the grilled cretan — simple tomatoes and onions.

Visited Peterborough on November 12, while attending a conference at Trent University. A couple of locals at the conference recommended this place, and a group of eight of us went. The place looks old on the outside, and the structure likely is from the 1860s; however, when you walk in, you know you’ve landed in the late twentieth century: the walls are covered with photos from Rock’s psychedelic era. I must admit, it seems like they had pictures from every band I listen to from that era, but especially the Beatles, the Stones, Hendrix and of course Bob Dylan. So the atmosphere kept me more interested at staring at the walls that contained the photos, than actually listening to what my friends were saying.
There isn’t table service, you order your drink and food from the bar. They will deliver the food to you when it is ready. I liked this, since it was much faster than waiting for table service.
They had an excellent selection of craft-​brewed beer on tap and in the bottle, which always gets high marks from me. I tried the locally brewed The Publican House Ale which was great. The nachos were fine, and overall, I couldn’t figure out what all the negative reviews were about, although I have to admit, I wasn’t here during brunch-​time on a weekend.
This place is a good meeting venue for folks that gather with their friends to shoot the sh*t and drink good beer, and have good finger foods. If I lived in Peterborough, this would be one of my regular hangouts.
P. S. any bar that has a portrait of James Joyce and photo of Jean-​Paul Sartre on its walls certainly keeps my interest level up.

This is a old school English pub. This means it’s far more relaxed then North Americans are use to. You wander in find a place to down your bags, you wander over when you feel like it to the bar to get a drink and if your feeling hungry, a look at the menu. Order and go and relax with the book you brought or chat with your friends. Enjoy the clam of the place and before you know it your food will be in front of you. The food at The Only, is even better then what your Mom makes. When you decide to get back to your everyday life, just pay at the bar.

How to visit the only café:
Head out to the patio first. With lots of tables, some small, some huge, many trees, and funky stuff painted on the three story wall, it’s my favourite patio anywhere. Claim your spot.
Head back inside to the bar to order a drink. The coffee has a hint of cinnamon, and you can spend hours reading whilst caffeinating without so much as a second glance. There are always a few local brews on draft and the bottle selection can provide some obscure gems at reasonable prices.
Grab a menu and order at the bar. The staff will bring your food to your table when it’s ready, but otherwise this place is entirely bar service.
The food’s great, especially the breakfasts. You can stick with standard eggs and bacon but there are also excellent omelettes or scrambled eggs with a bagel, a pile of sauteed mushrooms, and brie. By default they’re served with rye bread and Mom’s dressing on the salad — you can mess with this, but don’t bother. It’s good as is.
You certainly aren’t likely to encounter perky service at the only — in fact it’s often far closer to snarky than perky — but get past that, because the place has its own perfectly wonderful charm. And it’s where you’ll find everyone downtown, sooner or later. Love it for what it is, or go across the street to Gertie’s.

I rarely have a bad thing to say about eateries, especially when the grub is as tasty as what is served at The Only (I went for breakfast)… but the service is what killed it for me. I have never been to a place where the employees honestly look like they dread their job until coming here. The strange thing is, everyone I talk to has the exact same story. Rude service seems to be the angle that The Only is hoping will draw you back, which I don’t find appealing. I will spend my money elsewhere.