OddFellows

A weird but interesting place is OddFellows. It’s a unique place because there’s only one table in the restaurant. It’s one huge long table, and your group could be sitting next to strangers. It’s fun, but the atmosphere is a little dark. The food is pretty good and they have some good imported and old beers. The bison burger there is amazing and generally, it’s pretty cheap too. It’s a nice place to go if you are going out on Queen Street for drinks after. I think it’s a good place for groups, but the service is pretty bad. But me an my friends go back just for the bison burger. I would make a reservation if possible, but it’s not usually that busy. I heard a rumour that they were moving, so call before you go.

Even with a late dinner reservation, our party of 7 still had to wait a bit for room at the table, (and there was one group that hadn’t finished eating when we arrived and loitered for at least an hour after!) but other than that, the place was great.
I had been to Oddfellows once before and remembered it being good, but this time the food was even better. Delicious appetizer of pork belly (big enough to share — lots of food!), and I followed with the brisket burger which was OMFG good. Really tender and generous, I couldn’t finish, and not for lack of trying,
Wine was good, service was nice and friendly. The place has a cool eclectic vibe, from the staff, to the décor and menu, to the other patrons. It’s an interesting place to have a very tasty meal. Go hungry.

Excellent food, with a number of vegetarian options on the menu (oh, the tempeh stew – perfect for a cold night!). Don’t sit at the far end of the table, though – with all the beautiful windows in this place, it can get pretty drafty, so the further you are from the fireplace, the colder it is.
The close quarters make it easy to chat up people you don’t know, but when the place is full, it’s hard to carry on a conversation – it’s easier to hear the stranger seated next to you than your date across the table! On the other hand, having friendly strangers next to you does make it easy to ditch a date that’s going badly (not that I’d do that! Just, you know, it’s an option.)

I first tried this place in 2008 when it first opened and I was floored. The friendly atmosphere created by the long harvest table, and the simple yet sophisticated gasto-​cuisine created the perfect meal. It was also a great cross section of people — the post-​work office crowd, local artsies, and older clientele. At that first visit I had their Buffalo meatloaf which was truly bliss on that cold March night.
Summer brunch at OF was also quite good — their Breakfast for Two was a tad spicy, and very large, but on a lazy Sunday, with a couple of cups of coffee’s, it’s a great way to spend an hour on.
That being said, even though my first couple of visits were stellar, I recently went back to see that the restaurant may have lost its way. On this occasion, inspite of my reservation, I had to wait 20 minutes for my seats to free-​up, and was also ushered out around the 1.5 hour mark even though we were still on our mains (the kitchen was EXTREMELY slow). The food was also average and unimpressive, which capped off some minor changes to their menu items (for the worse). I’m willing to give this place another chance, maybe on a less volatile evening (it was very busy, I’ll give them that), but I really hope that they’re not trying to rest on their laurels too much.

The perfect place for a fall date!
I’d been in the summer and remember enjoying the steak tartare and mussels — clearly I’d forgotten (or not taken advantage of) the beautiful contemporary fireplace that hangs from the ceiling… or the long communal table and stemless wine glasses (stems are so fou-​fou sometimes no?)
We started with the fried pork belly and kimchi and it was just as good as it sounds. My date called his burger ‘the best he’s ever had’, I had some fish which I didn’t especially like, but that has not tarnished my opinion of this place in the slightest… sometimes you order the wrong thing… and sometimes your date orders something so spectacular that it makes anything and everything else pale in comparrison…
Still must make a point to try brunch.

Brunch Review. Went with Wendy H.
Delicious food between 9 – 15 dollars.
Expect a great brunch, fun mugs, hipsters, and everyone sits at one table. Be comfortable with sitting next to strangers.
I enjoyed the atmosphere, the food, the brightness. I ate, and then get the hell outta dodge when the über hipsters arrived, making me feel like a suit.
go. enjoy. report back.

The last few times I’ve brought friends here I’ve been a bit embarrassed by my own advance raves of the place. Inattentive, elitist «all my friends hang out here so I’ll serve them first» attitudes are cute at first glance, but get boring after a few visits. The last three times I’ve eaten here they were out of everything I wanted to order — alcohol, dinner and dessert. Worth a visit, but beware the attitude.

Dale M: I’ll take a Delirium or whatever’s on tap.
They were out of Delirium and the tap for Erdinger was broken. He had to settle for a tall boy of Steigl which was served in its can.
Kat F: I’ll have a spiked lemonade. I know they have that.
Nope.
Kat F: OK, then, I’ll have a Hendrick’s and grapefruit.
Denied again. No Hendrick’s, just Bombay gin.
At this point, I wasn’t even going to be picky. I settled for whatever vodka they had plus an over-​dousing of tonic water.
Later on, Kat F’s attempt to order a brownie sundae also proved futile.
Do Oddfellows and Prohibition in Leslieville share the same slacker inventory manager? I want to like these places but it’s frustrating when they keep running out of stuff.
We finished our drinks and left quickly before the DJ put on another Merle Haggard record.
Still, I might go back for their $ 15-​AYCE-​wings night* on Sunday. That is, if they don’t run out of food.
*Actually, call the restaurant to find out what they’re serving for their AYCE nights. Their website is not updated.

After a afternoon of slinging back tall cans with friends in Trinity Bellwoods park on a hot summer day, naturally we were looking for food to absorb all the booze. Oddfellows was suggested by a friend and we were sold.
The place is cozy and i love the minimalistic décor with a few choice pieces around the place. I love the communal cafeteria style table right in the middle of the room. That being said you might have to wait a while on a busy night due to the small amount of seats.
On to the food… I ordered the Vegan Stew. It was hands down one of the tastiest meals I had in my life. I had to refrain myself from licking the bowl. The menu itself will please anyone. My friends ordered the quail, the tempeh club and the pork butt. There was a really good variety of food for everyone.
The service was good, they played good punk rock music which prompted a couple of quiet singalongs. The only draw back is that is some of the meals were on the pricey side, but it’s well worth saving up and treating your tummy to some good good food.

On my second visit here, I have to say that the overall «experience» here actually dragged OddFellows’ rating down to a measly 3 stars. It is a happy median between 4-​star quality food, but 2-​star everything else.
By «everything else», I mean service, overheating your customers, and a general snootiness that I guess comes with Castor territory. We called about 5 days in advance to book a table for that Friday evening, and they informed us that had to make up our mind about the precise number of seats (we told them 6 for sure, possible 7), otherwise we were out of luck. Hm, okay… Apparently they were to be so busy that not a single chair could go wasted. Also, we were informed that we could only stay until 9 pm. Um, fine.
Upon our arrival we were surprised to see that we were the only ones at the table (there were a couple of people out on the patio), and to our dismay, despite the scorching weather, there was no AC, not even a fan in sight. It was so hot that we all sweated through the entire meal, and one of our party even had to go out and get air to keep from passing out. For the two hours that we were there the entire row of tables remained empty, save for a couple people who sauntered in, only to saunter back out (heat? kicked out because they didn’t have reservations?). After all that reservation hubbub, it looked like it was all much ado about nothing.
Service — not friendly, but we were serviced well enough. My friend did request salad dressing on the side, which didn’t happen. A small slip-​up.
Food, on the other hand, is excellent (albeit a little pricey for what it is). I enjoyed the tempeh sandwich (huge! enough for two people), which normally comes with a side of fries, but they obliged to my ½ fries-​½ salad request. Yes, I’m one of those people. Delicious, and to my surprise, the salad was perhaps the star of the dish. Dressed with what seemed to be dried blueberries, among other goodies, the salad was outstanding, summery, and unique.
I’ve heard great things about their brunch, perhaps it may be busier which could help with the atmosphere. And if only they could just get over themselves.

Oddfellows: Good drinks, good music and good vibes.
I stumbled upon OddFellows during a midnight jaunt along Queen Street West and was pleasantly surprised to find a bar in Toronto with a very

Erdinger and Delirium — those are your options you will get when you ask what’s on tap at Oddfellows. If you care about stuff like that, you will also be delighted that they are each served in their appropriate extra tall or pink elephant adorned glasses.
As with the drinks, the food menu has obviously also been carefully curated. I had the calamari ($ 8.95) which came on a darling dish served with capers. It was on the saltier than normal side and wouldn’t have been enough to share as a starter, but was perfect for nibbling in between sips of my gigantic wheat beer.
The long communal table is interesting to sit at, but makes for segregated conversations if you come with a larger group. I’ve heard that the minimalist layout serves as a great casual venue for drinks come the night.

The most interesting restaurant in the city.
Simply gorgeous modern interior design. Topped by a spendld chandelier over the bar They wouldn’t have to serve any food and the place would still be worth going to.
Communal tables. A hodgepodge of interesting people from interesting places. A constantly changing social environment. Young. Hip. Unpretentious.
A unique menu with plenty of surprises. Venison. Wild Boar. Solent Green. Grilled Cheese. Milk. Seriously.
Erdinger on tap.
A wonderful staff.
No sign.
Don’t tell everybody. Let’s try to keep this place quiet.