The Local

The Local is a nice, hip little hole in the wall on Roncesvalles. They have a good amount of seating for the space, a fun and quirky selection of beers, and a menu that features some pretty good stabs at creative gastropub cuisine. The décor is eclectic and mismatched in a charming Girl-Next-Door’s-Garage sort of way but we were comfy enough.
I found the service to be a bit more absent than I’d have preferred and the poutine was only so-​so, but the beers were cold and good and the smiles were abundant. I like other bars on the street, but would come back for an ale and sit at the bar for sure.

I just love this pub. It’s such a perfect little bar for the Roncy strip. Small enough to feel cozy but big enough to fit a decent number of people. It’s always been pretty full any time we’ve ever been.
A few of the reasons I love this spot:
The atmosphere is great (friendly, buzzing, dim lighting… all the things you want a pub to be).
The staff are really friendly and helpful.
They carry a great selection of beer (including one called «The Local»).
The food is good (we’ve been here for dinner a few times).
The have regular live music with some pretty impressive musicians.
Their walls are decorated with an eclectic mix of everything.
They have board games you can play if you are in the mood.
If you live in the area, you probably already know about this little gem, if you don’t, you should come and check it out. It’s one of the better pubs in this city.

I love this place. It’s actually what is should be. Good live music every night. Food is great (chicken & brie club is my favourite). Service is friendly and relaxed. One of my favourite places in TO.

Came here on Friday night for a snack and a beer. My girlfriend had the steak and I had the beef ribs. Both were delicious and very good value for money! I was surprised and how good they were, I wasn’t expecting that much from the Pub food here. I also had a Harry Porter (from Great Lakes Brewery) which was mucho delicious!
Atmosphere was also very nice. We arrived at 7 pm and the bar was already 75% full. Means its a very popular spot and rightly so!

The atmosphere was amazing and the drinks & food were a good price. The food was okay. I would definitely go back for the drinks. The staff was really friendly too.

I’m a dyed-​in-​the-​wool east-​ender but had to meet a friend near Roncey last night, and she suggested we have dinner at a local restaurant. Line-​ups were bad everywhere, so we ended up at the Local, which was busy but had some nice places close to where the band was setting up.
Nice vibe, good service — the right balance between helpful and casual.
We had a side order of sweet potato fries. Great aioli, and the best done sweet fries we’ve ever tasted. In fact, we ordered another dish for dessert.
Great selection of local and craft beers; i tried the Wellington extra bitter, which was excellent.
We each had fish taco. A bit messy (too much mayo???), not enough firmness in the tortilla, but nevertheless quite good.
I heard that West Queen West just got chosen by Vogue Mag as second coolest street scene in the world. Wow!
As the author of Food for City Building, I like to think that coolness of scene has a lot to do with the food scene — not that city planners every work at stimulating a lively restaurant scene anywhere, because they have yet to get the food thing.
I also want to be the first to say that this international fame also owes a lot to the spirit of activism alive and well in the area, and all the people who fought to make it a great place for artists, families, and other diverse groups, including people facing serious poverty and mental health issues.
The Local is part of that scene, and good on them.

Good news! It’s not a pub, it’s still an honest to G-​d bar.
Now that I live in the neighborhood, I appreciate the Local more and more. Definitely a haven for locals, old and new; so much so it’s easy to figure out who are from outside the neighborhood or not. Hint: Roncy Locals are usually up to chat. Outsiders, not so much.
Neighborhood feel is palpable — on a slow night, I saw some people playing board games bought across the street on a couple of the tables! So cool.
Bartenders are still awesome — not so much for making drinks, but because they know how to talk AND listen. All neighborhood people, always up on the latest news and gossip. Tap selection keeps getting better.
One thing I would complain about is the music. Frankly, it sucks — the appeal ends after the first song. I don’t mind experimentation, but they’ve gone beyond that into … well, I’m not even sure what the «musicians» intend. The Local is trying to keep up with the Gate 403 (jazz bar across the street) and failing miserably. Seems like they keep getting the bands the Gate passed up on.
I’d say the Local should stick with what it does best — atmosphere, people, and beer. The good news is you’ll find all that in spades on your next visit.

I’ve been in for dinner a few times and definitely will keep coming back for the Local Vegetarian Burger. As a vegetarian, it’s always a treat to see that someone has crafted a unique and tasty item as their veg option. Their burger is ‘home made’ and uses tofu and black beans as a protein. The rest I think is potato and onion but I am not sure. Anyway, it holds together well, it’s filling, and goes down well with a beverage.

It’s a pub, with live music, beer and deep fried food. The fish and chips were edible, the grilled sweet potato cakes were deep fried and the chef salad was mediocre.
Meh, it’s good for the beer and music and a cool vibe

I’ve been to The Local numerous times over the past year, fortunately for me, it actually is the local bar!
There always seems to be live music, but not always a free seat. A few times, we went to another location due to limited seating, and a few times, we actually got the last table in the house.
I love the local art that is used to decorate the walls. And overall, the red and yellow low-​lite ambiance is pretty chill and a decent place to have a beer in the city.

I went to the local yesterday (11/​11/​2012) after my teams softball game and was greeted by a very friendly waitress who immediately took my team’s order for drinks and offered the specials on the menu. I ordered the «Bombay Poutine» and was going into this meal with rave reviews from my friends and after trying this I was very impressed with it and everything that followed. My drink was always cold never empty and my meal was hot and very delicious. I would very much recommend anyone to come and visit this place if you are looking for a good meal with excellent service for a reasonable price.
Thumbs up :)

Good spot to grab a beer and chat.
The best part about this resto can be summed up in three words: Butter Chicken Poutine

After an overwhelming day at work, I stopped in at The Local for a quick drink to decompress and ended up staying for hours. I immediately took in the quirky nature of the place and felt right at home among the hodgepodge of random photos, pictures, paintings and signs. I also happened to stop by on a gig night, which is always a bonus as supporting local talent is high on my list of things to do after ending global warming.
The Local offers up pub style food and a variety of locally made beers and wine. The beers on tap are also plentiful and range from dark to blonde, much like the residents of Roncey.
I left when it was closing time and have since looked forward to going back to hang out on their patio where I can once again decompress with a beer in one hand, a chicken wing in the other, and the knowing that I just might break out into a happy dance at any moment.

I come here to relax and have a drink with friends — mainly because it’s really close to my house.
The atmosphere is really great, it’s casual, it’s down to earth, and you definitely feel like you’re among friend. And in the summer, they have a nice patio in the back.
Sometimes though, I find the music is a little loud at nights and it’s hard to talk and hear people.
The food is definitely pub food and it gets the job done.

As my husband and I were leaving the Polish Festival, we were hungry despite the fact that there was lots of food that could be bought.
We were looking for some place to chill for a bit so stopped at The Local which was at the north end of the festival.
We sat on the patio out back.
They have a good selection of Ontario craft beer.
I ordered medium wings … they were delicately deep fried and then tossed in medium sauce. They were good.
Gord had haddock and fries. He said it was good, though the batter was a bit soggy. The fries were good.
We’d been there before, though it’s been a while.
It hit the spot.

I just moved to the neighbourhood in January and The Local was one of the first places recommended to me when I got here.
My boyfriend and I have had many date nights at The Local. Complete with the ever so delicious Bombay Poutine. Mouthwatering… bombay poutine. I also am a big fan of their balsamic dijon salad dressing.
I have taken friends here, gone with groups of friends, and everytime I always have an amazing time. It’s a great atmosphere. Always friendly, a new favorite in my books.
Get there early if you don’t want to sit next to the stage! It gets kind of loud.

Three years ago I would have contested that this local watering hole had the best pierogies in town. Alas, those days are long gone as it’s been dish after dish of dull, unspired imitations of flavours past.
A cozy, inviting pub that with a friendly staff that fills up quickly especially on weekends. Unfortunately my review of The Local has been soured by my last visit. Our waiter was so imcompetent or either really disinterested that any request, be it a menu or another drink would result in him disappearing for half the night.
The basket of chicken wings that we ordered could be best described as being forgettable if it wasn’t for the fact it was dumped on top my fries with little regard. Absolute mess.
Still a great place to grab a drink but I have to issue a personal temporary ban when it comes to ordering some grub.

I’d come here to hang out and listen to music. It’s a nice pub. We went for dinner one Wednesday night though and finished out meal before the live music started unfortunately. Food was fine, mediocre, nothing to write about. We shared four items: the perogie platter, curry chips, bangers and mash, and the Irish stew. My least favorite was the Irish stew — it had lots of good ingredients and nice big cuts of meat and potatoes, but the broth was somewhat flavorless.

Went here for brunch today (the other times I’ve been there have been for dinner) and felt that the portions would appropriately sized but, considering that it was 1:30pm, it was not the freshes brunch meal around.
I had the classic breakfast for $ 9. The potatoes were made in the style of rosti (which I normally love because they get extra crispy) but they tasted of old oil. And the coffee was def. not up to snuff for the coffee-​snob I am. In fact, since I have been recently travelling, the coffee tasted exactly like the coffee hotels give you for the in-​room coffee machine.
The sausage I got was excellent though — not your typical tiny breakfast sausage but something you would want to put into a hotdog bun. Very flavourful too. The eggs were good too.
Their brunch menu is small but in a pinch I would go back — just earlier in the day. (And I would get coffee elsewhere afterwards.) Or I would stick to them for dinner.

In a neighbourhood flooded with pubs, The Local stands out as the cuter, friendlier choice. It’s a smaller, more intimate pub with very friendly staff. The bar is set up nicely for live music with plenty of small tables hugging the floor-​level stage. If you’re on a date, I’d skip the darker tables inside and head out back to the brighter, greenery-​covered back patio, which has a more relaxed vibe than inside.
Most of the menu is British-​style pub food (burgers and fish ‘n chips), but there are a surprising number of vegetarian options, especially salads — roasted beet and cashew salad, pear, walnut and goat cheese salad, and a local salad that changes daily — tonight’s had asparagus. Salad-​hating vegetarians (do they exist?) may also enjoy edemame or hummus appetizers, quesadillas, or their homemade veggie burger.
Love the vibe. The food is just okay. Nice selection of local beers is even better.