The Jersey Giant

This is my local pub and I absolutely love it! They’ve managed to nail the classic pub feeling without it being manufactured by a corporate interest that’s trying too hard (Fox & The Fiddle, Gabbys, Firkin, Casey’s, I’m looking at you!)
It’s nothing fancy, but it’s the kind of place where if you go more than twice the servers remember you, likely by name, and will go above and beyond to make sure you’re taken care of. The atmosphere is cozy and warm, a throwback to what a ‘real’ pub feels like; lots of dark wood, comfortable seating, and a beamed ceiling (basically the opposite of ‘trendy’ or ‘modern’ but in a good way). It’s like having our own personal ‘Cheers’ in the city.
Food wise the portions are on the large side, come with decently sized sides, and the prices for substitutions or add ons are more than reasonable for the amount of food you get. There are always daily specials, just make sure that if you see something you like on the board to order it — they often sell out which can be disappointing. I think I’ve had everything on the menu by now, my favorites are the Pot Pie, Turkey Club, Chicken Wings (cheap on Monday), Milano, Fish & Chips (cheap on Thursday), Veggie Burger, and Taco Salad (it’s huge!).
When it comes to drinks there is always some deal going, you just have to ask.
I’d definitely suggest this place to anyone looking for a comfortable, relaxed, and cozy place to drink and eat where everybody really *does* know your name.
If you’re looking for something high end or modern, you’re best to look elsewhere.

I’ve lived in the neighborhood for over a year and have amassed a fair bit of experience with the local bars and restaurants. I use Unilocal frequently so I think it’s about time I start to contribute. I want to start with the worst of the worst.
A friend and I walked into this place on a rainy Sunday a few months ago. Mostly because we wanted somewhere comfortable and cozy, and we wanted to try someplace we’d not been before. First impression was okay; it smelled musty but that could be just because of the rainy weekend. We sat at the bar at first. There was a middle-​aged guy behind the bar. He was having a conversation with a middle-​aged woman at the bar. I’m not sure if she works here too but she was complaining loudly, rudely, and disparagingly about some customers that she’d dealt with earlier at her job as a server. We had to wait a long time for them to wrap up their conversation before we got any service.
We then headed to the back to play some pool. There was a group of high-​school aged kids playing so we sat at a table in the corridor and placed coins on on the ledge of the table. The kids that were playing saw and acknowledged this. After about a half hour (no, they weren’t seriously playing, just killing time) another group of kids walked in and sat at a table near ours. When the last group’s game was done, the new group jumped in and started playing with the old group. We spoke to them and said that we’d put money down and the next game was ours. We had a fairly polite conversation about it but they wouldn’t back down.
We went to the bar and asked one of the bartenders what the expected decorum was for use of the pool table at their establishment. He agreed with us that we had the next turn at the table and unless the table was reserved for a party at a specific time then patrons should take turns. We asked if the group that playing had a reservation for the table. He grabbed a writing pad, checked it, and said that there were no reservations for that day but that he was just the bartender and couldn’t do anything about it. We asked to speak to the manager. It turned out that the middle-​aged guy was the manager. He was very dismissive. He said they let their customers sort it out among themselves — note that this would be reasonable if you didn’t have high school kids loitering in your bar. I asked what they would do if a group won’t share the table and have no reservation. In reply he said well they do have a reservation so I can’t do anything. This was obviously a lie seeing as the bartender had checked the reservation schedule.
At this point we’d had it with his attitude and poor service so we paid out tab and went elsewhere.
Terrible service. Bad atmosphere. Bad clientele, Smells bad.

There were cockroaches on the walls and the bar tender told me to fuck off… Horrible experience

I came here with my friend as we wanted to try something different from the businesses around the St Lawrence area. When we arrived we seated ourselves. I don’t believe anyone noticed us until 5 minutes later and brought our menus. They have a lot of specials of the days and drink specials but it wasn’t anything appealing. My friend and I settled for fish and chips and pulled pork tacos. My friend had no complaints about her fish but it wasn’t anything special for the expensive price. I’ve had better and cheaper fish and chips. My tacos actually didn’t even taste warm. The meat tasted like room temperature. Maybe my tacos are meant to be like that? Not sure.
The décor is a little dated. If you’re not looking for anything fancy and just grabbing a pint I would come here. The drinks you can’t go wrong but I wouldn’t order food here. Service was okay at best. Maybe just an off night?

I visited the restaurant on Saturday, December 11 around 11am with a friend to catch up over a casual pub lunch.
The drinks took forever to start off, and the guy that was serving us was gruff. My friend asked a question about the menu and the guy just walked away from the table.
The red haired server with tattoos was very busy attending to her tables and the stocky server was slow to attend or respond to our needs.
My friend ordered chicken wings and after the long wait to get the order, she asked for blue cheese dip. It came after she finished eating her wings.
Then to add insult, I had to sit and watch her eat the wings because my soup did not come until afterwards.
When her main arrived, the BLT was cold. My friend told the server that it was cold. His response was that it was a cold sandwich. In addition to that, she asked for the French fries to be substituted for sweet potato fries. He brought regular French fries. Then he took then away and brought the right fries which were soggy and cold. Bad service and bad food. Very disappointing lunch.

Went here on Saturday for the first time, Heard good things from colleagues who always come for their burger fix.
Ordered a burger and fries, service was great, Burger was decent.
Will i come again — sure why not.

Jersey giant is a quiet little place to grab a beer or a quick appetizer at. I love the big sofa chairs and couch that allows you to sit back, relax and enjoy your frosty cold beverage!
The inside reminds me of an English throwback old school pub for sure! I dig it alot! The people here are rather friendly as well and they do offer a decent tap list as well!
I’d definitely come back in to enjoy a cold sudsy brew and a quick bite to eat!

The Jersey Giant is one of the more un-​assuming places in this area of town. It’s a pretty low key pub with decent food and a nice selection of beers on tap.
Pitchers are under $ 20 for import or premium brands, and the food is all decently priced and pretty good as well. I’ve enjoyed the nachos on numerous occasions, and the Cubano sandwich is quite good. Pork tenderloin with bacon and avocado sauce on a bun, tasty stuff indeed. Last time I had wings and ribs and it was along the standard pub quality.
The front half is more dining area, typical tables and chairs, middle of the room has a good sized bar, and then in the back by the bathrooms there is a small room with a pool table, dart board, and jukebox. There is also a small patio out front that seats a couple small tables, but like most downtown patios, the real estate fills up quick.
While this place is unpolished and not really an impressive place at first glance, it is good for some lunch or even after work drinks if you’re not looking for something with the corporate stiffness associated at most of the other places in the area, which is pretty much the main reason I keep coming back.

Pretty good! had brunch with 5 $ caesars today, generous portion /​a good serving with friendly waitress — nice atomosphere — glad we wound up here — the Hot House was packed accross the street so we wound up here for a great brunch at a lot less cost — loved it.

Food is absolutely delicious, and the sangria was spot on! Great value for money. The service was a bit sloppy, but the waitress was accommodating and changed our wrong order without us even asking. Do yourself a favour and order the cheese quesadillas!

My first time at The Jersey Giant was actually great and the Toronto Burger was impressive, but after returning last night and hoping for a great dinner, I was so disappointed.
We were seated right away and we both ordered the specials of the night. On Wednesdays, they have a burger special for $ 6.99 with a purchase of a drink and they also had a fish and chips special (with drink purchase) for $ 9.99. We ordered both specials and calamari appetizer.
Our waitress took our drink order and left, assuming she would come back with our drinks. She forgot our drinks and took our food order instead.
We got our fish & chips and burger specials quickly and I had to remind our waitress that we ordered an appetizer. I wouldn’t mind if she forgot to punch it in, but she gave us this lame excuse that she swore she rang it up but the kitchen staff disregarded it as a duplicate order.
Something clicked when I heard the table behind me asking why they haven’t received their food yet and they were almost done their beer. I heard the waitress apologize but then she blamed the kitchen staff again for messing up the order! Not cool.
My boyfriend asked for some condiments for the burger and I asked for some tartar sauce for my fish. She never came back. I asked another server for tartar sauce and never got it.
So my boyfriend ended up eating a dry burger with no ketchup, mayo or mustard and I just doused my fish and chips in the coleslaw and malt vinegar.
The service sucked last night and even though I know it was probably a one time thing, it’s enough to make me stay away.

Typical run of the mill pub. Great patio if you don’t mind being surrounded by old farts smoking their way to an earlier death.
We only stopped here for beer, and it was ok — it was 30 degrees and we wanted something cold to drink and it fit the bill. However, I wouldn’t order food on this patio, it’s crowded and it’s overrun with folks who can’t sit through an entire meal without running outside to grab a ciggie between courses. Yuck!

You know those little pink urinal deodorizer blocks you put on your toilets? When I walked in it smelled like that. I wasn’t even drunk yet. When we did order beer, it was flat. I probably won’t come back.

I came here when I was traveling in the area. The service was mediocre at best; my friend and I walked into the restaurant and were unattended for a good 5 – 7 minutes. We were finally seated outside, but the arrangement made for a really tight situation. The food was typical bar food, so nothing special. The most entertaining part about my time at the restaurant was watching the waiter and manager prevent the table next to us from drinking under age.
There are many more restaurants on Front St. that I would suggest you check out before this one.

I know some would consider four stars a little high for the Jersey Giant but something just feels right when I drink here — probably a personal thing I guess. A great place to unwind or reflect on life.
BEER options are rather good, something for everyone. (Note — this is not a «craft» beer pub) I love that they have Maisel’s Weisse on tap — you don’t see it too much in the city (I personally consume kegs of this stuff when in Germany). You get all the irish pub taps, one rotating local craft tap, a house selection, a couple Mill Street choices and some bigger international brands.
SERVICE has been excellent on all my visits. Very friendly staff who always know when your ready for the next pint. Very consistent — I guess not being super busy helps on this front.
ATMOSPHERE & DECOR — Somewhat dated for sure. This is defiantly not the latest trendy pub!!! It feels /​looks like an old style pub, but not dirty. I like the couch seating. They have a pool table room in the back. The bar is also very dark.
MIXED clientele for sure — everyone from students, suits, tourists, the elderly and many folks enjoying a beer on their own at the bar.
FOOD is standard pub selections. Never tried it myself but from what I can see, would probably be 2 – 3 star at best. Come for the beer & quiet time.
Conclusion — I like it (visited three times in the last two weeks). A perfect place to unwind after a crazy day at work. Not for the hipsters, trend setters or décor lovers (and that’s OK with me).
BK

Love it!
I always get the pork sammich. Damn i dream about that dish! The avocado is always ripe (a rarity), the pork is tender and the sauce is great! Yum yum!
They have lots of specials during the week and great beers on tap. The patio is super tiny but great for people watching! I also enjoying counting the cocks when I walk in! The atmosphere is great, laid back, spacious and friendly! Never had a bad meal or server and here!
Skip the newly opened giant ass next door and head to the Giant Cock!

The Jersey Giant was a bit of a Diamond in the Rough. It’s definitely firmly in the category of dive bar… that dingy, damp, darkness that greets you as you descend into the basement makes that unmistakable.
What was also unmistakable were the excellent prices. They had a burger and fries for something like $ 7 or 8, and it was in fact a good burger and fries. They also had some decent pints on special for $ 4.50 or something like that. I was overall pretty impressed with the food.
The quality of the service was also pretty good. We arrived after having had yet another douchey experience with the hostess at C’est What where she tried to put 7 of us in a table that seated 4 and most of the other open tables were somehow «off limits» for one reason or another. The waiter at the Giant took great care of us, bringing us sample beers, etc. He did disappear for a while when we wanted to pay but was otherwise quite attentive and friendly.
I’ll definitely be back to this place sometime. The overall experience was pretty good.

Just by the St. Lawrence market is this popular pub. As a first timer walking in, I would say it definitely has a great pub vibe. One of those places you hang with your buds on a weekend. I can absolutely see that.
However, playing pool in their back section was a bit of um… an unforgettable experience. It wasn’t that the pool table was not in the best shape or that the room wasn’t big enough to house the table making it interesting shooting. More so because you may end up stabbing men with your stick as they walked out of the washroom. The icing on the cake for me was the lovely strong scent of pee emanating from the women’s washroom. Oh, it was killing me every ttme the door opened. I was informed it was much better now because of renovations. I can’t imagine before.
Food was pub fare. Greasy and meant to just have something in your stomach as you drank the beer. This makes total sense. I rarely go into a pub expecting food to be good.
I think this is the place for you if you want to sit and enjoy the game with a few drinks under your belt but other than that if you are expecting more, you maybe disappointed.

I haven’t been to the Giant in quite a while, but this Sunday I decided to pop in to escape the gloomy windy rainy day. I’m glad I did! After a long day of touring around the city with my aunt, we were looking for a place to kick back and have a drink and a snack. We each had a glass of the Valpolicella and we shared an order of nachos. My aunt wanted chili, but I’m really allergic to MSG. The server made a point of checking with the kitchen staff and she assured me it was MSG-​less. Taking my chances, I indulged and am pleased to say that I was just fine.
I’ve have been to the Jersey Giant many times and have tried all sorts of things on their menu. Nothing has been mind blowing, but everything has been enjoyable. It’s comfort pub food, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The service is good, the portions are plentiful, and the booze selection is decent.
If it was closer to my home, I am certain I’d be there more.

Best of the blue collar bars Toronto has to offer, as of now.
So far this is one of two place that resembles home.
The staff are friendly and not afraid to have a conversation with you.
The 5 dollar Wednesday burgers are as good as I have found to date.
I still don’t understand the Canadian laws that require burgers get cooked to hell but its not my country and I can only do as the say.
They have great beers on tap and have some really good deal through the week. Hacker-​Pschorr are 2 for 10 on Wednesdays. Thank you Jersey Giant for not making me pay strip club prices for beer while in Toronto.
I’ve not had too much other than the burgers but I’ve seen the same customers on several occasions. I was told its a chain but I would have never know.
Cheers!