Beast

Came here on a Sunday afternoon around 1pm. We had a large group of 7 people but they said it would only be a 15 minute wait. This turned out to be more like 30 minutes because they seemed to be understaffed that day. Our table was cleared within 15 minutes of waiting but there was no one free to clean it and set the table again for us.
After waiting half an hour to be seated, we immediately ordered. I was really craving their maple-​bacon donuts but they were out that day! Apparently their baker was out of town. I was so disappointed but settled for the fried gnocchi poutine as a starter instead and split the challah French toast with a friend.
The fried gnocchi poutine was really good. I thought it would be an overload of carbs but it was actually a good portion and the sauce they covered it with tasted a lot like eating a sloppy joe. The challah French toast with duck confit was surprisingly delicious too. The sweet French toast mixed well with the savory duck confit and they topped it off with a huge spoonful of whipped cream.
Another friend ordered the beastwich, which she highly recommended. Their gravy was great and the whole sandwich is topped with a fried egg.
I’d come back again for their food and hopefully to try their maple-​bacon donuts next time!

Despite the 30 minute wait (I suggest you just walk along queen street while you wait because there’s so much to see in this neighbourhood), this place was delicious for brunch. We both got the Beastwiches with potatoes and salad as ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ sides. Absolutely amazing. Chicken was cooked perfectly (could’ve been a little hotter in temperature and seasoned a bit better) with a crisp outside and soft juicy inside. The biscuit and chicken were both covered in a smooth and yummy sausage gravy. Potatoes were seasoned well and salad had a great vinaigrette! Overall just a great first meal here. If I wasn’t so stuffed from the sandwich I would’ve definitely gotten the daily special donuts they get delivered by Rochelle. I’ll be back for sure.

We had the fried gnocchi poutine, pork hocks, rainbow trout, and lamb ribs. ALL SO AMAZING. The ribs and pork melt in your mouth. And topping off the meal with sticky toffee pudding is a great finish. I strongly recommend!

It is a small bar /​restaurant. Their food portion is very small and pricy. People mainly go their for alcohol. Their food is tasty but salty. If you are looking for real meal, I highly recommend go somewhere else

If you are in the mood for some tasty brunch, this is the place. The chicken club was really good. The tenderness of the meat worked well with the cheese. Also I would recommend the dark + stormy cocktail. It seemed really popular during brunch time, so be sure to make a reservation!

Had a wonderful Brunch experience at Beast. Coming in for a late brunch on a Sunday afternoon, we had to wait about 15 – 20 minutes for a table of two. Located on a quiet street, the restaurant probably doesn’t look the most attractive if you walked by. Service was fine with nothing noteworthy.
The food on the otherhand was excellent:
Beastwich ⁵⁄₅: Biscuits fried chicken sandwich, gravy and homefries/​salad. I really enjoyed this and would recommend!
Meat Scramble ⁴⁄₅: Almost like an omelette. They had an excellent sauce on top. Came with the homefries and salad sides as well.
French Press Brazil Coffee 2.5÷5: Average and not really worth $ 4.
Overall, I really enjoyed Beast and I’d come back to try more of the menu (probably the dinner menu specifically)!

OMG their house potatoes were DELICIOUS!!! I ordered the Eggs Benedict with avocado. The eggs were done really well and the hollandaise was very tasty. We sat on the patio which was nice and quiet. Would definitely like to come here back.

Stopped by for Saturday brunch. We got super lucky that we arrived close to opening: 10:07 and there was already a 10 minute wait. The food took quite a while, but is absolutely worth the wait. BF got the daily scramble and I got the pork hocks. We also were seated long enough that we were able to try the Caesars after 11 am. In my opinion, the classic Caesar is spicier and a little bit tangier than the all-​Ontario Caesar. Depends what you like. The meal was perfect and the rest of the menu looks amazing as well. I would 100% recommend this restaurant. If I had a chance to go back, the poutine gnocci sounds fantastic.

**Dinner — reservation is a must. I came here on a weekday before and restaurant was packed. Their dinner menu change quite often based on seasons. They also have a whole-​animal dinner which I really wanna try! Overall service is not that good. Servers aren’t friendly and they will rush you, especially during brunch. For dinner I had the following:
–bison flank $ 18: The taste was very similar to beef and it did not taste gamey. There was quite a bit of heat which I think came from the smoke harissa and the black garlic added a hint of sweetness, which paired well with the bison.
–scallops $ 18: the scallops had a nice golden brown crust and had a tender, springy center. I liked the slightly sweet quince BBQ sauce which accentuated the earthiness flavor of the hazelnut and did not overwhelmed the natural taste of the juicy scallops.
**Brunch — no reservation and come early! Restaurant is really small and get filled up quickly.
Also, get the DONUTS if they are still available. I hate dessert and Rachelle’s donut was probably the best I have had so far! Not too sweet with a nice texture :). For brunch I had the followings:
–poutine $ 12: The light and fluffy yet chewy potato gnocchi was covered in a delectable gravy and pulled pork. You really can’t go wrong adding a melting cheese curds to an already great dish, and I love how the curds still maintained its squeakiness and volume.
–huevos rancheros $ 14: There’s nothing like a runny golden fried egg, tomato sauce packed with flavors, and fresh corn tortillas to start my morning. It would have been better if they didn’t skimp on the avocados, because you know, who doesn’t love to bite into big creamy chunks of avocado!
–crispy pork hocks $ 14: The pork hocks had a super crispy skin yet when you bite into them, these were incredibly soft and tender. Love how the chef balanced out the fatty pork hocks with a mildly spicy and sour kimchi. Salad wasn’t drenched in dressings but potato is not consistent, can be overdone sometimes.
–the bruce leroy $ 14: Golden brown crispy skin and perfectly cooked chicken thigh. The biscuit was quite dry. I actually found the sweet soy sauce to be overpowering and the sandwich became incredibly salty after a few bite

I came in for lunch while working in the neighborhood. I ordered the beastwich. While waiting the staff were great. The place is quaint.
The order came to the table and it looked spectacular. The gravy was awesome. The moist biscuit, it all worked really well. I liked the option of having the half salad half roasted potato.
An exceptional meal in a great place. Don’t miss this place it is a true gem.
Food ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Ambience ⁹⁄₁₀
Service ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Coming back soon.

Gord and I had brunch today at Beast. Though it’s been around for about six years, we just heard about it a couple months ago and wanted to check it out.
It seats about 35 people and was jammed when we got there about 10:45am. We got the second last free table.
Gord started with an Ethiopian coffee which is made with a French press. A timer lets you know when it’s ready
We both ordered the Labatt 50 breakfast. Gord got his with a Labatt 50 and I got mine with a mimosa.
Gord got his breakfast with Beast bacon, challah bread and half mixed greens and half potatoes. He said it was very good. I got mine with peameal bacon, challah bread and potatoes. Mine too was very good.
They also serve fresh donuts and today’s flavours were maple bacon, chocolate mocha and caramel glazed with Chicago popcorn on top. I had planned on getting one for dessert but I didn’t have any room. Next time!
Aliza was our server and she took good care of us.
We’ll be back!

came here for a Sunday brunch with my cousins.
put our name down on the list and literally waited over an hour to be seated.
it had a nice homely feeling but because we were seated near the door, with it opening and closing constantly I was really cold. Because of how busy it was there was no room to be relocated anywhere else.
the place is very hipster — it’s probably the size of my living room and dining room combined — it’s small.
would I say it was worth the wait — no. it was cold outside and there was no where else to wait (street parking was hard to find so we had to park down king.)
I had my go-​to which is always eggs benny — it was okay — I’ve been having it a lot lately that it didn’t hit the «spot» especially for how long we had waited. I really wanted to try the bacon doughnut but they were sold out. my cousins enjoyed their meal. one got the French toast without the duck and the other got a Mexican breakfast dish.
the serving was a little too much for me but that’s also because we waited so long to eat that my appetite was gone.
we also had the mimosas which were really strong!
overall a ³⁄₅ because the ambiance and service was good, I wasn’t sold on my meal.

We came here for a Sunday recovery brunch, and were told the wait would be half an hour. The wait ended up being closer to an hour, which left us pretty hungry and kinda cranky. However, the hostess was considerably aloof and even sort of passive-​aggressive, even though I’d like to think we were pretty patient throughout the process. And it wasn’t just us, it was the rest of the couples and parties waiting as well. Not only that, the hostess fit in a party of 1 right before us on the list, which was sort of confusing, and when we asked her about it, she said that he came in before us, which definitely wasn’t true. I think you should never fault a restaurant for being popular, but you can definitely fault a restaurant for having staff with unprofessional attitudes. Oy vey.
We eventually got seated, in a very bad mood, but thankfully, the food did a good job of improving our moods. We started off with the french press coffee and I got a freshly-​squeezed orange juice, which slowly but surely got me into a less cranky mood. As for food, we ordered the the curry boar poutine with fried gnocchi instead of fries, peameal bacon benedict, and the Beastwich. The curry boar poutine was excellent, and the meat was a good contrasting texture with the crispy gnocchi. The curry provided a really nice depth of flavor, to be offset with the cheese, gravy, and scallions. Quite a nice, unique dish, and something I could eat a large vat of. The benedict was great, and the eggs were poached quite nicely. We felt pretty good about eating something that was uniquely Toronto, and they executed quite nicely. The Beastwich was just a magnificent feat of richness, with a nicely fried chicken thigh smothered with pork sausage gravy, between a really nice buttery biscuit. You definitely have to fork and knife it, because if you try to pick it up with your hands (as I did), you’ll have sausage gravy dripping from your hands forever. The potatoes that came with both dishes were crispy and had just the right firmness. Potatoes or home fries are something that many brunch places can’t make consistently weirdly enough, but Beast is not one of those places.
The service in general just wasn’t very friendly or effective. It seemed like everyone was really frantic and stressed out, but it wasn’t like they were working very fast. It took them about 10 minutes to clear tables, even though they were moving around the restaurant at a frenetic pace. Quite confusing. The prices are pretty reasonable for brunch, with dishes at around $ 10 – 15.
In all, we really did enjoy the food and have no complaints there, but we just didn’t really enjoy the vibe or the level of service enough. I’m inclined to give this place another shot, simply because the food is pretty filling and delicious, but the service, in general, certainly didn’t do this place any favors. Perhaps we came in on an off day, but it just wasn’t a good look for the staff.

Came here on a Sunday morning for Brunch. We arrived right before they opened so were able to get a table right away but there was already a line up behind us
Coffee — 5 Stars
Food — 3 Stars
The coffee arrives in your personal French Press which adds a unique touch. There are a few different types of coffee to choose from, and they are explained to you by flavor profile. We both ordered a different one, and they were aromatic, rich, and full of flavor. I would come back just for the coffee, it was delicious.
I had the special meat scramble of the day and I was not a fan. I think it had some tendons or something in it but it had a chewy taste and the sauce added a weird flavor to the dish. I would try something else next time.
Overall, a cool place and I would come back

Im just annoyed. So I give this place… 3 stars.
We decided to go to the Beast on New Years day since there wasnt much to choose from as most places were closed. It was a snowy and cold day in toronto, and we had to wait outside in the windy cold for an hour for a table for 4.
When we were finally seated, we ordered:
the breakfast sandwich: i tried a bit of this and it was alright. The grilled pork belly was tender and flavourful. Nothing too special.
meat scramble: im not particularly a fan of scramble anything and this was not an exception. It just looked like a big mess on a plate. I might be a bit biased when it comes to scrambled eggs kind of things but this wasn’t good.
the beastwich: buttermilk biscuit with fried chicken thigh and served with house potatoes. This was the best dish although still not the best fried chicken buttermilk biscuit I have had. The amount of gravy they put onto it made everything very mushy. The biscuit and fried chicken has mushed into one another by the time i finished a third of it.
The toffee pudding: After being served a salty and soggy breakfast, this pudding tasted GREAT! It was sweet but balanced off all the salt from our breakfasts. We split this into quarters — a quarter per person and it was enough. Another bite of it would have been too much sweetness.
I dont think Beast is worth lining up for if you have to wait out in the cold. If you are willing to wait over an hour for brunch… wait elsewhere — not at Beast. Soggy and salty brunch items are not worth waiting in line for.
Also, DO NOT wear a nice jacket to this place. It WILL smell like frying oil for a week after you brunch here.

Came here for brunch on Sunday morning within 15 mins of the place opening and it was already hopping! We were luckily able to be seated right away.
We started with coffee and doughnuts. I had the Ethiopian coffee, which was amazing with notes of peach and that big fruity flavour I love in African coffees. They bring it to you in a little single-​serving French press that you get to plunge yourself when a timer goes off. For doughnuts, we tried the maple bacon and cinnamon sugar twist. Both were incredible. The doughnuts sell out fast, so be sure to order them right away!
We followed that up with some of their fried gnocchi poutine. The flavour of the day was wild boar with chickpea curry. SO GOOD. Easily my favourite dish of the meal. Their use of gnocchi to replace the traditional fries is spot on, and the boar curry topping was so delish! Would love to order the poutine again and see what other interesting flavours they’ll whip up.
For my main dish, I got the challah French toast. It features duck confit, which is why I sprang for it. It is a really decent French toast, but the French toast I had the day prior at Bareburger was superior to this. My friend got the other dish I was debating on, their smoked trout benedict. I got to sample it and it was delicious! (I am a sucker for smoked trout though.) I love the fact that they have this alternative to the traditional smoked salmon.
We rounded the meal off with the sticky toffee pudding, which was the only real miss of the the whole experience. I suggested it based on other people’s reviews about it. don’t get me wrong, this dessert is good in terms of flavour, texture, presentation, etc. The only problem with it is that it is sickeningly sweet. As in, I literally gagged every time I took a bite due to the sugary fumes emanating from each morsel. If they could tone down the sugar content in this dessert, I’d order it again, but as it stands I couldn’t eat more than a few bites before feeling sick.
Anyway, I certainly plan to return here! Highly recommend!

New Year’s Day: I’ve decided to start with a brunch in one of the best known restaurant in the west end in Toronto: Beast.
The restaurant offers a Canadian menu focused on local meats & using the whole beast.
The menu offers a good variety of cured, smoked meats. Two items in particular caught our attention:
— The breakfast sandwich: grilled pork belly, pickled onions, kozlik’s sweet and smokey mustard, lettuce and fried egg on a biscuit served with potatoes.
— Crispy pork hocks, tossed in kecap manis and served with house kimchi, two eggs (choose over easy style), toast, potatoes and mix greens.
For drinks we chose to go with two of three blends of coffee offered on the menu: Ethiopian and Peruvian.
The food overall, despite its richness in flavour, combines the ingredients really well without having one ingredient overpowering the other, resulting in a well balanced sandwich that would leave you craving for more.
The service demonstrated to be attentive and well acknowledged, never invasive.
Washrooms are clean and in good state.
Overall, a great experience I highly recommend to anyone who wants to try something a little different than the usual burger/​sandwich offered by the vast majority of places on the scene.

This hidden gem has a very unassuming exterior.
Food: food was amazing, very unique and delicious. Came in for a work lunch which lasted a tad longer than we liked but was worth every bite. The beast with was amazing but the real show stopper was the toffee pudding at the end.
Far warning you’re going to walk out of here smelling delicious.

Ordered: Raspberry hazelnut donut, and Challah french toast
Pros – The donut was homemade from scratch and very light. The french toast came with savory duck confit and was accompanied with crème fraîche and a cranberry compote. The combination was great texture and flavor-​wise.
Cons – I was told the wait time would be about 25 minutes and it took much longer. The restaurant was understaffed which was the cause of this wait. They should have been more prepared since it’s clearly a popular brunch spot. They also ran out early on of maple bacon donuts, which was their specialty. This was disappointing. Ironically the back of one of the staff member’s shirt said «got maple bacon donuts?»

Came here for brunch on a saturday.
Ordered the beastwich and french toast with duck confit, beastwich was awesome! Great flavor on every bite sooo recommending this dish. The french toast on the other side was ok. Nothing special. The duck confit was good but the french toast was just your plain old moms french toast. I would stick to something else. Ordered the decaf coffee was very pricy $ 4 for a cup. Nothing too special too.
Anyway still a good brunch spot!