Gabby’s

This is my local. So it’s the place where everyone knows my name. But why did I choose it? A couple of reasons. Really nice staff. A mix of ages, including some 30s, some 40s and some 50s — so I don’t feel alone. Cheap food. A willingness to try to accommodate you. And my addiction — Buzztime Trivia!

Went in for dinner. No indication of a hostess or wait to be seated sign. I seated myself. Waited five minutes. Nobody acknowledged me so i left. The place wasnt busy. This sucks because id already checked out the menu and was pumped for my order. Oh well, lots of other food on the danforth.

There’s a Gabby’s everywhere in Toronto right? This the one that we ate from and everything was fine.

I have spoken with the staff at Gabby’s regarding my initial issue. It was a misunderstanding and now consider the matter resolved. Again, there was never an issue with the serving staff as I always and still do appreciate the fact they remember your name and what your preferred beverage is. Any bar can serve you a beer but it’s the faces behind the wood that bring you back — and were the first to ensure that my concerns were addressed.

Went in for take-​out recently and decided to take advantage of their $ 3 bottles of beer while I waited.
Long story short (I just deleted the «long story»), the beer tasted like cardboard but when I mentioned it, they refused to take it off my bill, although they were very polite about it.
I assume they were thinking that now that my takeout was ready, I just didn’t want the 2^nd beer, but they didn’t want to take the hit.
Look, I’m not cheap but I know at my establishment, if a guest is unhappy with an item and hasn’t consumed it, we take it off the bill. They chose to allow me to pay for it which LITERALLY left a bad taste in my mouth.
Ah well, they said it was «new ownership» so I guess they have the right to run the place as they will.

Two months into a friendly weigh loss competition, I leave the confines of «The Parkdale» and venture into the enemy territory of «The Danforth».
I know the area well, as my competition and good friends are well-​established «Forthers». The plan is to weigh in, compare results and then enjoy some well-​deserved pints and grub as a reward.
Normally, snob that I am, I would avoid a franchise joint like Gabby’s. However, it’s close by and something of a ‘local’ for my competitors. As «Forthers» in good standing, the two of them are both family men and usually have limited windows of opportunity for aimless beer drinking.
Having been told several times the burgers here are good; I give the Danforth Burger a try. It’s made on site, with beef ground fresh for them by Mister Greek Butcher just a few doors down the road. The menu specifies they grill it medium well, which is usually a signpost on the road to dried out beef puck, but I forge ahead.
While a cool creemore tastes like nectar of the gods, I can only attest that is nothing compared to the gorgeous burger that arrives. I have mine with bacon, cheddar, tomato, lettuce, chipotle mayo. From the side order of onion rings, I slap several on the burger as well.
It’s clear they know what they are doing in the kitchen. The burger is medium well, but still moist. The beef has a beautiful, gentle chew, with none of the rubbery and tough qualities you tend to get in burgers around town. Nor is it a meatloaf masquerading as a burger. It’s a beefy wonder.
This is surely a result of fresh ground meat that has not been overworked and with the correct fat ratio of around 20% fat to 80% meat. I’m a little astounded that I’m having a burger this good at a Gabby’s. All around town, there are «gourmet» burger places that aren’t anywhere near this good.
Other than the burger, the fries are frozen shoestrings and just ok. The onion rings are also quite good. I can’t tell if they are frozen (I think they are fresh), but they are crispy and addictive. I’ve had the wings on a previous visit and they are good, but not great.
So, score one for Gabby’s, which apparently allows individual franchises to stray from the mandated menu. A big shout out must go to the manager (or owner?) of the Danforth location for making the effort and maintaining the quality. It’s a sad state of affairs in Toronto that some business casually doing a burger correctly should be such a surprise and oddity.
Burger rates a 4, rest of the menu is more of a 3. Without out the ability to half star, I am forced to round down to a 3.

Classic neighbourhood pub, despite being a chain. The barkeeps are fantastic on the late shift, and the environment is generally friendly if not overly intoxicated (it is always a good sign when the staff are doing shots with the patrons).
Food and drink is in line with the Gabby’s chain, which means it is overpriced for what you are getting. But the kitchen is open late, so who cares if the basket of fries is $ 5.
If you are looking for a watering hole at Pape and Danforth, you can’t go wrong with Gabby’s.

Not just your typical watering hole.
Gabby’s is a staple for me and my basketball team on Tuesday nights, which is Tex Mex Tuesday = cheap quesadillas, fajitas, nachos, etc. Really anything on the menu is quite good. The Danforth Burger is a homemade burger exclusive to this Gabby’s location. One tip: whatever you are ordering, get it with onion rings. They are amongst the best I’ve ever had.
What separates Gabby’s from any other pub though is that they actually care about their customers. The servers and management (Ally and Jim) are superb. Very friendly, easy going people who really appreciate their customer base.
Oh yeah, decent tap selection too for beers.