Stampede Bison Grill

Stampede has closed for good :(

A darn good burger, decent sweet potato fries, and epic poutine.
Normally all this would deem 4 stars but I felt like because we chose to dine in versus take it to go we ended up waiting longer than we should. 3 different people came in, ordered take out, and walked out with bags of food after a short wait, and before we had ours delivered to our table. The place wasn’t busy, there was only 1 other table at that point in the night, and to wait almost 30 minutes for an easy order of deep fried food or a burger seemed way too long when the place is empty.
That said, $ 5 for a tall can of Creemore was the saving grace while I waited, so at least their beer is priced decently.
4 star food, 2 star service, 3 star balanced rating.

Gord and I grabbed a bite to eat late this afternoon at Stampede Bison Grill (Queen W/​Brock).
Contrary to the name, they don’t serve bison burgers anymore.
It was such a nice day that we sat on the patio. We both ordered beef burgers and split an order of onion rings.
Two two guys across the street provided some entertainment. One guy was begging for money outside the liquor store (which is next door to Stampede). He was hammered yet was able to buy six big cans of beer, which he shared with is buddy while sitting on a stoop across the street.
The begger started out good-​natured … some people laughed him off as they walked by them, others ignored him. He came onto our patio and asked the guy at the table next to us for some money. The guy was reading and having a beer and basically told the begger to take off. Then it got ugly and the begger started threatening the guy. He left the patio inviting the guy to fight, crossing the street and mouthing off.
The begger came back across the street and the owner of Stampede talked to him and things seemed to be fine. A couple of cops on bikes came by and had a chat with the begger. He walked away, leered at the guy on the patio and called him a rat. At Queen W/​Brock, he turned around and gave the guy the finger.

I used to love eating at this place but the service from the manager has become atrocious. An old friend, whom I used to hit this place with was in town and we went back for old times sake… and it was a mistake on our part.
This dude got anal about the fact that we brought in water bottles from another place, which I feel was really far from necessary. I can understand not wanting actual food from other places visible or present in an establishment however, it’s not like having water bottles that aren’t the brand you carry is going to severely hurt your business. The nagging (yes, NAGGING) was just uncalled for.
Also on a separate occasion, with the same people, (both of which used to be regular customers in addition to myself until post secondary studies forced to eat closer to our respective universities out of convenience), we went back. I was reluctant to purchase anything but my friend was heading back to Kingston to continue his studies the next day and I gave in.
This time, the prices had been jacked up far above what they were. We ordered what was now a large poutine for each of us which no longer cost between $ 3.75/$ 4.25, but instead was a 5 dollar bill plus tax and strangely enough, even though each of us had selected FREE toppings, my friend was charged an extra $ 1:25 for his poutine, bringing his total to above 7 dollars. The manager, who was present and doing the till was definitely aware of what he was doing (even saying the total amount of $ 7:25 as he entered it) and essentially cheated my friend for no reason.
Also, as I had begun to take out my money, to pay for my poutine, the manager muttered my total. I gave him a 5 dollar bill and as I was grabbing the extra change (I had intended to pay the exact amount) he felt the need to re do the total and say it to me like I was some sort idiot, when he could have just given me a second to grab the exact change.
Overall this was just a very disappointing experience.

VIBE
It is consistently busy as people state. I’ve been here during times where it wasn’t crazy busy. Maybe I’ve been lucky? I like that the space is clean and bright. Staff know their stuff and they give extra pickles. What’s not to love?
*It has been a while, though.
I ATE
Bison burger; poutine. Sweet tender meat and very filling poutine that is hardy. You will be FULL if you get both! Food coma extrodinaire here. Definitely a twist on the saturated burger market out there.
OBLIGATORY CATCHY REMARK
There’s got to be a stampede of a line up here! One of the best burgers in the T Dot.
Meat lovers, rejoice!

This is a pretty great burger joint on the west end. It’s next to one of the sketchiest LCBO’s in the city, just off Queen St. It’s bright green and orange, so it’s hard to miss even though it’s not on the main street. The place is freezing cold in the Winter. (Seriously: this has to be the coldest place i’ve ever eaten.) The burgers here are pretty great. Everything tastes super fresh. For a place called Stampede Bison Grill they seem to run out of Bison fairly often. It’s definitely the thing to get if you can. Also, the Bison Poutine is super-​dope. Do that thing. When I get take out burgers this is my go-​to place now.

I hate doing this… but c’mon. This was my second visit here, both times before 8pm on a weekend evening (when they’re open until 3am). And both times they were OUT OF BISON. COME ON. It’s in your name! How can you be running out on a seemingly regular basis?
Last time, they were out of roast bison. This time, they were out of both roast bison AND ground bison — the only option they could offer was beef. I didn’t come here for beef. I can get a burger anywhere. Again, I direct your attention to your restaurant’s name. I came here because I want bison. And for the second time, I’m leaving disappointed.
I don’t think I’m likely to give it a third chance.

Finding this place reminded me of an episode of «How I met Your Mother» where Marshal goes in search of the Ultimate burger place and could not find it again. Well I found this place and fell in love with the food.
One of my favorites here (besides the bison burger) is the Bison Poutine… A large helping of poutine with real cheese curds, topped with shaved bison and carmalized onions.
When ever I go to my favorite cheese place on Ronsansvales (Thin Blue Line), I stop by Stampede on my way home. The last time I did this, I bought an extra piece of my favorite cheese (Scottish Applewood Cheddar) to put on my Bison burger… It was amazing.
You have to try this place. Sometimes I wonder if I should not promote it and keep it as my personal secret place LOL

Awful place. But I detest bison, after trying it here. Catering to a trend conscious hipster crowd, this place wants to have the latest foody goody. We’ve had poutine and pulled pork mini-​crazes on Queen W., well how about buffalo? Don’t say buffalo, actually, the strangely arrogant servers are very touchy. They railroaded me into trying their damn bison and I discovered there’s a reason it’s a trend and not a staple — its taste. You might as well eat a moose. Pungent and gamey, I found it quite repulsive. But, if you want to be in on the latest trend…

I love Stampede so much, I want to take it behind a middle school and get it pregnant (loosely quoting Tracy Jordan/​30 Rock).
Stopped in for a late lunch on a Friday afternoon. Lots of free parking available on the residential streets.
We placed our order by circling all our burger preferences on a form. Decided to go with the bison burger, a large sweet potato fry poutine, iced tea and a Coke ($ 14.75).
The patio outside was deserted so we had our pick of seats. Our food order came up pretty quickly.
I immediately attacked the poutine and it was amazing. Squeaky curds, delicious gravy and sweet potato fries for a change.
Truly, the best poutine I have had in Toronto, better than Poutinis and Smoke’s combined! Hailing from Northern Ontario, poutine was an essential food group, so I know good poutine.
The bison burger was good — very thick with toppings. It tasted a bit gamey-​er that I’m use to but probably because the meat is fresh and I’ve only had frozen bison in the past. They also gave us a free order of regular fries as they had made them by mistake. A nice touch.
I will be returning, if only just for the poutine.

Oh yeah. I’m just going to eat this giant veggie burger dripping with tzatziki and this box full of delicious sweet potato fries and maybe have a nap out here on this sunny patio. That’s cool, right?
I’m obviously not the target customer (see veggie burger, above), but I’d spent the weekend gorging myself at a «pig and whiskey» festival and just couldn’t face more meat. The veggie burger’s a pretty good option here – it’s a nuts-​and-​grain patty rather than something soy-​based. The portions are huge: I couldn’t finish my burger and even two of us sharing a single serving of fries couldn’t get more than halfway through the box. I’d go back.

Finally I have found a good reason to return to PARKDALE! (shudder)
Stampede Bison Grill is tucked around the corner of Brock and Queen streets next to the LCBO. The interior looks like your regular indie hamburger joint with seating for maybe 15 people, but they also have a spacious patio at the front.
Stampede specializes in BISON meat but you can get your beef fix here too and they even have veggie burgers.
I tried the «roast bison» combo which came with a roast bison sandwich, sweet potato fries and a drink for only $ 10. Considering the enormous portion size, the prices here are ridiculously cheap.
The roast bison is sliced bison meat (think roast beef) served with caramelized onions, bbq sauce and your choice of free additional toppings (lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard, pickles, etc). This sandwich was gigantic and they didn’t skimp on the meat (yay) and was served on a nice soft Portuguese roll. Toppings were also really fresh.
The sweet potato fries were absolutely-​so-​damn-​good. Best ones I have ever had. Not too greasy and dangerously addictive. My friend and I couldn’t even finish one order between us, they give you lots!
Stampede Bison Grill also does up a variety of poutines (including bison poutine, obviously), handmade milkshakes and even freshly squeezed lemonade.
We ordered inside and our food was brought out within 5 minutes or so. The guy working the counter here was super friendly and patient with my 20 questions regarding the menu options.

Damn! Ok, if you love gut-​churningly awesome poutine, adore cheese curds, and can’t get enough bison, order the following:
Large sweet potato poutine, extra curds, topped with bison.
Sweet mercy on my soul — the part of my soul that used to be a vegetarian! That was some seriously good poutine!
I’d hit five stars, but it was a bit… cooled by the time it actually got to us (loooong wait despite a quiet early evening). Definitely gonna go back and try it again, though, this time with a contingent of poutine loving compadres.
For the record, Heather actually didn’t like it… but she isn’t a fan of bison, so I can’t knock points there.
As an afterthought, the burger was just ok – 3 stars. At the price one can’t complain, as it’s certainly head and tail above what you’d get at a fast food joint for (maybe) a buck less. And, unlike the fast food joint, I would wager it contains exactly 0% tail.
We dropped thirty-​five after tax and tip on two beer, a rather premium poutine, and the burger (topped with goat cheese and caramelized onion at $ 1.25 each).
Of note, beer list included Guiness (from a can; ask for a glass), which I’ve always thought was about the perfect drink accompaniment to bison. If the the Stampede poutine were seduced by The Perfect Pint and found itself with child, I would consume the love child and steal its considerable power.
(Caveat: I may be mildly buzzed.)

Who knew that these types of prices at this level of quality still existed? The guys behind the counter at Stampede Bison Grill serve delicious poutine, handmade milkshakes, freshly brewed iced-​tea, freshly squeezed lemonade, and all your other diner favourites like made-​to-​order burgers and onion rings with a smile. There’s art on the walls to peruse, music so good that it makes you want to dance (or at least sing along), graphic novels and magazines to read, and even a flatscreen playing the football game.
The dining area is small, but warm and cozy and the sidewalk patio holds a few tables as well. It’s unfortunate that all of the cutlery and dishes are disposable and tends to make a lot of waste at the end of even a quick meal. However, at the very least, they provide bins for separating garbage from recyclables.

I’m going to be honest when I tell you that I wasn’t expecting much from my sweet potato poutine here. First of all, I was not under the influence of any substance before eating my poutine. Everyone (from poutine connoisseurs to your grandma) knows that consuming the combination of fries, gravy and cheese curds can only truly be appreciated after a night of heavy pickling of the liver*. Secondly, I had it as take-​out and by the time I got home, the dish was not all too hot. Surprisingly the poutine tasted freaking awesome! All the components just worked. Every bite was sweet and savoury, and full of cheese and gravy.
I’m no expert on the subject of poutine but I put the sweet potato poutine from Stampede’s very high on my list of best poutine.
Lastly, I did not try the burgers here yet. I know it’s strange to not review the house specialty but I just didn’t want a sandwich at the moment. Although, if the poutine here was that good, I’m pretty sure the burgers here are out of this world!
*This reason is why so many of our neighbours to the south never «get» why we love poutine so much, since when they try it, they usually are sober tourist eating poutine for the novelty of it instead of eating eat to soak up all the alcohol in the body.

Grabbed a quick bison burg to go. It was really good, but once again not so quick. At least you know it’s fresh. I got avocado on mine– illusions of health. The bun was fresh. Nice touch. Oh it was fucking hot in there, too. The thermostat said 88 °F. zoinks!!!

Definetely a place to go. Great meat especially bison meat. Excellent the sliced roast bison on a bun with sauté onions and BBQ sauce. Add the fresh cut fries to it and wash everything down your throat with a lemonade freshly squeezed while you waiting.
This grill is a must for all of you, meat lover.

Stampede Bison Grill
This little spot was OK. I had a chicken sandwich and the onion rings, the onion rings were really good (love the fact it wasn’t the breaded kind). My boyfriend had a beef bison burger and fries which he finished eating before I did. It’s a cool spot that reminded me of the village in Manhattan where you can sit outside and enjoy the weather. One cool thing were the slips you fill out for your order, including the dressing you would like on your sandwich.

The quality here is pretty good bang for the buck. You could get a burger and fries here for under $ 8 not bad for an indie joint. Although bison is the house specialty here I settled for the beef burger. It was slightly dry but it had a nice char from the grilling process and came in a fluffy bun dressed with condiments according to preference. Cheese was real cheddar and I enjoyed the type of pickles employed in my burger.
Probably won’t make my list of Toronto’s best burgers list but it’s handy and cheap staple as it’s near my home.
Homemade lemonade and iced tea are nice refreshing touches to the drink menu here as are the alcohol laced milkshakes.

What is the biggest motivating factor to eat at Stampede? Is it the delicious Bison burger? Is it the unique and totally satisfying veggie burger? Is this the boozy milkshakes? How about the chill atmosphere? Or the small patio with some of the best people-​watching in the ‘hood? The quasi-​celebrity clientele? The good looking and hip staff?
Any one of these reasons is enough for a visit to Stampede, and just one will keep you coming back.