Braised Restaurant & Bar

Since my husband and I live in the area we decided to try Braised for the first time with a Travelzoo Voucher.
Unfortunately it seems they updated the Travelzoo details since I made the purchase to allow for a very limited menu.
Because the menu was so short we didn’t get to try any of the items this restaurant is known for and so my experience prevents be from coming back.
In the future, they should offer the promotion minus the dessert and or double appetizer to get people in the door eat the best they make. That equals a return customer.

We had a travelzoo voucher for dinner. Before we went, I checked the menu on line. Menu looks interesting. I only realized when we sat down that with the voucher we can only choose from the prix fix list. I live nearby, I know that Braised is often empty. I think selling group-​buy voucher is a good way to introduce a new restaurant. But once you have the customers into the door, you got to showcase your menu, not just feed them boring chicken and hope they will be impressed enough to come back for the lamb shank.
However, the lowly 3 stars is not for bad strategy but for the quality of the meal. We picked out quite a few bruised leaves from our salad. The dressing was mediocre. Pasta was overcooked. Short rib pasta was not too bad. Vegetarian penne was overly spicy, other than the chilli taste, not much other flavour profiles. I make better and more interesting pasta at home.
Cream brulee was good, chocolate mouse was not.
Service was very warm and professional.
We won’t come back. And one advice for diners. Enoteca Ascari further east on Queen St. has much better pasta which won’t be easily replicated at home.

This restaurant is an absolute hidden GEM!
I was lucky enough to host my 26^th birthday party there last month and could not have asked for a better, more intimate, and trendy venue to host all my loved ones. The exposed brick (which i’m obsessed with), and beautiful hanging artwork put it over the top.
The restaurant owner, Sam, was so incredibly accommodating. Everyone took care of their own bills at the bar with zero confusion, hassle or drama. Kat who was behind the bar kept us thoroughly entertained and made the most delicious drinks all evening.
I was so pleasantly surprised by the fact that they named my own drink after me, printed it out, and placed it on top the bar so all my friends could order it! The «Lindsaytini» was enjoyed by everyone.
Whoever gave this place sub-​par reviews doesn’t know what they are talking about. The service was better than I could have ever imagined, the food was excellent and braised made us feel like family the moment we stepped through the door. We had several appies including the calamari and the braised short rib poutine which was AMAZING!
All in all it was an excellent experience and we can’t wait to go back. Thanks to everyone at Braised for making my birthday so memorable!

This restaurant is usually empty, so my husband and I were hesitant to try it for dinner, but when we we left, we were pleasantly surprised. The food was much better than expected and pretty tasty considering the mixed reviews it has been getting. The service could be improved, but we’ll definitely be going back. Hopefully it’s just as good then.

I’ve tried both the brunch and the dinner here before, and both experiences basically sucked. This place is virtually always empty, and for good reason. Food is sub-​par for the price, and service is slow (even when it’s empty). Avoid.

«A red neon sign of the word „braised“ with extended ascenders caught our eye, with it’s sense of simple elegance.»
«The curious interior ambiance, energetic staff and reasonable prices all contributed to our enjoyment of Braised.»
A few bites from our full review.

Excellent brunch. Came to the neighborhood to try Lady Marmalade and came here instead of waiting in line. This was a great choice. I enjoyed a Perfect spicy Caesar, and the eggs Benny with pork and bbq sauce while watching the line of chilly folks waiting outside for their brunch next door. Very friendly waitress /​bartender as well!

My husband and I were looking for brunch on a Saturday at noon, and all the popular brunch places in Leslieville had long lineups, so we decided to give Braised a try.
It was terrible.
Their brunch menu has four items, so not much of a selection, however ½ of the menu was vegetarian friendly, if you are a vegetarian. We really wanted bacon, but there was no bacon on the menu. We both ordered the eggs benny «with a twist». It took at least 30 minutes for the food to come. You know when you’re hangry and you get to the point where you’re like, should I leave? It got to that point.
The food finally came and the server apologized for the wait. I felt bad for the sever because he was the ONLY server in the restaurant and it was about half full. I’m not sure why the management at this place thought it was a good idea to only staff one person, who was also doing bar service on a Saturday when they have a brunch menu. You could tell the server was stressed and he was running around a lot.
The food was terrible. The eggs benny was on a fritter soaked in oil, with a small amount of braised ribs, a poached egg (that wasn’t runny), covered in a strong citrus hollandaise sauce. None of the flavours complimented each other at all. The braised ribs had a strong BBQ flavour, which just did not work with the oily fritter or the citrus hollandaise sauce (slightly bitter). There was a small field greens salad as the side, but it was pretty boring because the dressing had no flavour. When I had a few pieces left, the strange mix of flavours remaining in my mouth made me want to vomit.
A waste of $ 45.
I’m not sure what dinner is like at this place, but I would not recommend coming here for brunch. The décor of the restaurant is nice though.

Braised is fast becoming my go to restaurant in leslieviile. The bar manager and the rest of the staff are pros. Not too intrusive… but helpful just at the right time. Great cocktails at the cozy bar before heading to our table for a great meal… the resto ’ s specialty is braised beef ribs… oh my!!!
Located on queen street east… spend a night there on a warm summer night at a table by the open windows. Toronto at its best! Ya, I’m going back.

Very cute place to grab a bite or have a glass of wine at the bar. Bartender Shalika (hope i spelled that right) was incredible! Calamari was nicely done, sunday-​tuesday is BYOW which I wish I had known prior to going. I will be back!

I came here on Sunday evening (for a belated birthday meal).
I had read mixed reviews, but wanted to try it anyway, so glad we did.
Our waitress (whose name I forget, sorry!) was awesome. Welcoming, funny and gave great recommendations. Even changed the music for my fussy dining companion!
We all thoroughly enjoyed our food, (calamari, poutine with short ribs, the steak dish, mahi mahi and my short rib entrée.)
Loved the environment, the service and the food. Will definitely return!

Underwhelming and not worth it. Made a reservation for 4 based on hope that the poor reviews were isolated incidents. Wrong. We ordered the braised short ribs for just under $ 30. It took so long to arrive and when it did is dissatisfying. It tasted mediocre but not great, and my piece was small and 30% fat. Argh. Not going back. The only upside is our waiter was great.

The food, amazing, I had one of the best Caesar Salads ever, and the steak, from first to last bite heaven. The service couldn’t have been better, our sever was there exactly when she was needed and gave us our space when it was called for. Overall, a dining experience, I will be talking about for a very long time.

The service was really nice, such a lovely experience. The place had such a great vibe, with really cool art on the walls.
I had the Mahi Mahi tuna. The quinoa was a bit bland but the fish was excellent. The lamb penne was really delicious.
My favourite, however, was the crème brûlée, extra thick layer of crunch just made it
Overall great experience.

We came here yesterday for brunches. Our original plan was to go to lady marm next door but there was a super long line up and with a baby in tow it might not have worked out for us. We decided to give braised a try. I have been meaning to come here since it opened. On to the meal… My dc ordered the Benny with a twist which was kind of like a regular Benny except it came with bacon on the side instead of on the the Benny so I guess that’s a twist. It also came with a cucumber and tomato salad which was lovely. I ordered the braised beef dip sandwich with fries. I probably should have gotten the salad instead (next time). The sandwich was delicious. Super tender beef and the au jus was lovely also. We had the calamari appetizer which was also great. It wasn’t really busy, but I think it should be. Our server was attentive and kept coming to check on us which was nice. They have high chairs and its roomy for any mommies out there. They also offered us complementary bread and a delicious chocolate mousse. Since they’re small and just starting out its probably better to call ahead and make a reservation if you have a larger party so they can get staff in to serve you! Anyways we had an excellent experience and I would totally come back.

A group of six of us decided to visit Braised on a Saturday afternoon for brunch. It is situated in a difficult spot, sandwiched between Joy, Lil Baci and the ever popular Lady Marmalade.
We arrived just after 1pm and were seated in the quiet restaurant not long after. We had our orders taken and we waited patiently for our food, very patiently in fact. Finally at 2.45pm after a couple of weak promises we couldn’t hold out any more and left hungry.
The main disappointment was not in the waiting time for the food, but the simple lack of courtesy surrounding that fact. If during our wait we had been offered a comp on our drinks, an appetiser or even a board game we would have happily waited even longer as apparently the food is quite good.
As a result of the poor service and the lack of ownership in these issues, I would suggest avoiding Braised. There are some fantastic food options in the area, literally next door for example.

Tried Braised last week as we live in the hood. An extremely overpriced and disappointing meal. I ordered the braised short ribs with red wine reduction — there was no red wine reduction and when I asked about it I was told it was cooked in a red wine reduction (which fundamentally makes no sense). The portion was laughable at $ 26, and was dry and overcooked. There were two other couples dining while we were there, and both complained about their dishes. When the waiter asked for suggestions, we mentioned how small the portions were — he said: «Ya we get that a lot» but didn’t offer to do anything about it. We left hungry and trotted down the street to Goods and Provisions (one of our favourite places in Leslieville) and had a fantastic meal.