Brownstone Bistro

I am regretting not saying anything to the manager after my disappointing first experience at Brownstone Bistro last night. Firstly, we had to wait an hour to be seated for our reservation. After waiting 25 minutes without being told anything, I went to ask when we would be seated and was ignored by the hostess and the gentleman in the red shirt, who I was told was the restaurant consultant when I asked later. They turned to a different customer and started to explain the delay, then turned to me and said «oh I will explain this to you as well». They explained that they got delayed by multiple large party, late arriving reservations. I had to then ask for a rough time estimate and was told maybe another 20 minutes. We decided to stay and wait for our table understanding that these things happen on busy nights. While waiting we were told that the house would comp our first round of drinks. After being seated it took another 25 minutes to get our drinks. Multiple salads were missing the dressing on them and when asked for dressing a different dressing was brought. When the main dishes came, the 2 people in our party that ordered the fettuccine got a completely different pasta meal with no explanation. The dish was different to the point that I would not have ordered the pasta if i had known this. That being said, the food was good tasting. When the bill arrived it had everything we had on it. We had to follow up with the staff member that mentioned the comp drinks to get them. But, she only removed 3 drinks, when we were a party of 5. While in the restaurant I watched the restaurant consultant go to the other tables that had delayed reservations and have conversations with them. He did not, however, come to our table once to ask about our meal or experience. Overall, the staff was apologetic about the wait, the food was fine (the steak was a little rough and the pasta was not as described on the menu). I can say that based on my experience there for the first time I will not return or recommend this restaurant.

Went for winterlicious. Had read great reviews bur was very disappointed. Very crowded with lots of atmosphere. Appetizers were good. Main seafood and steak not so good. Seafood tasteless and steaks a little on the tough side. Desserts better but nothing out of the ordinary. Staff very good

I made a reservation for 7:30 tonight. When I arrived there on time, there was a long lineup from the front desk to the door. Everyone was waiting for their seat even though they made a reservation just like me. The manager kept saying to people to step back. It was a chaos. I asked the front desk girl about my reservation and mentioned there was an empty table for 2, but she said that was a table for people who made a reservation for 7:00 and who were not there yet. Meanwhile, the restaurant was full of people waiting for a table. My friend and I just decided to go somewhere else. WHAT IS THE POINT OF MAKING A RESERVATION IF YOU CAN’T GET A SEAT WHEN YOU ARRIVE ON TIME??? I will never go there again. Horrible experience although I haven’t had a bite of their food.

Came for winterlicious dinner, $ 25 which was a good price. Came on a Thursday night, no reservation.
When we walked in, what seemed like the manager and an employee were arguing in the doorway, and seemed as if the employee was being told off. We were seated by the window a round table. Spacious enough to put our jackets on a chair and still have space.
I ordered the soup of the day (carrot and ginger soup) and my partner got the goat cheese bruschetta to start. The goat cheese bruschetta was very good. A trio of crisp bread with a fried goat cheese medallion, tomato salsa with crumbled goat cheese and salad greens with some cheese. The soup was extremely salty so much that I ended up pouring some water into it to dilute it.
Then, for the entrée we had mushroom risotto and the steak. We had come specifically to have steak without the hefty tag. Both entrees arrived promptly after the appetizers, but I was still working on the soup as the entrees arrived. The steak was nicely cooked (medium rare) though there was a pocket of rare — the steak was not cut smoothly, as it bunched up at one end and had some slice marks. 2 pieces of sad looking broccoli came with it, along with some string potato fries and sweet potato slices. The sweet potato slices were burnt around the edges and everything was covered with beef gravy (too much). The mushroom risotto was okay, but very buttery (it was starting to separate, and a pool of butter could be seen at the bottom of the plate. Seasoning was a hit and miss, and a few bites were bland and some were seasoned with salt.
Last, with dessert, previous reviews said they were out of crème brûlée and that held true. They offered the explanation of being run out again. And had the options of chocolate mousse, brownie or tiramisu. Tiramisu was good, a little square nice and tasty. The brownie on the other hand, was not. It seemed a slice of cake, hard and dry.
Service was good, as the waiter who was being told off at the door came by at each course to check in, though another waiter brought our meals.
All in all, the food was what really brought this review down):

Do NOT come here to eat! I was extremely disappointed with my experience here.
I came to Brownstone for lunch with my co-​workers. We made reservations in advance, got there on time and we still had to wait 15 min before we got seated (which is a long time considering we were there during our lunch hour and had to return to work shortly thereafter)! We all ordered the 3-​course winterlicious lunch, save one of my co-​workers. And I cannot emphasize HOW LONG it took for the food to arrive! Some of my co-​workers had a meeting at 2pm, and had to leave without eating anything because it took so long! Which is ridiculous considering we were there for 1230!
When we politely asked if they could speed up the service, the server simply stated «oh this is normal. It’s winterlicious so we are really busy». So you’re telling me you didn’t anticipate how busy it would be when your restaurant signed up for winterlicious? The server was also UNAPOLOGETIC — I didn’t hear a single «sorry» uttered out of her mouth. We had to ask repeatedly for our courses, take out boxes (because it was taking so long and we couldn’t stay to eat) and our bill! The server also forgot about one person’s order (the non-​winterlicious order) and just said «oh — the risotto was MIA». We didn’t even know what to say at that point. Not to mention the food isn’t even good. Mediocre at best.
The manager came to apologize after, although the reasons she gave for the delay were the same and still unjustifiable. She gave us 20% off our bill and free coffee and tea, but considering there is a mandatory 18% gratuity for large parties, that discount actually amounted to nothing.
I WILL NEVER COME HERE AGAIN, and I suggest you do the same. Save your time and money and go somewhere else!!!

This is based on my experience there during Winterlious. I would say never go her during Winterlicious. They over booked reservations so decided to completely disregard them.
I called few days before to make a reservation and was told they were really booked up got a 7pm reservation.
Arrived at 6:50pm to the Brownstone and there was lineup of at least 20 people. The weird thing was no one ever asked you to confirm you name, or reservation time. They were basically taking people on a first come first serve bases. Which was very aggravating especially since people were cutting in line. Which if they had your name on a list or given you a number as you came in then it would at least have been fair. I had asked most of the people around me and most also stated they had a 7pm reservation. The girl directly behind me had a 7:30pm reservation. She was behind me though so that was fine since she never tried to cut in line.
It just stupid to take reservation and then not have them honoured. Don’t take reservation just say it will be first come first serve but then at least have a list as people enter. It took about 40 minute wait before being seated. They Never offered an estimated time to be seated or an apology for the wait.
The food was very good. I had WARM GOAT CHEESE APPETIZER, NEW YORK STRIP LOIN & CHOCOLATE MOUSSE. The appetizer was very delicious. I had wanted CRÈME BRÛLÉE for dessert but they had run out when it when were ready for dessert. The mouse was good tasty though.
The atmosphere was nice, the food really good. Also considering price paid $ 25 for everything it was well worth it. If it had not been for the complete disregard for reservations and the long line of people waiting they would have probably received 4 stars.

I came here for Winterlicious tonight and was not impressed. The service was terrible and our waiter was rude. The one star is for the steak and the atmosphere.
Service:
From the moment my cousin and I walked in it took 5 minutes before anyone greeted us. When we were finally seated it was at a table that was pulled out into the aisle and we kept getting bumped by passersby. After taking our drink order we never saw our waiter again, having to flag him down to get his attention. At the end of the night he asked something related to the bill, but I didn’t quite hear what he said. Turns out he asked if we wanted one bill, which we didn’t, and so we took out our cards thinking it shouldn’t be a problem to split them at the table since we ordered the same thing. When he walked over and saw that we had two cards, without saying anything, he abruptly snatched the bill up and went to print two separate bills. Yikes!
Food:
You can’t beat $ 25 steak and I love crème brûlée, so I was excited for my meal. The goat cheese appetizer was good. The steak was nice too, but they didn’t ask how we wanted them to be cooked. I like my steak medium, which it was, so I was fine with that. What I was disappointed about was the dessert! I came here specifically for the crème brûlée, and they didn’t have it. Our waiter started listing off a bunch of desserts that were not on the Winterlicious menu and when I asked about the crème brûlée, he didn’t give any explanation, he just said no it’s not on the menu. I had a cold pear dish that wasn’t very good. Needless to say my sweet tooth craving wasn’t fulfilled, so we went to Moxies after for a white chocolate brownie and a bellini.

I came here for brunch on early Saturday morning at 10 am. There were only 3 tables full, so no problem in getting a seat.
I ordered the la casserola (fresh made hashbrowns au gratin style with vegetables and fresh fruit on the side). Portions are not big but enough to fill you up for under $ 15 after tax.
The ambience is cute for a bistro styled place on Yonge Street. We had a window seat, so had breakfast overlooking the street.
Service was attentive with water being refilled instantaneously. I did not order coffee this time around, but will definitely come back, order another brunch order and coffee!

Town Inn Suites gave a free chef’s appetizer to this place; the staff lead you on with menus hastily so you order the apps listed, thinking that’s what this promo is. Another wait staff gave me the menu again after I ordered. Shame because the mussels were great but the wait staff didn’t listen and are incompetant.

Man, I was sort of disappointed.
Places like this are very hit or miss. Sure, the food may look good, but the flavour is always off.
Prices are pretty high and the wait time was long. Also, for a restaurant, they sure picked some kietche-​ass décor. Doesn’t blend with the overall feel of this place. Not only that but their specials are also expensive. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose?
I don’t think I want to go here again.

We made a reservation but we still needed to wait 15 minutes for our table. Service was just okay. The food was good.

Awesome place! I eat here very often as the food and atmosphere is just great. I had a previous 4* review for them due to the slow service, but they improved on it. Only good things to say about Brownstone.

They have appetizer specials on the weekdays. The sangria is tasty and the patio is nice.

WOW — we walked in on a Friday night with no reservation and were seated right away and ordered wine and a caesar, which arrived in lightening speed.
There was a very large table of ladies and we thought the service might be slow — to out surprise the service was outstanding.
It was STEAK night so, that’s what we ordered a JR Sirloin and a NY with salad and a mushroom /​toast appetizer.
Well within 5 minutes our salad arrived and I kind of thought the salad would be on the same plate as the steak but not. So I pushed my plate aside waiting for the entrée.
The restaurant was busy but not loud and had a great Friday night vibe !
Within 5 more minutes a server came over with two plates of steaks and we said they can’t possibly be ours because we haven’t received our appetizer yet.
A couple minutes later the plates came back again with the owner and he said he forgot to order the appetizer. Not to worry… we’ll skip the app’y.
Dinner was amazing — Steaks cooked PERFECTLY and the salad and vegetables were just fantastic !!
Love that this place is a short walk from my place and it’s so yummy !!

Came here a Sunday evening with some friends. In regards to food, it was not bad. Our table had steaks and pasta. It was good but nothing special. Prices were a little high.
The interior of the restaurant was empty except for us. The patio had a little more tables filled. With this, I thought service would be better but it was a little lacking.

One of the most friendliest neighbourhood bistro, amongst my top choice of a summer patio kind of spot in the area.
Had a huge platter with couple of friends, I’d say enough for for people to share happily. Price was very reasonable for what quantity and quality it was.
Always very quickly seated whether it’s for dinner or brunch.
15 tables inside and 10 tables on the patio.
Right on the corner of Yonge and Gloucester, great spot to people watch and just chill with couple of people or an iPad.
I like their décor inside a lot more actually, intense painting by the inner round table and just the mature vibe at the bar.
Overall a place to count on if you want a drink after work, chill with friends with some good bites to eat or get a steak for yourself, our y bring a laptop or book for a sunny afternoon under the umbrellas.

I’ve been here for brunch and more recently, for dinner.
For brunch:
They have the classic choices, «healthy» choices, omelettes, and the more enticing section…“Our Signature Dish”. I like choosing from here because it gives me a better idea of Brownstone can do differently. I wanted to get the Spinach Soufflé, but this was sadly sold out. Good sign? I’ll bookmark that for next time. Instead, I got the La Casserola, because anything that includes «bacon»,“sausage”,“hollandaise” and «scrambled eggs» sounds like a winner to me.
La Casserola was served with some fresh fruit, small garden salad, and in a hot casserole plate. I thought it was quite delicious — there was some sort of crumbly, crispy SOMETHING on top that was just amazing. I’d put that on top of anything, and make a meal out of it. Also ordered a caesar for $ 5, and this made for a solid 3.5 to 4 star brunch experience.
For dinner:
I came on a Friday night, when it was Steak night. I ordered the Junior top sirloin for $ 16, which comes with soup or salad. I ordered the salad, but my friend ordered the soup which was a chicken minestrone. Note — for some reason when we asked what soup they had, the server seemed unable to recall. They really need to brush up on that a bit.
Steak itself was a small 6oz steak, which for me is a perfect portion. It came with an assortment of veggies, and you can choose the sauces (red wine + fig was my pick!) The salad was sizeable, but not filling — all green, all leaves.
We had a bit of a problem with the bill, mainly because the server brought us individual beers rather than the requested pitcher — he then said he will just give us the quantity that we would have gotten in a pitcher, and charge us for the pitcher — didn’t happen. He charged for all individual beers, which was at least $ 10 more than a pitcher.
Overall, dinner was less impressive.
Anndddddd just for reference:
All week happy hour 4−6pm
Mon ½ bottles of house red
Tues $ 4 pint of Mill Street Tankhouse Ale
Wed $ 5 sangria $ 17 pitcher
Thurs 1oz well drinks $ 4 2oz $ 6
Sun $ 5 Caesars

I’ve been here a couple of times for both brunch and dinner and I’ve got mixed reviews on this place. As a brunch restaurant the place is great and the options are all delicious. As a dinner restaurant, the food is good, but not great. Their beer selections are also fairly limited for a place with a full bar.
I was here last night for a birthday dinner and my party ordered various meals including the top sirloin steak specials, pizza and I ordered the angus burger with fries. The steak was good for the price, it’s no Jacobs, but a great value for $ 16 nonetheless. My burger however was very dry and tasted previously frozen. The fries with my meal were also mega salty. I’m talking more salty than Puff Daddy after he lost JLo. All good though, I had beer right? Well our server mixed up our order and gave us pints instead of pitchers and we had to get the bill adjusted afterwards. No biggie, just a bit of a hassle and the price difference was huge.
Overall I’d come here again for brunch, but this wouldn’t be my #1 choice for dinner downtown. They did have good service, which was nice to see. Also they had a chalk drawing of the Unilocal logo by their back wall, which was cool!

I came here with my boyfriend before seeing Potted Potter. I chose the place based on Unilocal reviews and I looked at the menu online beforehand. Good prices and I’m a pretty picky eater so to see a menu with a bunch of things on it that I could eat was nice!
I liked the place right off the bat, the host and our waiter were friendly and I loved the atmosphere. The décor was very modern and there was cool art hung up on the walls.
We both got drinks, he got some wheat beer that he likes and I got a cesar (my favourite) a little smaller than usual but tasted very good.
We shared a greek salad, it was a good size for 2 and a good start before our meals came.
He ordered some oven baked chicken pasta with rose sauce and I got the chicken marsala. Both were delicious and the portions were big and very filling.
Would definitely come back here! Great location and there were a bunch of other things on the menu that I wanted to try.

Brunch Review
VIBE
I got the sense that this restaurant bordered on diner/​bar/​fine dining. They have a nice bar near the entrance; cool leather couch seating in the back for a larger party, and then they have multi-​coloured dinnerware that reminds of what you would find in a diner. Another diner-​esque moment was when I had to dig through a metal basket for a mini container of milk buried below the peanut butter and jam packets. Sugar also came in packets, not in a bowl with a spoon. I have absolutely no problem with the mixed feel, though it made me wonder why there was no clear direction.
The restaurant itself is warm and inviting, and full of patrons. With so many restaurants in the downtown core, Brownstone must be doing something right if they can attract a full house.
One pet peeve of mine is dirty furniture. When I sat down I put my camera on the table and it got dirty. I did not realize that the table had not be wiped clean, and my camera got wet and dirty with sugar particles. Not a huge deal, but a clean eating surface is important to me.
FOOD
Menu
The brunch menu is large and it is split into 9 sections (Classic Breakfasts, Benedicts, Healthy Choices, Sweet Tooth, Omelettes, Soups & Salads, Signature Dishes, Sandwiches and finally, Beverages).
Prices
The food prices range from $ 6 (soup) to $ 16 (steak and eggs). Though most items are $ 13.
Sides
They do not have a list of sides on the actual menu, but you can certainly request one and they range from $ 1.50 to $ 3 (according to my server).
Coffee is $ 2.50 and you get free refills.
My order
After being told by several staff members that I should order the Grilled Chicken with Portobello, I went with their suggestion, but instead of a salad (comes with a salad) I asked for their breakfast potatoes with no onions. I also ordered a coffee and a smoothie.
Food Details
GRILLED CHICKEN AND PORTOBELLO: Chicken breast, portobello, mushrooms and spinach on French toast, topped with a poached egg and chipotle hollandaise $ 13
SMOOTH MOVE (smoothie): a blend of orange, strawberry and banana $ 4.25
COFFEE $ 2.50
MINI STRAWBERRY MUFFIN was complimentary
What did I think?
Coffee: I found the coffee to be too bitter, and had to use cream to tone down the bitterness.
Mini strawberry muffin: It was tiny (I took a photo of it with a milk container), but it was really nice and moist. A tasty little thing!
Smoothie: I thought it was too small for the price and also too sweet. I asked if sugar was added to it, and was told that no sugar was added (it was taken off the bill=good customer service).
Grilled Chicken and Portobello: Wow! As soon as the plate was put in front of me, I was in awe. Everything looked so perfect! Just the array of bright colors had me captivated. Also, before the order came out the chef came over to tell me that the potatoes may have onions on them, so he asked if I still wanted some. I said no, and decided to go with the salad after all. I guess my disappointment was obvious because the chef manually removed the onions from some of the potatoes and brought some out to me. How nice was that?! Very!
Honestly, I could not believe how perfectly cooked each individual element of my dish was…
Eggs were perfectly poached
Hollandaise was light and creamy and did not overpower the dish (sometime it could be too thick or tangy – hate that!)
The chipotle is not actually IN the hollandaise. They drop a teaspoon of it on top of the dish, so if you do not like your food spicy, you can easily remove it. I love my food spicy, so I happily ate it
The chicken was moist and without an ounce of fat!
The portobello was tender, but not soggy. I loved that the pieces were large so the earthy taste of the mushrooms did not get lost in the dish
Potatoes were in fact delicious. They are oven roasted with herbs and olive oil. A nice change from deep fried potatoes
The fruits were fresh and more importantly, there was watermelon! I love watermelon!
I usually don’t eat salad, but this salad I devoured. Even the balsamic vinaigrette tasted better than most. Large pieces of tomato and cucumber was a hit for me since I do not like to eat plain leafy greens
The French toast was surprisingly a good conduit for all these ingredients. It was not too sweet or too soft for all these elements combined. It held its own, and for that I give it props.
The spinach was well-​blanched and still had texture. It is easy to over-​cook spinach, but it was neither chewy nor soggy.
I rarely finish every element of a meal, but at this sitting, I cleared my plate. Inasmuch as there were some minor hiccups, I am incredibly impressed by this meal. So much so, that I am already planning on returning this month with friends.
Full review here: