Shepherds In Tosa

I fully agree with Mike P. Although the sister restaurant has excellent Québécois fare, the Tosa location fell a bit short… in more ways than one. I was so looking forward to a handsome poutine filled with crispy fries (that should be double fried with duck fat and tossed with fleur de sel, in my humble opinion, for real-​deal poutine), duck fat gravy (from the preparation of duck confit), and some down-​home squeaky cheese curds. I think that all of the above was not used in the making of Sherbrooke’s poutine dish. I think that be the case, only because two of our party ordered dishes with duck, and they were out. How can you make fresh poutine, if you are out of duck. Unless, of course, you made batches of confit, and saved the pan drippings. Besides the poutine failure, service received an «F» as well. Now, we are looking at a restaurant that recently opened. I understand there are growing pains in the beginning stages, but these are veterans. The owners know what it takes to have staying power. I will make another go at the poutine, and check out the service (with upgrades, hopefully) in the next few months. I am hoping they will make the necessary changes needed to receive consistent 4– and 5-​stars from Unilocalers and to stick around in Tosa.

Starters cheesy zucchini soup thick and pasty could have used it for the grout on the walls. Poutine with soggy fries and salty gravy from a jar. Lamb Kabobs over brown, lamb was the size of large gum balls and just as chewy. The only thing I couldn’t do was blow bubbles. The brown rice was under cooked white rice. Finally the Tenderloin Steak sandwich was not a tenderloin but some cheap meat cut into pieces. Didn’t have the option to choose how I wanted it cooked. Horrible service waitress was argumentative and not unwilling to accommodate.

The poutine was made with canned gravy poured over soggy fries. The fish fry was salty and rubbery with a burnt on the outside and mushy and oily on the inside potato pancake. Wait a few weeks so they can figure out what they are doing.

LOTS OF POTENTIAL HERE (BUT BAD SERVICE). The remodeled inside is a striking contrast to the deteriorating outside. A really nice space with votive candles on each table, bright local art on the walls, and exposed duct work and bricks.
EXPERIENCE: We walked in and there were a few patrons seated at the bar, a waitress greeted us and we were seated in the East dining room. Only a few people fellow patrons in here also. The one waitress that was working was quickly overwhelmed when 8 – 10 other guests arrived.
Long story short: TWO BURGERS AND FRIES TOOK OVER AN HOUR. The tater tots and burgers were cold. No water refills, no checking to see how things were, I gave up and ordered another drink from the bar and also paid my check there. One waitress, one bartender, one disappointed customer. The bartender said our waitress was new, not offering an apology.
ORDERED: drinks-​Dublin Donkey $ 7.50, Knob Creek Old Fashioned $ 8, food-​Caramelized Burger with tater tots $ 11, Black and Blue Burger with Poutine $ 14
VERDICT: Very cool space, cool drink menu, cool music playlists (White Stripes followed by Zeppelin) short and interesting pub food menu BUT Shepherds needs to get a handle on the poor service. Lots of potential to be a neighborhood favorite, I’ll return and give them another try.

Though I’m not normally a big corner bar goer, if you live in the neighborhood, this is a friendly, decently-​sized bar to hang out at or enjoy a round of pool. Last night, Matt and I stopped by for a few drinks. As newcomers to a bar with many regulars, you never really know how its going to go, but the bartender sought us out to chat a bit and was very friendly. Our drinks went down smoothly and the jukebox played some solid 80’s tunes. I also really liked that there were lots of separate spaces to head to and two separate bars, so it is accommodating for those in a big or small group.
I honestly had kind of low expectations going in because we didn’t exactly «fit in» with the crowd (we were on the younger side compared to many of the people in there and maybe also on the yuppier side), but our experience was very positive and I’m sure we’ll be back!