The Canadian Brewhouse & Grill

10 Reviews on “The Canadian Brewhouse & Grill”

• Meghan A

  Great atmosphere but the food was gross… I ordered the butter chicken and the chicken was the processed strips cut up and just a bad after taste. My husband ordered the stir fry and the veggies were under cooked. The server not once asked how it was so we just sucked it up at paid the $70 bill.

  November 23, 2017, 9:53 am

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• Prince Gastronome

  The Great Canadian Brewhouse is the Eli Roth of pubs. Roth is a talented writer/director who knows his craft and expresses it to perfection. Unfortunately, he makes films labeled horror porn, a genre I despise. I dont care for pubs, specifically westernized pubs reproduced so flawlessly like Salvador Dal forgeries that one would mistake them part of a larger conglomerate. And yet, GCB presents itself without flaw, not so much an example of a definitive Canadian tavern as more of what one would look like in a Michael Bay movie.It wasnt long after we took our seats when about a dozen red beacon lights hanging from the ceiling all suddenly activated (repeating often through the evening). A friend explained it happens whenever a point is scored in a game. Thats a relief, as I was worried the Purge was about the begin. No joke, outside the pub sat a thick fog from a nearby forest fire; couple that with the beacons, and I realized how much this resembled the opening act of a Silent Hill game. By the way, in case you missed any of the televisions, they are there. It may require a keen eye to spot one; there are only about forty of them, more than what youll find on sale at a Best Buy. An LED ticker scrolled across one wall; am Im supposed to buy stock in ExxonMobil? And their menu offers a Doritos pizzayeah, its going to be that kind of place.Both my friends ordered tankards of beer. Witnessing the immense mugs of gilded liquor and foam towering over my pitiful tumbler of water, and despising barley-based fermentations though still wanting to compensate for my daunted masculinity, I decided to order a sangria, which arrived in a wine glass fringed by colorful wedges of lime, lemon, and orangethank God, I have a girlfriend. The menu offers the standard fare including poutines and burgers, all of it admiringly lacking illustrations, though leaving me curious about portion size given how shockingly expensive it all was. I couldnt find a single burger under $16. The steak bites I ordered cost a penny under $16, which arrived resting mockingly over a piece of lettuce and supporting a paper cup of house sauce resembling cappuccino. I followed that with a short rib shepherds pie, which claimed to include carrots and peas, though I could count those on one hand. My friends ordered a pound of wings, a basic poutine, and Miss Vickie’s Salt & Vinegar Fish and Chips (another brand drop, nice touch). What was shocking, however, was that the food wasnt bad. Although the pie couldve used a little extra finesse, the other dishes, including the poutine, were well-above average. GCB has no right being this good. Its not great. It falters next to better pubs and pub-like establishments like Kask and Crossroads, but its certainly better than Don Cherrys, maybe even Black Clover, quite the achievement for a business apparently designed by someone who dropped ecstasy while watching Speed Racer. Although the dcor does prove that Max Headrooms Blipverts are no longer an allegory, it isnt as intrusive as you might think. Despite having at least three screens always in view, none were loud enough to force us to scream (at least until a group of inebriated socialites sat down nearby). The televisions faded into a kaleidoscopic mlange of colors and lights, such a cacophony, I wondered how patrons could focus on any one thing. Often enough, they werent. Given the number of screens and the variety of channels, at least two were always airing commercials. I havent discussed that deceivingly innocuous pager nestled at the side of every table we could push to summon for a refill, service, or check. Beyond any assumed accusations of this rendering staff lazy and undeserving of gratuity, imagine my surprise when I found the service commendable. Upon first seeing the button scorned on social media, I assumed GCB was a seat-yourself pub ignoring customers until beckoned with a button press. In reality, we were always waited on, only needing to push the button after I forgot to amend an order and later to receive the check. Our server was pleasant, borderline delightful. The only side-effect of the button was when we pressed it to request more utensils; another server delivered them a moment before our original server arrived. I still wont support the practice. After already being required to wear a dress code matching short skirt with a sleeveless undershirt, now we compel servers to wear beepers. At least its not a shock collar. The Great Canadian Brewhouse is certainly Canadian, but it isn’t exactly that great. I guess you couldnt call it The Decent Canadian Brewhouse. There are certainly better places to enjoy. Ultimately, it does serve one essential purpose, enough to justify its existence and my hope for continued successit presents a venue for a clientele I generally avoid, allowing me a more peaceful experience at finer establishments. That being said, they do have a patioand yeah, it has a TV too.Food: 3/5Service: 3/5Presentation: 2/5Value: 3/5Recommendation: 3/5

  November 15, 2017, 3:13 am

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• Donna Penner

  Fantastic service and food! Saturday night had lineup but we gave our name and cell phone # and they sent a text when our table was ready – love that! It was super busy but our server stopped by several times and our food didn’t take very long to come out. Will definitely be back!

  July 30, 2017, 9:32 am

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