The Daughter

Dear Darcy MacDonell,
Your location is interesting, the vibe of the resto is relaxed and artsy, and your staff are for the most part, quite friendly. My friend and I shared a burger that was fine, though I was disappointed that the fries were made with floury textured russet potatoes (my least fav). Also, since there was no menu and the mains didn’t seem to be written up on your chaulk board, I have no idea what we paid for that burger. I hope no more than $ 12. But I’m writing about the Ploughman’s platter that you sell as an appetizer for a whopping $ 23. I was so disappointed and to be honest, a little offended by what was served. There were 2 razor-​thin slivers of saucage, 2 match-​book-​size tastes of interesting cheese, 5 toonie-​sized pieces of somewhat passed-​it gravlax, two half pieces of toast, two inedible soft-​boiled picked eggs (an overwhelming taste of white vinegar), and one other solf-​boiled egg deep-​fried in a tempura-​type batter. Oh, and a selection of picked veggies used to dress the plate. I am a veggie lover with a particular fondness for picked anything but we found your veggies, along with your eggs so unappetizing that they were left dressing the plate when it was picked up. $ 23 is a lot to pay for the amount of food that I might put in my child’s school lunch. For that price, you need to offer more than a couple of ounces of fish, meat or cheese. Then there was the kale caesar. I was excited about this — I’ve had kale caesars before that blew my socks off. (Have you tried the one at FoodLiner?!) But the one at your resto had the taste and texture of, well, egg yolk. Very salty, sticky egg yolk. We left at least half on the plate too.
I like to be encouraging, not critical. But we did pay $ 100 with tip for a meal that in the end amounted to a pint and a half of beer and a half burger each. So I thought I would write you to let you know the thoughts of this particular customer. I hope you fix these problems and I hope the restaurant thrives. Best of luck.

Friendly staff and few but veery interesting selection of local breweries.
Unfortunately didn’t try the food since I was coming from an abundant brunch right across the street.
Will come back to try the food.

Reservations for 8 on a freezing Saturday — the place was empty. We asked the waitress about the cocktails listed on the chalkboard and one of them she wasn’t sure what was in it (and by the name of it, neither did we) — and the second we asked about she said they couldn’t make anymore because the guy who made it got fired. Awesome. So who’s making our drinks?
We order — my partner asks for his burger to be well done. We hear the waitress call it in – and she asks for it to be well done. But when it arrived it was like the cook had taken the bun and dipped it in blood. Who serves a sopping wet bun? I’d expect that from a hot dog at AMC, but not this place. Needless to say — the «well done» burger was less cooked than my non-​well done burger. How unprofessional.
One of us had the steak and it was so tiny. It was like a salad that came with some steak instead of a steak with a side salad.
Finally, we asked for the dessert menu and were told that they were sold out of all desserts. We all looked around. and thought, «sold out — how? there’s no one here!» — so Happy Birthday — you get no dessert — thank goodness one of our friends had a chocolate bar in her purse, so we shared that — why not?
So. The Daughter gets a bad review, and we’ll never return because it’s just not worth it. We hear they do a great brunch — we hope that’s true — but still, we care not to find out. Good-​bye Daughter — we’re not coming back.

The absolute worst.
Terrible service from an extremely inattentive and rude young female.
Terribly overpriced and underwhelming food. Not to mention $ 3.50 for a drip coffee, no refills.
The Daughter justifies Unilocal’s service: to help others save time and money in this crazy, mixed-​up world.

Bad, bad, bad and dirty! Sat at the bar because the tables were reserved which is fine except that the girl behind the bar who looked to be about 16 and had hair down to her hips not tied ignored us for 10 minutes.
We finally got coffee and ordered, the cream container had dried cream on it which went in coffee. Watched the girl with the long hair touch her face and hair and then make Caesars and using her hands (unwashed) pick out shrimps with black tails (which means they are not fresh) then fingers in the horseradish and into the drink… When she finished she wiped her hands on her pants. To open champagne she held it between her legs like really?
The older ladies shirt was unbuttoned so I could constantly see her belly button so unprofessional.
The food came and the trout and scrambled eggs came on a half a bagel with a little bit of salad, salty and not nearly worth $ 14, the least they could do is give you the other half of the bagel! Eggs Benedict had only 2 little pieces of bacon and the bottom half of the biscuit was burnt and so hard I had to stab it to cut it. No coffee refill either! Will never waste my money there again, had to go to Tim Hortons to get a coffee.

The food was good but service was extremely disappointing. Curt, bordering on rude, and a refusal to take responsibility for having taken an order wrong. Which, while bad on any given day, is worse when you’ve taken a friend visiting from out of town there as an example of all the great things in the neighbourhood. This place clearly isn’t one of them.

Ugh… really wanted to like this place, but the food is overpriced for the substandard quality.
We met my niece and her fiancée for dinner as they live in the area… and we opted to dine out on the patio, which consisted of wooden picnic tables on a street level patio.
When we arrived, we were seated and our waiter was over shortly thereafter. I asked if they had lemonade or iced tea. Was told no. Asked if they had diet coke. was told yes. Waiter came back and said they only had coke and sprite. One of my dining companions asked what type of juice they had… and the waiter responded «orange/​mango, or strawberry lemonade». Um… didn’t I ask if they had lemonade? Anyways, it was $ 4 for something which I drank in about 4 gulps.
We were then told that wine was half price… so one of us ordered a white Pinot. A small glass of white Pinot… half off… came to $ 8/​glass. So normally it would be $ 16? If that’s the case, it’s highway robbery.
On to the food.
Person one ordered the «new» burger… as its new to the menu. The person who had this said it was ok… but not worth the price. He said the fries were excellent.
Person 2 ordered the fish and chips… it came with coleslaw (according to the menu, their famous coleslaw). The fish was not identified on the menu but he believes it was haddock, a much cheaper cut of fish. The person who had this said it was over battered.
2 of us had the pasta of the day… lemon/​bacon/​onion in a cream sauce. It came with kernels of corn, which I opted not to have and my niece asked for on the side. I don’t think I’ve ever been so disappointed with a pasta dish in my life. The bacon, while having a nice smokey flavour, was mostly fat, so it was inedible. I could barely taste any hint of lemon… and the portion size was far too small for a $ 16 price point. The pasta. Fresh though.
Dinner for 4, with the above food items, with 3 glasses of wine (half off), 1 juice, 1 sprite, 6 beers, tax, tip, came to over $ 160. Completely not worth it.
All 4 of us, while walking back to our car, agreed we would not be returning.

It seems like everyone has ran through the Farmers Daughter except me. So I decided to give it a try… wait that sounds wrong. Well, I wanted to try out the Farmers Daughter… that doesn’t sound right either. Ok I wanted to try the food here so I said «hey whatsup hello» to this extension of the Farmhouse Tavern.
I dropped by for lunch and the menu was very select to say the least. I’ve heard many people talk about the fish and chips, but there wasn’t actually any on the lunch menu? I see the big fried shrimp sign out front, and there wasn’t any fried shrimp on the menu either? Not sure if the sign was a novelty thing, but I was a little bummed out I couldn’t have a pint of beer and skrimps for lunch :(
I asked for the fish and chips regardless and the waitress had the chef bring out a fresh batch. Also tried the local blonde beer they had to offer and they both paired nicely. The patio has a backyard at your buddy’s house type of feeling, and although they could probably use a few more umbrellas for the sun, it was nice. I would go round two with the Farmers Daughter, because I had a good time to say the least :)

I live in the Junction, and have visited The Daughter on many a weekend (Sunday afternoon buck-​a-​shuck is a hard thing to say no to!)
I’m a fan of both Farmhouse Tavern and The Daughter, but have come to frequent The Daughter a bit more routinely, as the vibe is a bit more relaxed, and there’s rarely a lengthy wait for a table. Michaela, my favorite server (I hope I spelled her name correctly), always takes a moment to thank me for coming back, and to ask me how I’m doing (but only at a convenient time when it’s not too busy). She makes amazing Tavern caesars (with pickled asparagus and a BIG tiger shrimp), and is really knowledgeable about the specials and the wines that they have in stock.
The food is just excellent. I tend to order more seafood-​based items, but whenever I bring friends with me, burgers get ordered. The common refrain is that the burger at The Daughter is «hands down, the best».
I always leave The Daughter relaxed, with a full and happy belly. The service is considerate, not too pushy and personable. It’s a reliable go-​to spot in the neighborhood, and I will most definitely keep coming back.

Had lunch at the patio on a sunny day. The food and drink menu was limited and printed on a piece of paper, I ordered Tavern Caesar and two pieces of Fish and Chips. The skinny drink came with a pickled asparagus and a cocktail shrimp, it was made with tequila instead of vodka, not a fan of this mixture. The fish was halibut, the pieces were meaty, the batter was crispy and a good ratio to the fish. The fish and batter were not seasoned, the taste was bland without dipping into the tartar sauce. The meal was ok, seemed a bit overpriced for the taste.

Came here for Canada day brunch! Loved their simple hand written menu and the waiter was nice mouth to elaborate on it which helped with the decision making. The atmosphere is very relaxed, people where there to enjoy the food and let loose. There’s a patio too for nice weather. I had eggs Benny with bacon. I love their bacon… Every thing on that plate was gone. Delicious!

I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of friends moving to The Junction lately. I must say, I like it. In the great Toronto debate, I prefer West to East, and I’m lovin’ all of the sweet businesses popping up in this hood. It’s much more first-​time-​biz-​owner coffee shops than Starbucks, and I can dig.
Thank you, FDE for being open on Canada Day. Your patio was the perfect setting for a boozy brunch among friends. I enjoyed your daily feature, the strawberry french toast, and the others really seemed to enjoy their eggcellent creations. Also! Way to put a spicy, pickled asparagus in your Caesars. Classy touch.

I wish the customer service was as good as the food and drink. Serving staff acted annoyed with us even though there was only one other table on a Saturday night. They were confused by simple requests and questions. They talked shit about us behind the bar even though we weren’t even 5 feet away and heard everything. Since there wasn’t anyone waiting for our table and it was far from closing time, we took our time with coffee and dessert. I guess this was the wrong thing to do because when we finished they ignored us for about 20 minutes as if to punish us. I think the kitchen staff deserves a raise and the owner should hire new service staff ASAP!

What awful place turn off by customer service. Cannot give a customer a table coz where 2 people. The table is for 6. One vacant table in the back. Asked to wait on the bar. It’s not busy rainy afternoon.

All my Junction friends have been talking about the Farmer’s Daughter for a while now. We finally got to try it out for an early weekday dinner.
Arriving around 5:30pm, our group of 4 adults and 2 stinkies had the choice of any table in the joint. They offered high chairs which we readily accepted, if only to cage in the toddlers.
Menu was pretty simple. We ordered the fish & chips (one piece -$ 12), burger ($ 15) and kids mini-​burger ($ 7). Decent beer selection so we went with tall boys of the Farmer’s Daughter’s Ale ($ 6.50) and a scotch for the little one — er, I mean milk.
Service was swift and our order was out in good time. The batter on the fish was pretty amazing — light, fluffy, not overly greasy. But it was the burger that really stood out — perfectly cooked, juicy and flavourful! I didn’t get too many fries with my portion of fish & chips so I had to steal in on the fries that came with the burger. The kids meal mini-​burger came with veggies and dip as a side.
Farmer’s Daughter has some really great specials including a beer/​burger combo for $ 19 and buck-​a-​shuck but it’s for the bar seats only, and they are really rigid in their rules. I can see this for the weekend or at peak times but when it’s Wednesday night and there is only 1 table occupied, I’d suggest maybe being a bit more lax on the rules to make the customers happy.
I really like Farmer’s Daughters and really want them to succeed so that they will stay in the ‘hood for a long time.

The venue is not to my taste — it’s something out of an 80’s tron era, but to each their own. Play the appropriate music for it guys! The drive soundtrack for instance — not the same stuff as the tavern.
The house Pinot was great.
Had the fish dish — it’s rainbow trout confit — essentially rainbow trout that has hot fat poured over it to cook it. An interesting dish, quite delicious.
It’s odd to me that a place seemingly targeting seafood has only one «fish dish». No Arctic char? A cool twist on a deep fried piece of halibut? But, maybe, just maybe, you try something new? Octopus is all the rage now, right?
I’ll be back, it’s worth it. Cool people, chefs that care about how it tastes, great hood.

I’m a big fan of Farmhouse Tavern down the street.
When I heard that they were opening up a new spin-​off restaurant, I was excited to check it out!
Farmer’s Daughter Eatery is like the smaller, hipper, seafood loving, and boozing little sister of the original restaurant. The space is bright and much more modern than expected. There was a large patio space but since the place is newer, it didn’t seem very ambient and we chose to be seated inside.
The menu was very small but there were some interesting items.
I went with the southern fried froglegs on waffles.
The waffles were soaked in syrup and the maple butter was freaking amazing.
The frog legs were tasty, interesting… tender. sort of crispy…
The legs are also full of little bones… so more effort to eat. More than I would like in the morning.
The burger was stacked high and the presentation was pretty with purple cabbage slaw. It was made fresh, but it needed some time to rest because it was ooozing and dripping juice all over the place. The pretzel bun added a lot of saltiness and was soft and yummy.
Be warned, if you are ordering a mimosa, the mimosa was tiny.
Like a kid sized mimosa for small little hands.
Overall, brunch was creative, but not outstanding. Since the restaurant is new, I feel like they will work out the kinks.
They have Sunday evening happy hour specials — «F@ck Monday!!!‘
I will have to come back for drinks and some seafood! :)

I would give it 3.5 stars if I can change the system.
Thanks to my friend Mikey, happily went there for a Sunday late dinner for the discount special. Had the octopus and veg plate. Octopus was good, but I prefer the one at Bar isabel. Veg N Veg plate was good. Happy to have had a late meal outside on the picnic tables. The patio umbrella sheltered us from light sprinkle.
I’ll have to try other things on the menu next time.
Service casual, friendly, and polite.

After having such an excellent brunch experience at Farmhouse Tavern I was very excited (due to the whole pescatarian thing) when I found out about the opening of Farmer’s Daughter, a more seafood focused sister restaurant. I went on Sunday to take advantage of their ‘fuck mondays’ specials (I went for cocktail hour), and I am happy to say I was not disappointed! I will break it down:
Atmosphere: Somehow it managed to feel welcoming despite the very cool and modern design of all whites and blues. The bar was something I’d never seen before with the whiteboard backing with the wines all indicated in blue marker. I think that’s a trend that may catch on in future years, I will keep my eyes open for it. As well the ‘fried shrimp and friendship sign’ was a nice touch.
Service: The service was absolutely top notch. Our server was incredibly friendly, knowledgable, and helpful. He was happy to explain every menu item to us in detail as well as the all the cocktails. The bartender as well was fantastic she brought over some of our food and did it in this adorable sing song-​y voice. I wanted to try the tell tale heart so they made it with regular bourbon, rather than the beef heart infused one, which I really appreciated. Another nice touch was having the head chef bring us our appetizers as all the servers were busy and she didn’t want the food sitting on the pass waiting. It was quite a treat having her explain the dishes to us in such detail before we ate.
and the most important part…
Food:
Fried Shrimp– Unquestionably the best fried shrimp (or any shrimp) that I have ever had. Only drawback is there weren’t very many, so sharing them is hard.
Clams– This dish is actually a clam salad. The clams and salad were good, but what really made the dish special was the mustard ice cream on top. You’d think mustard ice cream would be weird, but it was delicious and actually tied the whole dish together for me. I highly recommend dipping the clams in the ice cream.
Octopus– I was very excited about this dish! While it was delicious, there were a few drawbacks. The good parts were– the octopus itself, it was so tender, really just cooked to perfection, which is so important with octopus. The purée was delicious as well (sunchoke I believe ?). The squid ink painted on the plate was one part of the dish I was very excited for as well, as I love squid ink, it’s just so salty and delicious! I was happy to find it was just thick enough that I was able to run the octopus through it. Oh and of course the plating was absolutely beautiful. The downsides were the greens which were very hard to chew, and which I found to be unnecessarily bitter. Also I was not warned about the pancetta bits on top, which was not a nice surprise. I feel that it would be a very unnecessary component anyways considering the dish is already quite salty.
Fish Dish– It was a sort of play on a potato salad with rainbow trout. This was my mothers entrée, and I only had some small tastes. Those tastes I did have were delicious, and she found the dish to be positively flawless.
Dessert– We had the lemon rhubarb twinkie, and it was a bit of a let down. It looked adorable and the idea was great, but I think it fell flat in the execution. The exceptions were the bits of cooked rhubarb were as were the marshmellow. Unfortunately the lemon cake which was the actual twinkie was very dense and the rhubarb sauce over it was just a tad bit too sweet. Overall flavour wise it was nice to eat, but I did expect something better.
Beverages– Tell tale heart (sans bourbon) — quite strong, but after I gave it a few minutes for some of the ice to melt into it, and the lemon rind to infuse a bit, it was fantastic. I would order it again in a heartbeat. Another noteworthy beverage was the glass of chardonnay my mother had after her cocktail. I had a sip and it was hands down the best chardonnay I can recall having tasted. I believe it was called ‘cotes du jura’ and it went for 13 $ a glass, which I thought was pricey at first, but turned out it was totally worth it.
Overall although my experience wasn’t flawless as it had been at Farmhouse Tavern, it was quite wonderful, and I will definitely be going back! Farmer’s Daughter is definitely worth a try!

Farmer’s Daughter is a great addition to the neighbourhood. It is different from its parent (Farmhouse) down the street and stands on its own quite well. The space is bright, yet small, so make a reservation if you have your heart set on eating here.
The menu seems quite simple on the surface. There are about 5 mains and five sides on a board. They have shrimp, burgers, octopus, and a changing variety of other options. Each dish is complex with a variety of flavours and ingredients.
The burger is a surf n turf. I liked the effort, but wasn’t crazy about it. Fish on a burger? It was still tasty, but not my thing.
The fried shrimp are fantastic. Dessert is also highly original and delicious.
Cocktails are unique. Try the Bruce Banner.
I am very enthusiastic about going back here. The service was excellent, and the food (and drinks) allows Farmer’s Daughter to stand out and on it’s own.