Hair of the Dog

I have always wanted to check this place out, since I heard some good reviews. I came here for my birthday with a large group of friends and we were seated at the large table by the door. The overall environment was nice, casual, a little rustic, and friendly.
I ordered the lamb stew as my main entrée. It was interesting as it came with a salad and bread. I enjoyed it quite a bit as it was very full of flavour, very tender meat, and just enough of the lamb taste. Sadly, Everyone’s main was just ok or they didn’t enjoy it. I had a bite of my friend’s pull pork sandwich and it was dry. However, the something that did blow our taste buds was the Nachos and Ceasers cocktail. Definitely one of the best versions I have ever had. I would recommend coming here for a late drink or a quick get together before going to another restaurant.
I hear good things about their bunch. I will definitely come back again to try it out and hopefully change my view.

Good cozy breakfast in this restaurant. Great service, super friendly and nice. Inexpensive and satisfying. Good looking place in the Toronto Village. 2 floor restaurants with a Terrace

Not fantastic, just A-​OK, I’d say.
A couple of friends and I came here on New Year’s Day for a nice brunch. On first impression, the place seemed cool. Nice atmosphere, seemed a little intimate, we were greeted quickly and seated almost immediately.
Between us, we ordered a combination of things: poached, scrambled and fried eggs. I can’t remember the names of the dishes because they weren’t very standard. Overall, the food was good but it wasn’t out of this world. In terms of the meal itself, it was just above average — nothing to get me raving about the place.
The average price of the food was $ 12-​$ 15.When you combine service, speed and food, the overall experience was pretty good, so 3 stars.

Great spot. Ambiance is super chill and everyone’s awesomely nice. Staff are cool and make you feel like a regular.
Only reason I gave it 4 stars is my steak was good but not the best.

Ordered huevos rancheros and eggs florentine. Decent place for quick brunch. Loved the service

Good place, nice martini’s and brunch on Sunday it’s my favourite on the patio.
I love the fries and the location is very convenient just a few blocks from my place.
Service is very good too.

Great dive bar layed back vibe. Super friendly and funny bartender who can stir up one hell of a dark and stormy. So good I came back for more the very next day

I came here for brunch with my boyfriend and his friend. This place is two floors and have a very big patio area, which would be great for summer time. Inside, the space was small. The prices on their menu is reasonable. The food quality is average. The servers were all very nice and friendly. Overall, I would say this place is good to go to.

I came here for dinner with a few friends after seeing the positive Unilocal reviews and the location can’t be beat. We sat at the patio, which was really nice and huge!
I thought that the food was pretty good, but very standard pub food. I had the butter chicken grilled cheese, which I thought was the best dish of the night. The portion was huge. I only ate half of my plate and was full. The tuna melt and chicken sandwich were okay. Portions were also huge and tastes fine, but are dishes that you can find at any pub.
My only one complaint was that I felt that the wait staff were not very friendly. It took a while to get served and the waiter just kind of dumped the food onto the table, almost spilling my fries, and left without a word. It also took a while to get water and our bill.
I might come back and try brunch since it’s literally 5 minutes away and the patio is nice, but food and service is pretty mediocre.

Hair of the Dog… a venue I had walked past literally hundreds of times but never stepped foot into, until a brunch with friends this past Sunday!
I must say, I was quite pleased and only wish I had given the pub a chance sooner!
LOCATION — Hair of the Dog is right at the foot of the Church Wellesley village, just after the intersection of Church and Carlton. If you are heading down the «strip» it’s easy to miss since there are a number of other options you’ll run into first.
AMBIANCE — I had somehow never noticed, but the patio here is BIG! There is plenty of shade and a lovely small fountain. A very nice outdoor brunch experience.
SERVICE — Although our waiter was friendly and attentive without being too obtrusive, there was nothing especially memorable about our service. I do also realize the restaurant was likely quite busy around noon on a Sunday. Overall I was satisfied with the level of service provided.
FOOD — While waiting for our meals the waiter brought out some banana bread, which was quite good. My pulled pork Eggs Benedict was also very enjoyable, as were the side of homefries.
PRICE/​VALUE — I believe my brunch was $ 14 before taxes and tip, right on par with any of the other dining options in the neighbourhood.
I will be back!

We came here for some brunch at lunchtime. We ordered the pub breakfast and the butter chicken sandwich. The butter chicken sandwich was pretty good. The pub breakfast on the other hand was a very standard extra-​greasy breakfast. You can eat indoors or in the patio, which is shaded and pretty large. Overall, the food in general wasn’t anything special although the butter chicken sandwich was good. Nothing outstanding though. The service was quick and friendly.

Best patio. Really. This is a cool, hip place that you will enjoy.
We popped in more for food than for beverages of an alcoholic nature. We tried:
a) our first poutine which was rather unhealthily yumm.
b) The crabcakes which are good too — just the right amount of spice and crab.
c) The salmon which was a smaller portion than expected but cooked well
d) The mac and cheese which was appreciated by other members of the party
The service was prompt and efficient and overall a very pleasant night out. I recommend this.

Nice patio, nice bathrooms, good service, okay food.
Ordered the nachos ($ 13) with added guac ($ 2) and ground beef ($ 4). Other reviewers said it was greasy — I think that might be just because there’s so much cheese — if you love cheesy nachos, these are for you, and the portion size is generous, but yeah that cheese can be a little much. A little on the pricey side too ($ 19 with the adders that are normally standard other places). On the plus side, the chips were a nice crispy-​soft thicker variety rather than just something from a bag, so that was redeeming, and the toppings were plentiful, with sour cream & salsa provided as well. I should’ve taken a pic in retrospect.
Also tried the fried chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy, and cornbread. The cornbread and gravy were nice and flavourful, though the mashed potatoes were a touch on the over-​soft side, and the chicken was somewhat dried out /​overcooked, and way too over-​crisped/​battered. If I’m being honest, it was a bit disappointing.
Will be back to try some other dishes, I really want to like this place more!

Great ambiance. We waited at the bar for our group — it was a bit of a tight fit, but the bartender was adorable, and he made me the best darn martini I’ve ever had. Five of us went upstairs for dinner. I had the hummus plate — it was gargantuan! The array for tomatoes, peppers and cucumber were fresh and crispy and perfect.
Hubby had the nachos (also completely massive) and enjoyed them — half corn and half flour tortillas, unique. The order war was won by my friend’s mom who enjoyed the most beautiful piece of salmon I’ve ever seen.
The service was solid.
It was seriously loud and had a lot of trouble hearing each other, so I wouldn’t recommend it for a group but it would be lovely experience with just two or three people seated closely.

Stumbled upon this place and recognized the name from a previous search on Unilocal!
The restaurant is 2 floors. The inside is kind of narrow and long like a rectangle. I did notice a very large seating area outside. They have a bar — maybe 6 or 8 seats.
The menu is quite simple and uncomplicated comfort food. Perhaps, too simple.
I ordered the poutine and a local IPA.
Are half and drank half.
Seems like a nice, safe, simple place to eat.
If you want a decent beer, this place is OK.
I would not consider this a main destination for food.

Came here a couple months ago for a staff dinner. Décor was cute! I love the dog theme (I’m a sucker for dogs) — from the menu to the wall décor!
Ordered a couple beers — no complaints about that.
Food was mediocre. I can’t remember the name of the dish but I got roasted vegetables and steak. The veggies were good but the steak was disappointing. It was dry, and horribly seasoned — or not seasoned at all. I’m horrible at making steak, but my steaks were way better than this.
Service was good and bathrooms were clean :) i can’t stand filthy public bathrooms.

Went here for lunch and it was FINALLY nice enough to enjoy it on the patio :) Great place for the summer with a nice ambience. Their fries are amazing as well!

Great ambience, great service from warm friendly bartenders. My fiancé and I loved the joint! They have a good selection of beers on tap and bottled as well, all very fairly priced. The caesar, as per review recommendations was wonderful! Highly recommend getting it with the bacon vodka.
We had the chicken pâté ($ 8). It’s a great little sharing plate and is perfect for snacking with drinks.
We shared the butter chicken grilled cheese ($ 14) as per everyone’s recommendation. It was delicious. The butter chicken wasn’t overpowering and was very tender, I’m not sure we particularly like our indian food with beer as a pairing, which took away from it a little bit I think.
The star of the show for us (aside from the caesar which we loved) was surprisingly the fries!!! Wow they were ever tender, yet crisp, and full of flavour and potato-​ey goodness (for lack of a better description)! We had to have an extra order! Yum yum.
Would defintely come back!

Cute little place right by the flagship Loblaws. I chose this spot having mentally bookmarked it ages ago, and finally grabbed some good company to go with. The inside is dark, quaint, and they’ve got cutlery and serving trays as their décor.
First, ordered a 3oz martini called I Want Your Sex ($ 9.50). I took explicit pleasure in ordering in a normal voice, and minimal giggling. And I figured, 3 oz?! Yeah, buddayyy, I’ll take that!
We got nachos for the table, and it was amazing! With chorizo ordered on the side, the nachos were especially yummy because they used pita chips rather than normal nacho chips. Hefty amounts of cheese and olives made for a good time.
For main, I eased off and ordered the Chicken Pâté ($ 8) which came in an adorable glass jar, tons of crostinis and certainly enough to fill up my belly. The pâté was creamy and delicious too! My BF ordered the curry poutine ($ 9), which was good sized portion and heavy on the curry, so if that’s what you’re after… all good!
All in all, great value for the food, and no complaints about the service or food at all. Will be a repeat event for sure.

Brunch review:
My friend and I arrived at the restaurant at noon, and we were escorted to the 2^nd floor. The space was bright, and filled with patrons. I can only imagine how busy they must get over the summer (they have an amazing patio).
OUR ORDER:
The Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich: fried egg, tomato, crispy bacon, cheddar & swiss cheese, on toast, garnished with pesto mayo & dijon, home fries (I substituted the home fries for sweet potato for an extra $ 2). $ 11+2=13
Chicken curry breakfast poutine (it is not on their online menu): Chicken curry with fries topped by a poached egg and hollandaise sauce. $ 13
Hair of the Dog Caesar $ 8.50
Sangria $ 8 (one made with rosé and one with red wine)
French toast $ 11
So how was it?
The Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich
The Good
I was ecstatic to learn that they used Challah for the sandwich. I absolutely LOVE challah bread because it is soft, thick and sweet
I loved the saltiness of the bacon
The fries were perfectly crispy on the outside and pillowy soft in the inside
You could taste every ingredient, though every bite was different, which I like (e.g., one bite was all bacon, and the other was tomato – it kept it interesting)
The portion was great
The Not So Good
The sandwich lost its shape because there were too many wet elements
The ingredients lost their texture (tomato, bacon and became soft)
Lacking in texture contrast
Overall: The sandwich was delicious, don’t get me wrong. But I think that next time I will ask to omit the tomato (I realized that I am not a fan of soft wet tomato), and get the mayo on the side, rather than in the sandwich (oh, believe me, I will be dipping my sandwich into that delicious mayo!)
Chicken Curry Breakfast Poutine
The Good
Egg was perfectly poached
The fries were crispy and golden with just the right amount of seasoning
Cheese curds were squeaky (if you love the real deal you will know that the cheese in a poutine should be «squeaky»)
The curry was light and did not overpower the other ingredients
The Not So Good
The curry should have been thicker. Because it was runny, the fries ended up absorbing a lot of it, and they lost their texture
Because the curry was runny, the hollandaise got lost and you could not taste it (the two blended together)
The portion was different from what other patrons received. We were thrown off when the person next to us ordered the same item, and theirs was filled till the top of the bowl (almost overflowing), and my friend’s was not. My friend was still happy with her portion, but it just felt odd to see.
Overall: My friend cleared her plate and did not share! If the curry had been thicker, I think it would have made the dish close to perfect.
French Toast
My friend and I loved the French toast. In fact, I knew better than to let my friend free range at it – I was getting my share dammit! The only thing that I did not understand was why the bread was so thin, when I knew for a fact that it was challah bread. What happened? Well, apparently the bread was deep-​fried and this resulted in the bread losing air and well, having the «pancake» look. Mmm, I do wonder what the result would have been if the bread was not tampered with? And by tampered, I mean deep fried.
What about the drinks?
Reviewers were not kidding. The drinks at Hair of the Dog are amazing! I am not a cocktail drinker by any means, and limit drinking them at events, but I would not be able to visit Hair of the Dog and not get a cocktail. They really know their shit.
Full review here:

Super bar situé dans the Village, quartier gay de Toronto. La terasse est magique et vous donnera une vue sur les tours illuminés de downtown. L’ambiance à l’étage est un plus intimiste et conviendra à la clientèle voulant prendre un verre au calme.
Awesome bar located in the Village, the gay district of Toronro. HOTD has an awesome patio with a gorgeous view of the downtown towers; For the customers looking for a more intimate atmosphere the tables upstairs are perfect.

Quand je suis arrivée à Toronto il y a quelques semaines, c’était l’heure de souper mais je né voulais rien de trop compliqué. Quand les gens chez qui on restait (airbnb) nous on dit qu’à quelques pas de l’appartement il y avait un endroit qui faisait des grilled-​cheeses au poulet au beurre, j’étais vendue. Il était très bon, mais je le décrierai plutôt comme un grilled-​cheese au poulet curry. Le Bloody Caesar était de toute évidence une de leur spécialité donc c’est ce que j’ai demandé et je n’ai pas été déçue: rafraichissant, épicé et plein de saveur. La liste de bière en fût est aussi pas mal bonne avec plusieurs bières de micro brasseries Ontariennes. Demandez à être assis sur la terrasse en haut pour être dans un beau petit recoin plus intime que la grande terrasse de l’étage principal.