The 420 Smokehouse

One of the best wings that I have ever eat. The jerk sauce gives it a good kick, spicy and succulent. Slaw was pretty good as well.

Um… it was not bad. Went here for dinner on a Friday night with a small # of people. The food was good and the whole experience was just ok.
Food: 3/​5, I got the pulled pork sandwich because the smoked meat doesn’t come with fries. We also got the nachos which were pretty good.
Service: 2/​5, this was meh since the waitress didn’t know much and kept making mistakes like bringing wrong sides on food, and unable to tell us stuff on the menu
Ambiance: 2/​5, it’s dark and not the best seating for a mid-​level restaurant.
Price: 2/​5, about $ 20+ per person and near parliament which is… Meh

Went for dinner on Sunday. Atmosphere was warm and welcoming. We were greeted and told we could grab a seat anywhere. The window bench at the front had colourful throw cushions and welcomed us with open arms. Our server was incredibly nice and knowledgeable. I had the ¼ Chicken/​Rib smoked special with mash and sauted kale upon recommendation and was not disappointed. My friend had the Mac & Cheese with the chicken wings. The M&C was incredible as were the wings… they disappeared fairly quickly. I would certainly recommend this restaurant.

Hungry going in, hungry going out.
Service: ⁰⁄₅
We were sited promptly at arrival, upon ordering, we were told that smoke meat and reuben sandwich was not available for ordering. So going to a smoke meat place without smoke meat is like going to wings place without wings. Why brother even open for business if your main item is not available?
We placed our order, meat sampler dinner for two, which was supposed to be a taster of the best item offered by the restaurant. The description of the dish was 4 wings, 4 rib, 4 oz of smoke meat and 4 oz of pull pork, served with rye bread.
What we were served almost 45 minutes later is: 8 piece of wings, 4 piece of ribs, 4 oz of pull pork, and some loaf breads.
We were never notify of the substitution or let us know there was a delay, and was sitting there hungry awaits for our food while other tables are being served.
The waitress avoid eye contact with us after putting down the dish and never asked how the food was.
Food: ⁰⁄₅
Let’s start with wings, when we bite on it, it felt very dry, and there is no tenderness or juiciness you normally associated with wings.
Ribs, it’s so hard to chew that it’s like rubber. Do not associate this with your typical fall-​off-​the-​bone-​smoked-​rib.
Pull Pork, it’s okay-​ish, nothing spectacular.
Smoke meat, never get to try it, they either ran out or never made it for the night. Which is kind of odd for a Friday evening to go without your signature item.
Rye Bread, loaf bread was substituted instead, and there is not enough meat to eat with as we were not served with smoke meat. (Plus finger mark left on the bread as well)
Conclusion: ⁰⁄₅
We ate what we could (we couldn’t finish the rib because it’s too hard to chew on, and bread because there is no meat or stuffing to go with) and wrote a message to waitress describing what was wrong. Obviously they know we’re not happy with what was served as we saw staff had discussions behind the scene looking at us. However, no offer was made as a gesture or apology. Defintely not coming back or recommending anyone. to come back.
End up going back home to make noodle as potion of food was not for 2, more like 1 and half person. And angry that we wasted a night out eating disappointing food.

Excellent portions, great quality, and overall very happy! Well worth a visit when in Cabbage-​Town.

My friends and I meet up at various restaurants once a month to regroup and catch up. This months venue was 420 Smokehouse. Don’t let the name fool you. This has nothing to do with marijuana and is not based off of an Amsterdam ‘coffee shop’. This is a legit BBQ Smokehouse.
My fiancé and I decided to try the best of everything by getting the 2 person meat platter. It came with pulled pork, smoked meat, ribs, southern fried chicken wings, fries and bread. It was delicious! The flavor from the smoker made a huge difference. It gave all the meat a tender and juicy flavor. Our friends also got the ribs, pulled porked sandwich and the smoked meat sandwich… there weren’t even crumbs left on the plate!
Our server was genuinely kind and made sure a beer cup never went empty.
Would definitely recommend this place to others!

First time we went there, Saturday noon, place was empty
But is nice and cozy. Nice waitress, very pleasent and chatty she even mention she was new and was not fully familiar with the menu but if we have any questions she will be happy to check with the kitchen! Extra point for the Smoke house.
I ordered the turkey smocked club with a side of poutine.
The side was a very good portion and the gravy and cheese were really nice.
Sandwich ohhh dear what a disapointment, made out of 3 slices of toasted wonder whole weat bread, smoked deli turkey, lettuce tomatoe, butter and in the bottom more butter lettuce tomatoe and bacon, I could feel some smokines in tye meat but overall, no taste and tye bread super dry.
Hubby got the benedict eggs with smoked pork on waffles. He said Eggs were not poached they were cooked over easy, the meat and waffles were very nice but not together did not work bcs both were sweet, so it made the whole thing really really sweet. The hollaindese was really good.
We were expecting more from this place for the food and price, service is nice oh yes and the washrooms are beautiful. Oh well there is still more places to visit in cabbadge town :(.

The food is pretty great… Service not so great. It’s a local place and caters to its local clients but if your not one of those… Be ready for a loud waiter who doesn’t hear well and assumes what you said. Sad cause I would go back otherwise. Manage your service expectations and you’ll be fine. Place is charming and cozy.

All home made and a log burning smoker on the premises, hence the smokey smell coming in
So I had the smoked Wings with the dry rub and the crispy skin and moist insides with that real smokiness flavor was just awesome
Fries were done just right
Now they had the best coleslaw I have had in a long long time and they are home made.
The rest of the crew enjoyed their smoked burgers with a wonderful kale n cranberry jam side
So yeah very authentic and smoked for real which will satisfy the discriminating purist.
If I am gonna go for bbq then I want the real sh#t and these guys have it in spades st Louis style
Blown away by the oh Henry dessert with home made peanut butter ice cream… so so good
Now for 420 fan club you may wish to partake the herbal religion at Hot Box in Kensington cuz this ain’t the place but there is an alleyway beside the restaurant to discreetly light up among the homeless guys
Only regret is the soul town motown soundtrack background music… not a fan… so that begs the question? What’s appropriate bbq music? SOUTHERN ROCK oh Yeah

Solid BBQ options with yummy sides, really delicious brunch, and very friendly wait staff. The coffee could’ve been better but with enough coffee options down the street I won’t fault them for that. Will definitely be back.

I wish I could make up the name to this place, I mean the pot-​humor basically writes itself, Cheech and Chong couldn’t have come up with a better name themselves. That is to say if these guys got the reference (shocked look on my face). I mean you hear the name and you would THINK this is basically a head shop where you can buy bongs and other smoking supplies… nope, it’s a BBQ joint (rim shot).
If I had a business at 420 Any street there isn’t a smokers chance in a marathon that I wouldn’t make it all about pot culture or at the very least something that is an ode to Bill and Ted, Cheech and Chong and Bob Marley. Nope this spot had to go ahead and be a swanky little bar/​BBQ smoke-​shop. Dammit, nd what’s worse? It’s incredible. It’s actually amazing how few reviews they have when they’re food speaks such huge volumes, then again they’re on the east end of the city in an area vastly under explored in my opinion.
Another easy idea would be to have a restaurant all about typical munchies that stoners want to eat and have it at a 420 address. I mean come on! Nope, this place just HAD to be different and make some of the best BBQ in the city. The four of us shared in a massive rack of ribs that claimed to be St. Louis in style (a bit of citrus and very sticky sweet). It was too big for a started, a side or anything really, just huge! I figured for my main I would go the «healthier» route and have a ½ smoked chicken with kale greens and corn bread. I figured the chicken would be swiss chalet in size, wrong again, this one half was the equivalent of 1 whole BBQ chicken from costco. Unlike the costco version 420 offers a succulent meaty bird with very few bones, almost non-​existent in fact. I cut into the chicken and juice popped out like I had burst a water balloon! The seasoning and smokey flavour had penetrated deep into the meat and for once I didn’t need a drop of sauce to moisten my bird.
The only drawback to this spot was their bar was a bit lacking in my opinion. They had a fair variety of craft beers but when I asked to see a cocktail menu the server looked stumped. She said «like a caesar or a rum and coke». How can you be a restaurant in Toronto right now and not only not have classic cocktails (old Fashioned, Manhattan, martini, etc) but not even know what they are? Egad folks!
Drink faux pas aside, I was wrong about a lot of things I presumed about 420 Smokehouse. More wrong than I’ve been in awhile — I couldn’t be happier to be wrong
Eatcrest Out!

Loved this place! Very cool comfortable atmosphere with great food!
Very reasonably priced menu — for drinks and food — especially by Toronto standards
Tried the Smoked Caesar cocktail which was abit of a risk that unfortunately did not pay off. Not for me… Barman was very knowledgable about all drinks so I easily swapped for a craft beer which was more to my tastes.
Very large portion sizes which was slightly intimidating, especially when the waiter didn’t appear to believe me that I actually did really enjoy my meal!
Overall enjoyable experience — will definitely be returning!

Came here for brunch on a Saturday at around 11:30am and the place was empty. Our service was polite, if a little bit slow.
We started with some of the spiked drinks ($ 6.50 each). We tried the Ski Jump, which is hot chocolate with Peppermint Schnapps and Frangelico, except they were out of Frangelico so we had it with just peppermint. It was okay. Very sweet. We also tried the Spanish coffee (with Kahlua and Brandy) and the Irish coffee (with Irish whiskey and Irish Mist). Both were strong, and were topped with a generous serving of whipped cream and shavings of chocolate.
I ordered the smoked chicken and waffles ($ 12), which was not very impressive. The plate had two large waffles and two pieces of breaded chicken breast. The serving was large, but the chicken was kind of dry and uninspired. It was also a bit disappointed that it was all white meat, as I was hoping for some dark meat (though this may be a little bit my fault, since I didn’t ask).
One of my friends ordered the Breakfast Burger ($ 12), which is a 4 oz. beef patty with bacon, cheddar cheese, a fried egg, and homefries. He enjoyed it, and actually couldn’t even finish all of it.
My husband ordered the «420 Breakfast» which includes 2 eggs any style (he had them poached), with bacon, lightly smoked sausage, home fries & toast ($ 11). The eggs came out a big soft for him, but everything else was fine.
My other friend ordered the smoked meat poutine (large, for $ 15). This was okay overall. The smoked meat was DELICIOUS, but everyone felt that there was a distinct lack of cheese, and the fries seemed to have been tossed in gravy a while before serving, since they were not very crispy. There also wasn’t as much gravy as we were hoping there would be.
The little bits of smoked in the poutine were so good though, I asked if I could order a plate of this alone. Our waiter asked the kitchen and then told me that a plate would be $ 8, which was fine by me. It was delicious. Fatty, full bodied smokey flavor that just melted in the mouth. Perfection. This was the best part of the meal.
The overall meal was just average, but the smoked meat is delicious. I probably would only come back for the meat, but I don’t think I’d do brunch here again.
Other things to note: They do have free wifi. Also street parking was fairly easy to find. And the bathroom is clean.

Love their wings. On the nights that they have special smoked oysters, that’s a must too.
Over all, the food is really good. Lots of flavours. Some dishes however on the menu are a low in value however — octopus, kale salad, being examples of that. On the other had, their wings, ribs, chickens are phenomenal.

Incredible food, great prices. Wednesday is rib night – a half rack of ribs is $ 15 with fries/​coleslaw, plus pints and glasses of the house wine are $ 5. (Unfortunately, they don’t let you swap the sides for any of the others on the menu when you order the special.) Still worth it, especially given how delicious the ribs are.
Service was great – the food came fast, and when my dining companion and I seemed to be done, our server delivered takeout boxes without us even having to ask for them, but there was no pressure to pay up and leave at all. In fact, we sat at our empty table for ages after we ate with no pressure to turn over the table at all.
I asked to hear the dessert list and almost couldn’t choose from the list of house-​made desserts. I settled on the «Oh my Henry», a scoop of house-​made peanut butter ice cream served alongside a slab of chocolate mousse drizzled with salted caramel and roasted peanuts. Absolutely incredible – I’m still thinking about it!
The crowd at the bar was friendly and welcoming, too – I showed up a bit earlier than my friend, but the four people at the bar (all of whom seemed like regulars) chatted with me easily, so the wait didn’t feel like a big deal at all.
Definitely worth a return visit. (Maybe several.)

I have wanted to try this place for quite some time now and finally got the opportunity to try it. I would give this place 4.5 stars.
The only complaint I had was that the food took longer than expected, especially considering there were only a couple of tables without food (including us). I know the menu warns you about a 20min wait for the ribs, but we waited longer than that.
I’m sure you want to hear about the good stuff now though!
The food was excellent. The southern fried chicken wings were large, tender and juicy. You could really taste the smokeyness. The fries were amazing, so crispy and fresh. The mac and cheese was also great. I loved the panko crust. My date and I shared a large for a starter and it was huge. We probably could have shared a small. My friend got the dry ribs which looked really juicy. I will probably get them next time. I also like how you can have a dry or sauced version of the ribs. I prefer dry but my friend likes saucy. The jalapeño cornbread was great (just a hint of jalapeño, and not spicy which I like) and I liked that it came with melted butter. While I enjoyed the burger, there were other things on the menu that were much better.
The prices were really good too, especially for the portion sizes. Just the right amount. The décor was pretty and spacious.

What a delight to have brunch here. I had their 420 signature burger (see photo) and can’t rave enough about it. The meat was juicy, the fried egg was perfect, and the bun was fresh. The hashvrowns were OK, but to finish it off, the sliced honeydew was a bonus to cleanse your palette. Large and spacious although no patio. Located in the heart of Cabbagetown, it’s really a «secret garden» waiting to be found. Come for brunch. This place deserves your attention.

So there is a place at No. 420 Parliament Street called 420 Smokehouse. Great idea. Blaze up…
…the grill, that is. As intriguing and attractive the punny name may be, it does sound misleading as 420 Smokehouse isn’t smokin’ filled with foodie hipsters nor hip décor, nor crazy top chef-​grade cooking that attracts foodies like a 420 rally attracts stoned activists. That is because 420 Smokehouse is more like a family diner than Toronto’s newest must-​try smoked meat house. The simple décor speaks to its accessible appeal; it does not scream damn-​right Texan barbecue house like it would elsewhere.
Which is not a bad thing. I wouldn’t want a lineup of carnivorous foodies running along to the laneway here. But at the same time, I wouldn’t want people to not know there is good food here at this end of Cabbagetown. As I have experienced, 420 is as welcoming to a family dinner sitdown as it is to a small group of soccer fans at their bar, staring with intensity at the TV, screaming, «No No! Ronaldo, Ronaldo! Get the ball in! Get it out of there! Yes, GOOOOOOOLLL! Yes yes!,» beside a family trying to quietly enjoy a meal. I guess we were the bratty kids at the diner. (By the way, go Deutschland!)
An 8oz burger patty is pretty big, and for $ 12, you can indulge in their «420 burger,» a well-​charred chunk of big beef goodness topped with bacon strips. I enjoyed it much, even in the simplicity of its clean appearance.
As the name implies, 420 specialize in smoking anything that moves. (Haha.) Their menu isn’t limited to just beef, chicken wings and ribs, though their chicken dinner sure looks good, and they also have a $ 18-​ish chicken and ribs special. Jerked pickerel sounded intriguing to my friend («Smoked and fried pickerel is awesome, but jerked? Gotta try that!»). They didn’t have the pickerel that night, sadly, so he opted for pulled pork sandwich ($ 12) instead. He was quite impressed by the flavor.
Service is generally pleasant, though could use more tweaking to escape the new restaurant jitters. They will own up to their mistakes from what I have seen; these two guys beside me got free drinks for their not-​thoroughly cooked chickens. All in all, this is a decent addition to Cabbagetown, an area that could use a few more great eateries. Just hope nobody here takes the name literally.

I feel like writing a review for this place is like letting out the local secret. As much as I don’t want a huge line-​up of hipsters clogging up my new favourite joint, I think that they really deserve the acknowledgement. This is a much welcomed attention to Cabbagetown.
On this one particular day that we went to try 420 Smokehouse they had a barbecue setup outside and were giving away free samples! On Sunday night they had a special for ribs and chicken and a side. I thought that sounded like a bit much so I opted for the $ 12 pulled pork sandwich. It was the best pulled pork sandwich I’ve ever had and even the fries were impressive. I don’t usually have high expectations for the fries, but damn, don’t hesitate to get the fries.
My date got the rib and chicken special and it was a decent portion but not ginormous as I had expected. The special came with a dessert that he generously shared with me. It looked like a chocolate bar, and it was divine. I’m not a huge sweets fan, but yes thumbs up to the dessert too, which again really impressed me for it being a barbecue restaurant.
I saw that they had a brunch menu, and I came back for take-​out brunch. Had the waffles, eggs benedict with pulled pork and maple syrup. I had friendly service both times.

Just to clarify for all of you who may have googled 420… this is a restaurant, and only a restaurant with a street number of 420. I’m not even sure they owners are aware of the double entendre. ;)
Ok, so I really wanted to like this place and was quite excited to try it, but I just had my first meal here and left feeling a bit disappointed. I’m being generous with 3 stars as this place is still fairly new, and I want to give them a chance. The food was quite a mixed bag.
The FOOD (2.5 stars): Between my friend and I we got a nice assortment of offerings:
***420 Smoked Meat Sandwich ($ 12): The sandwich on the whole was fairly successful in terms of the smoked meat itself with a nice bit of whole grain mustard. The bread, however, was not up to the challenge… the plain white bread instantly began falling apart. This needs a heartier bread to contain it. Unfortunately, the side of coleslaw was utterly inedible. A violent salt explosion seemed to have taken place in the kitchen resulting in the saltiest thing I’ve ever had on a plate in a restaurant. I pointed it out to the server who went back and tasted it and agreed.
***Pulled Pork Sandwich ($ 12): The pulled pork was pretty average. On its own it was rather bland without any BBQ sauce… also lukewarm in temperature. The BBQ sauce on offer seems to be Hoisin sauce straight out of a jar (as sickly sweet as it is) perhaps spiced up with just a little bit of added heat. The combo of BBQ sauce and pork was edible, but my friend didn’t enjoy it much.
***Jalapeño Corn Bread Side ($ 5): This was by far the most successful item of the night. A delicious light and fluffy cornbread which had a pleasant, but not overpowering heat. The portion side was pretty tiny for $ 5 though… not enough to share really.
***Duck Confit Sandwich: This was a special of the night, but I didn’t try it. I love duck confit, but again it came with Hoisin sauce. This place needs to step up its game and make its own BBQ sauce if it really wants to be a smokehouse. As we were leaving another customer ran up to us to ask what we thought of our meal. He just wanted to share how much he disliked this sandwich, as the meat was terribly dry. That’s not a good sign if a stranger wants to commiserate about how bad his food was.
The SERVICE (2.5 stars): We had a friendly Québécois hostess who seemed to be serving the entire restaurant. I pointed out the coleslaw disaster. She and the chef apparently went to the kitchen and confirmed it. I was trying to offer constructive feedback, and the appropriate response would have been to either offer a replacement or take the other side dish off our bill. They did neither and when clearing our plates should have noticed that my friend and I both had our mounds of coleslaw 95% intact. There were a lot of delays to service and some general confusion. It’s not really running smoothly yet… I wouldn’t come here in a rush.
The DRINKS (3.5 stars): They have a decent and fairly priced wine list. I quite enjoyed the Valpolicello which was around $ 21 for a ½ Liter. For some reason the whole bottle of wine is way more than the ½ liter… I’m confused. The beer list is Ontario macro-​micro standards (Beau’s, Wellington’s, Steamwhistle, etc.)…no standouts for me. I do find the wine list to have a nice variety and reasonable prices, especially at the ½ liter size. No cocktails available.
The AMBIANCE: It’s nice and cozy. I quite liked the window seat. Warm. Nice volume levels and real candles.
OVERALL, I left on the disappointed side. The food was quite the mixed bag and how they handled the problem and service didn’t inspire confidence. I’m going to give them some time to shake out the bugs and try it again in a few months. 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.