Local 4 Restaurant

Like most places I go to, I’ve only ever had drinks here. The place is a nice little spot on a side road near Wellesley. The tiny patio is great in the summer. If you go, you have to order the Absintini! All of the food on the menu seemed like it was very well-​priced. $ 15 average for a main dish. Good low-​key hang out place and great date spot.

Used to love Local 4 for the relaxed mood and good beer, but the last time my wife went she saw a mouse. Vermin is a deal breaker, obviously. We’ll never go back, and I recommend avoiding under all circumstances (unless you’re an exterminator looking for work).

Great atmosphere, but the food took forever to arrive. My falafel was really heavy on the pickled onions which distracted from the flavor of the rest of the dish.
The service was great, and it was a really nice spot to hang out in, but i was really disappointed by the food. My dining partners really really loved their meals, though.

Not to be confused with Four Loko, Local 4 is a cozy little resto pub that is an adorable little refuge away from the sketch and stank of the Yonge street strip, and funny enough right next to Kawaii Spa, wink-​wink ;) Incidentaly according to their website Local 4 does happen to serve absinthe martinis, alcoholic debauchery notwithstanding I am here for a simple evening of dining with some lovely Unilocal ladies.
I arrive late to meet with lovely ladies Chris P and Elaine K as they are conveniently seated at the very first table which is seperated from the entrance by a large glass pane. The atmosphere is intimate and laid back as they had a little fireplace going completely decked out in tinsel and Christmas regalia.
The menu is a concise offering of delectable comfort foods. I order the Butternut squash cakes to share which is 3 pieces, Panko Breaded with Corn and Red Peppers, served with sour Cream spiked with scotch bonnet peppers. The cakes are delightfully crisp and savoury and nicely complimented by the tangy vinagrette marinated cucumber strings.
The ladies order their respective meals and I order the Green salad with poppy seed dressing topped with grilled chicken and I have to declare it is the best salad I have had in a long time as the warm chicken along with the fresh greens and flavourful poppy seed dressing is a medley of deliciousness happening in my mouth.
The meal was actually pretty reasonably priced as the total for 1app a big salad and two entrees came to about $ 56!
Kudos and thanks to the lovely Chris P for choosing such a great cozy spot for a lazy rainy Monday dinner get-​together. I highly recommend Local 4 for that perfect little place to escape for a pint, some good food and good conversation.

I came in here to use my groupon as well and one big thing after ordering quesadillas and falafel (which should normally are not items that take long to prep) was the time the food took to actually come to our table, and we were one of 2 tables that were occupied. For having to be somewhere after dinner, the chunk of time the overall experience of dining here took really took away from the fact that the food was really good.
However slow speed is not the only reason local 4 receives 3 stars, the overall atmosphere in here is not really my thing, with plain tables and chairs and nothing spectacular done. It’s a simple bar, friendly staff and I know if I lived around the area, local 4 would be my go to place for drinks and good food. But since I don’t, while the beer selection is OK and the food is great, I doubt I will come here often. It is definitely worth repeat visits though. The menu is a little on the pricey side as well, but at least the food is good.
The falafel was possibly the best I’ve had and the chicken quesadilla is also great. You add free board games in to the mix and this is a place that everyone definitely needs to visit for a not too fancy exprience.
But lower prices and faster service is a definite must for a better experience.

Another restaurant that doesn’t know what it is. You can be a quaint, low key, comfort food joint, but that means low prices and leave words like «Frites» for the pro’s. You serve fries.
18 dollar meals in a greasy spoon diner, with low lighting.
Groupon saved me $$$ but i wouldn’t come back.

I think the place is a 2, but it gets bonus points for cozyness and a great place to hold a private party and/​or have drinks. (re: Elite party was great!)
As a restaurants, I wouldn’t recommend it. We used a $ 40 Groupon today, but still had to pay $ 30 (for 2 people) in addition!
The food is quite expensive ($ 14 – 18) a plate, but mainly comfort food, nothing spectacular. We got the butternut squash crab cakes ($ 9), it has 3 and comes with a house made mayo. It was very good, mostly due to the panko crust.
For the main, I got the 4 cheese mac and cheese and was disappointed. the 4 cheese included — shaved parm on top, some dried melted cheese on top, and a creamy cheesy sauce. I wasn’t impressed. ($ 14) It was also a penne, and I hate the generic penne.
My friends got the chicken pot pie, and the meatloaf sandwich.
They have a great beer and drink selection. As for ciders, they only Strongbow.
They do have boardgames, but they were not well maintained, peices missing, crusty.
The service was good, and they did come by frequently. I was disappointed when I asked about the different things on the menu he couldn’t give much description. But they were very attentive.
Overall — drinks, and apps. Not much more.

This is another good place to drink in Toronto. It’s just off Yonge Street. Everyone that we met here (both employees & customers) were really nice. Drink service is good and fast. I have not tried the food — but I definitely will the next time I go and update my review then. This place has a very relaxed atmosphere.

I was new to Toronto when I visited Local 4 a few months ago. They were on my radar of places to check out due to a reputation for craft beers and good food that I’d heard through a friend — and, when they popped up as a Groupon, I jumped. The menu and beerlist on their website really sealed the deal.
I invited a couple other friends who had never been to come along, one of whom is a picky eater (and, after looking at the site, was excited), the other of whom, like me, is always looking to try new beers.
So we get to Local 4… and it’s a huge let down.
The food was mediocre to bad.
I had the bison spaghetti bolognese, which tasted as though they forgot to salt the water when cooking the noodles. The sauce was ok, but there was precious little of it. When I order a pasta dish at a restaurant and it’s $ 14, I expect it to be something more than I can prep, at home, with little effort. I wouldn’t have been ashamed to serve it myself, but I certainly wouldn’t have expected any particular compliments after the fact.
Steak & Frites went to one friend, who’s experience was similar to others here: steak was dry, tough, bad.
Other friend had the chicken cordon bleu — she finished the chicken, which was decent (but again, nothing special), then left the potatoes and vegetables as unpalatable. I was incredulous, so tried a few… and she was right.
But the kicker was the beer list or, more appropriately, the lack of one. They didn’t have a single one of the craft beers we specifically came to try — we ended up ordering some Blanche de Chambley (a personal fave, but not one I was hoping to «try»), then stuck with cocktails. They didn’t have MacAuslan (either apricot or stout), Black Oak, or Stonehammer (dark or light). Are you kidding me? You’re touting your craft beers, and your selections are mostly imports, Sleemans, and a cider? And what you do have are the most common, usual suspects: Mill St, Steamwhistle, and the like?
We were bummed. Add to this that the server had a rather uncaring attitude, was slow, and, when presenting the bill, just dumped it on the table. Even forgot to factor in the Groupon, and seemed annoyed that I wanted him to adjust it. (Now I feel like I’m ragging on the guy — he seemed like a cool guy, just kind of out of his depth.)
In any case, I would hesitate giving a 1* rating to Local 4 if only because there’s great potential there: nice ambience, cool location, a menu that looks good on paper… but they need to seriously re-​evaluate what they’re doing and their approach to food, drink, and service.
Judging by recent reviews, they’re certainly not watching review sites for what people are saying, and that’s too bad.

Let’s be clear: this place is horrible.
I’ll cut to the chase, because its unforgivable. We ordered a couple apps and a couple cocktails. As I was eating a sweet potato won-​ton, I bit into a large chunk of dirty plastic that had obviously come from piece of machinery used to prepare these over-​fried pieces of tasteless, greasy cardboard (on a side note, it was served with some sort of «spicy Thai» sauce, which is really a scoop from some giant vat of mass produced combination of soy sauce, fake ginger, and MSG).
When I told the server with a shocked face, he seemed so indifferent and complacent that it was almost some sort of a normal occurrence to him. «Oh, okay,» as he took the plate away without any question. I asked for the bill immediately, and when he returned with it later, he told me he had removed the offending item so that we wouldn’t be charged.
Listen… I just chomped down on a piece of machinery and it hurt. Don’t think you’re being some generous prince by knocking the thing off the bill. I gave him less money than the total — basically enough to cover the drinks — and told him that’s all he was getting. Again, no reaction.
Here’s where I tell you that the menu sucks; the crab cakes taste like they came from MM Meatshop; the stale olives in the martini tasted like aluminium. The only saving grace was the readily available boxes of Trivial Pursuit cards, which quickly lost their novelty.
This is what concerns me most: we came here because people on Unilocal said it was decent. Trust us, and just walk a few doors down to Volo instead. They’re pricks, but at least they have great beer.

I went to Local 4 last night with my boyfriend and could not have been more disappointed. First of all, it was August and it had rained, so we opted to sit inside. The a/​c wasn’t turned on, so it was hot and muggy despite the ceiling fans. They proceeded to turn on the a/​c which couldn’t possibly have been working because we were still sweating.
We ordered the sweet potato fries ($ 8) and the artichoke dip ($ 9) as appetizers. First of all, for the price of the appetizers, we were expecting A LOT more than a small plate of fries and a ramekin of dip. The «crostini» that came with the dip was inedible… literally. They were burnt and rock hard that they were impossible to bite into. I asked for some pita bread instead which was softer, but had been «grilled» which gave it a burnt taste — likely the result of a grill that is not cleaned very often. The sweet potato fries were slightly undercooked and were served with a watery chipotle mayo (great flavour, but thin consistency.)
For entrees I ordered the falafel which is touted on the menu as being the «best in the city» and for $ 13, I had pretty high expectations. Let me just say that for $ 5.99 I could’ve had TWO falafels, double the size, just down the street. and i’m sure they would’ve been much better tasting.
My boyfriend had the pulled pork sandwich with fries. I liked the fries, but he said the sandwich was only okay.
Overall, the food barely deserves even one star. It’s over-​priced and borderline inedible. The atmosphere is lacking… not much to it, but not in a new-​age minimalist way. I would describe it as drab. I WILL say that the service was friendly and I also have to mention that I did like the plates they use (straight out of the ’70’s).

My partner and I were in the area, and we’re not huge fans of the snarky service at Volo, but wanted to sit at a patio, so we ventured down Dundonald a bit to Local 4.
I had a mcauslan apricot ale, which is always delicious on tap and my partner had mill st. lemon tea ale, which we had never tried before and was really refreshing.
the food took awhile, although we were not too concerned as it was a beautiful afternoon. however, when it arrived the server explained that our meals had taken longer because the batter on my chicken fingers hadn’t turned out quite the way the cook had wanted and she re-​made them. it was definitely worth the wait! i’ve never had chicken fingers with such a crunchy, melt-​in-​your-​mouth batter. my partner had the pulled pork, which he claimed was the best he’s ever tasted (apart from his own, of course).
the atmosphere is very relaxing and the service is friendly! check it out!

Went here today (Friday evening) to use a coupon my friend bought on
. Needless to say we got a really good deal :)
Place was pretty nice. Food good, service GREAT and nice décor. Overall I would say it’s nothing that will blow your mind but it’s still better than average! They have a nice patio out front too.
We tried the butternut squash cakes for an appetizer, and split 2 mains — a sundried tomato with pesto pizza and the Local 4 falafel.
The falafel was delish, the butternut squash cakes too. Pizza was mediocre.
Note that the food is slightly more expensive than posted on the online menu — they need to get that updated but it seems to be about 10% higher now.
Our server was absolutely great, made food recommendations and was attentive and funny too.
I’d go back for drinks for sure, wouldn’t go out of my way to return for the food, but if you happen to be there — the food is good.

Everything at Local 4 was good, but not great! The burger was good and I had a Blanche de Chambly which is a good beer, at a good price, served by a good server… you get the point. Nothing really stood out!
I would be happy to go back, but wouldn’t out of my way to do so.

Your friendly neighborhood pub! Pubs with boardgames are awesome. This place is super laid back and the wait staff are quite friendly.
The décor is casual and they have a nice selection of beers. I like lighter fruitier beers, so options such as pear cider and apricot wheat beer are great.
For an average looking pub, I was surprised by their menu. Butternut squash cakes, sweet potato wontons… not your usual pub fare.
I wanted to order the pulled pork sandwich with potato salad, but the special sounded too delicious.
It was a jerk chicken sandwich with avocado salsa with an arugula salad with strawberries, almonds, and poppy seed dressing.
The chicken was tasty… not sure if it was really jerk chicken… but I’m from Scarborough, so I’m a bit picky when it comes to jerk chicken. (Brup brup). The salsa had large fresh chunks of avocado.
The flourless chocolate cake had a wonderful smooth texture. It wasn’t too heavy and moist. The slice was a bit smaller than I expected, but it was still quite good.
I would come back here for a casual meal and a pint.

Local 4 is a delightful little pub just off the beaten path. They serve top-​notch pub fare alongside some quality beers (but needs to be more seasonal, lagers and pale ales just don’t satisfy in the dead of winter and they were out of the oatmeal stout. nb: Guinness in a can doesn’t count as stout, or a beer for that matter) and just happened to fit my craving for comfort food on a really cold night perfectly.
I had a wonderful meal starting with their delicious butternut squash crab cakes, which were served with a scotch bonnet aioli that had no scotch bonnet in it. While it was a puzzling omission, it was a lovely starter. For my supremely comfortable entrée, I had the beef bourguignon, which was a hearty stew of button mushrooms, thick-​cut carrots, cippolini onions and tender chunks of beef with what the chef likes to call «pear mashed potatoes». This blew me away when it was served, and I thought it was unique, clever and bloody delicious. They take a heaping mound of mashed and shape it like a giant pear, and then quickly deep fry it, and top it with a whole clove as the stem. I had to smile and marvel at its elegant construction before I hungrily devoured my plate. I splurged on some sticky toffee pudding for dessert as the meal was so perfectly hitting all of my gastrogenous zones, and it did not disappoint. It was a large piece and while they were a bit light on the caramel sauce, my waistline didn’t need any more abuse on this particular occasion. Everything was perfect, and it was just what I needed on a windy and oh-​so-​cold night.
The atmosphere and décor are wonderful, it feels really comfortable and homey in there. Also, the music deserves some kudos, they were playing some bad-​ass underground hip hop when we got there which transitioned to the entire Led Zeppelin’s Early Days album.
Service was fantastic, however, we were one of 2 tables when we arrived, so I would expect fairly undivided attention. Staff was friendly and knowledgeable and ensured that I will certainly consider Local 4 again in the future. The prices are reasonable given the high quality of the food, and if my only complaint is a lack of beer menu, that’s a forgivable sin and a common gripe of mine. Check out the Local 4 next time you need a great pub and plant some pears for your heirs!

I’m not a drinker but that didn’t distract from the good time I had here. Great atmosphere and very comfortable. It was a perfect place to sit around and chill out with friends. Might also be a great place for games night as they had a huge selection of board games at the door.
The staff we very attentive and friendly. The playlist on the bar tenders ipod also made the night a good one. I’d definitely go back for a night of drinks and fun with pals.

I used to work in this area and would have LOVED to hang at this place, but only visited for the first time last night post-​Elite event.
The staff was so friendly and accommodating and we were a large group! Local 4 just had a nice, relaxed vibe, 10 good taps (including Pear Cider YUM!) and the few bites of food I tried (thanks Christine and Dennis) were very tasty.
I would definitely go back. I bet the front patio gets crowded in the summer, but I’ll chance it.

We went here after the Elite event at chino locos (which was good). We were the first to arrive and the staff was excited to accommodate us, worked to find a good place for us to hang out, including moving some people around. They had a great selection of beers, including what I was drinking which was Okanagan Pale Ale.
Throughout the evening the service was great. I had some shared nibbly food, and that was very good also.
I’d definitely go back here. Not the normal neighbourhood I’d go to for a drink, but I’d consider it now that I’ve been here.

This is a great low-​key hang out for a group of friends. Their staff is superb and really friendly. They have traditional board games to liven up your group if the convo is getting a little dull. The washrooms are clean and the décor is great!
Overall a fantastic job! Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that they serve Okanagan Springs beer either.