Barque Butcher Bar

I really want to be providing a gleaming referral of an amazing experience. But… I left rather disappointed after my trip here. Based on my experience versus the other reviews below, seems like it’s best to stick to the ribs and chicken wings. The thing is I love sandwiches, and their pulled pork sandwich isn’t even making the my official Top 15 pulled pork sandwiches in the city.
The pork itself was okay, and I liked that there was a couple of big chunks of pork in along with the stringier pulled bits, but the sauce wasn’t really anything impressive and the coleslaw on top actually didn’t seem complimentary to its flavours. Worst yet, they bun it was served on was super dry and over toasted. And just to round out the mediocrity of the plate, the fries also seemed over cooked and way too crispy and lacking flavour, aside from being over salted.
The beers are St Ambroise brands at a 14oz pour for $ 7. I understand switching from 20oz pours to 16oz (after all, a lot of brewers even provide custom glassware which is 16oz), and I understand smaller glasses when the ABV is above 8%, but serving 5% ABV beers at 14oz will always grind my gears.
I’m going to put this on my «second chances list» and come back again as I feel like sandwiches just aren’t the right choice here. I feel like they can redeem their 2 star experience, but I’ll likely be doing it on a Thursday for All You Can Eat Chicken Wings or Sundays All You Can Eat Rib nights where my dollar will be a little more stretched out to make me not care about 14oz beers.

Since Barque Smokehouse was super busy on a Saturday night, we decided to go to their Butcher Bar. My girlfriends and I shared the BBQ pulled pork sandwich, 10 Bama baby back ribs, fries, brisket poutine, Cool Ranchish salad. First time venturing here and I found everything was flippin’ good! The hickory sticks on top of the salad added a really tasty touch to it. The ribs were made perfectly — tender and not too saucy. Like their generous bucket of napkins and Barque wet naps to clean ourselves up after our messy meal. Also need to mention the wonderful service! The guys were very accommodating and attentive to us. The ambiance was very casual dining experience with music and TV for entertainment but it wasn’t blaring in the background so we didn’t need to scream across the table to have a conversation. Definitely will come back again! :D

Wanna eat delicious BBQ without having to wait for a table nor shout at your friend’s face while you’re eating? Walk four stores down from Barque Smokehouse, to their sibling store, Barque Butcher Bar.
I’ve made four visits in the past two months and I’ve been 100% satisfied with each visit.
Mind you that I’ve only ever had their smoked wings and smoked ribs, but in all honesty, that really should be the primary reason for going. It’s EXTREMELY RARE to find a place that will do smoked wings and ribs. Because, well, it’s expensive and time-​consuming. So if you can find a place (*cough* Butcher *cough* Bar) that serves smoked wings and ribs, it’s worth the trip because the flavour of smoked meat trumps all other respective meats.
After that, it comes down to what sauce flavours to order. I’ve tried nearly all of their sauces and dry rubs, and my top 3 are the following:
1. ‘Bama (classic bbq sauce, but it works SO well with the smoked flavour of the meat)
2. Bulgogi (a spicy Korean rendition, with sesame seeds and green onion)
3. Sweet Chili (just the right amount of chili, without making it inedible)
Surprisingly, I wasn’t too crazy about their dry-​rubs. Most of them had a bit of a citrus flavour that I didn’t find went well with the smoked meat. And I found that all of the dry-​rubs were too salty in general.
I would HIGHLY recommend taking advantage of their all-​you-​can-​eat smoked wings on Thursday nights, and all-​you-​can-​eat smoked ribs on Sunday nights. This way you can sample all the sauce and dry-​rub flavours to figure out which ones work best for you. And you simply can’t beat $ 19 all-​you-​can-​eat smoked wings/​ribs (also comes with complimentary side of fresh cut fries). I dare anyone to find a better smoked wings/​ribs deal in the city!
As for beverages, I’ve enjoyed every drink I’ve had so far:
1. Smoke and Choke (bourbon with liquid smoke, which tasted like a delicious peaty scotch with a bit of sweetness from orange zest and maple syrup)
2. Barque ‘n Stormy (surprisingly refreshing, with real slices of ginger root!)
3. Chupacabra (sweet, fruity, and refreshing; a delicious summer drink)
Overall, this is one of my new fave places to eat in the city, and it’s now my default place to go for wings and ribs.

Definitely skip the brisket dipper sandwich and go for the wings instead. These ain’t pub wings… I hear they’re sourced locally rather than imported in huge quantity from overseas (like most pub wings are) and boy, it shows. Perfectly rendered skin covers juicy, flavourful chicken… these wings are not too big, not too small… right in the sweet spot. They also have a variety of sauces and dry rubs to choose from. Personally I thought the dry-​rubbed versions such as BBQ Za’atar or Cajun were amazeballs.
Tip: Thursday is all-​you-​can-​eat wing night for $ 19.
Fries were also well above average.
Wash it all down with a St Ambroise cream ale and you got yourself a tasty lil’ meal right there.

Little know fact of this place. They have all you can eat ribs on Sunday. And it is the best all you can eat ribs I have had. The Hossin BBQ is the best in my option. But if you plan it right go with 4 people and you can pretty much try it all. The staff was very friendly and gave some great recommendation. One note: stir your coke or it does not taste right.

I was on my way to the original Barque with a friend. I warned him the wait would probably be super long and if it was we could go somewhere else (Pizzeria Defina came to mind), but then on the way to the original Barque I saw this new Barque! So shiny, smelled like smokey deliciousness. It was almost completely empty, just one other table. Score!
It was an afternoon on the weekend. They had a special on: $ 10 for a pint of beer and either wings or ribs. We each got that deal, getting one of each.
SO GOOD! And so cheap! $ 10 for a beer and some delicious smokey meat was a great deal. I was happy with the beer and the meat. I had an oatmeal stout, and I still remember it it was so good. The wings and ribs were extremely delicious. Probably my favourite in the city. I am salivating while writing this and it makes me wanna go there now. If I could rate this place higher than 5 I would.
I daydream about this place. Definitely go if you like Barque but hate the wait and noise. It’s the same tasty smokey goodness in a new location next door, with a more casual atmosphere. Less seating and it has a store front where they sell rubs. I may try some next time.

At first glance, this place is confusing
Is this a bar from the guys who created the restaurant that anchored the modern Roncesvalles community like Drake café? Is this an artisinal premarinated butcher shop, competing with Custodios and Rowe farms? Nope
In fact, Barque Butcher Bar is an innovative BBQ community, a one stop shop for improving your grilling game while drinking – at least that is the intent. It seems accessible to almost any level BBQ skill, though I am the kind of reviewer who finds pure joy in the charcoal and wood room at Ontario Gas Barbecue.
Here’s how it works, at least for me:
1. Get a drink and talk BBQ. Make a plan. Choose a meat and a timeframe.
In my case, I sipped on a tasty Korean sake and chose a brined chicken to indirect grill with fingerling potatoes the same evening.
(Much of meat is brined, not pre-​marinated, though I had no idea about that with the lack of signage)
2. Decide on a premade rub… or better yet grab another drink, and with guidance from the Dave or one of the other staff, make your own rub
Rub creation happens at the bar and spice rack across from the butcher area. (Again there has been a real signage problem here. I spoke with several people who have been to BBB and no one had noticed the rub making area)
For me, this was the completely awesome part. I have been making recipe-​guided rubs for a long time, but Dave explained his concept of how to structure a rub starting with a salt-​sugar base. Instead of my usual time consuming process of looking through a Raichlen book and hunting down spices in oversize containers, you can just get it done. All of the spices are available in small containers for $ 1, and there are many that most of us do not have in the kitchen. A good example, is Aleppo which I am now addicted to on popcorn.
All in, I left BBB with dinner for 3 and my drink for under $ 30.
It’s true that the signage is confusing or nonexistent – I would bet that vast majority of customers don’t know that you can make your own rub. BBB is innovation in progress, but like Ontario Gas BBQ, a place that can Toronto on the global grilling map.
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But of course the in-​store experience is just the first part. According to my partner, who is not easy to please in this department, the chicken roasted on top of the potatoes in our Big Green Egg was better that Barque’s chicken: I’m sure the innovators behind BBB would be delighted to hear that.

We had a reservation for the Barque Smokehouse but were a bit early, so the Maitre d’ suggested we get a drink at their sister restaurant next door, the Butcher Bar. So that’s what we did.
I can only speak of the cocktails and of the service, and both were great. The menu was pretty interesting, I would definitely go back for the food. Since the Smokehouse was really awesome, I wouldn’t have any doubts for this place.
Definately a nice find in the Roncesvalles Village area :)

If Barque is busy, you’ll likely be suggested to wait here for your table. If you’re not particularly starving and want a drink, you should just stick around.
Barque butcher bar is also a full scale butcher shop and likely bigger inside than it’s restaurant counterpart. It’s a lot less busy, the staff is super chill and they have an extensive liquor shelf that includes hooch (moonshine baby!). Cocktails are on point.
The menu is isolated to more snack and sharing items, but they carry stuff that Barque actually doesn’t serve yet like the chorizo ribs. I suggest the cod and crispy rice if you want to mix it up. Did I mention it’s open until 2am everyday?

Tucked away in Roncy this bar is worth the hike.
Butcher bar has a huge selection of Hooch and whiskeys.
The bartender was very knowledgeable and was happy to explain the process of how many liquors are made.
Cocktails list is definitely interesting and different. I really liked their Sake sour.
The food here was a la par with their sister restaurant Barque. The Chorizo ribs were amazing and so was the Venison tartare.
Cool spot for a couple of Sunday drinks.