FOOD: Beer Bistro

For those of you who love beer, you're in for a big treat! Beer Bistro is a beer cuisine restaurant with a vast selection of more than a hundred varieties of beer. Their extensive beer list, which is an entire booklet, was extremely helpful for novice beer drinkers like myself; it broke down the hundreds of beer choices into categories such as: quenching, crisp, appetizing, sociable, bold, etc. They also provide complementary beer pairings for each of their food selections, most of which are infused with beer.

After hearing about this place from my co-worker, I finally got to try their lunch menu with my friends a couple of weeks ago. Conveniently located in the heart of Toronto's Financial District, this is the perfect place to go to for a nice, relaxing meal and drink after work.

Beer Bistro
Location: 18 King Street East (416-861-9872)
Cuisine: Belgian
Price: $$ Moderate
Atmosphere: Large, cavernous space with an inviting bar & comfortable seating
Service: Quality of service was great. Speed of service definitely met the standards of workers in downtown
Rating: 4/5 drools

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup ($6): I absolutely loved this soup. Served with aged cheddar beer bread croutons, this soup was very rich in flavour and simply delicious. To my surprise, the texture was creamier than I thought it would be considering it was a vegetable soup. The croutons also added a nice crunch to it. I can definitely see myself having this a lot during the winter!

Belgian Frites ($6): These are certainly not your regular frites! Blanched in beef & duck fat and served with house-made mayonnaise & smoked tomato ketchup, it's no wonder these are so popular. The frites were fresh, crispy and well-seasoned. I actually didn't find the need to use condiments with these frites because they were so flavorful on their own, but the smoked tomato ketchup definitely added a nice kick to them. Would definitely recommend these to everyone!

Bison Burger ($16): Served with melted brie, sautéed shitake mushrooms, and bean salad. According to my friend, this burger was nothing special and lacked salt.

Overall, I had a very enjoyable experience at Beer Bistro. It has nice decor, great atmosphere, and is in a convenient location. I was especially surprised by the speedy service of the restaurant! I look forward to trying something from their beer list next time.

Hope this review helps! Please comment and let me know what you think of Beer Bistro and any other dishes that you think I should try.

Happy eating!

Cheers~
Victoria