The Old Sod Pub

Slow service (one person tending bar, waiting tables and cooking food!) fries were burnt, the gravy was watery and without taste. The wings were just ok. We were over charged for our beers, didn’t even mention it just wanted to pay and get out. Won’t be returning

Don’t make pubs like this anymore. Fun karaōke locale.

the pub was pretty empty on a friday night.
the waitress was pretty fast. though we think one of the orders was mixed up and a wrong beer was brought to one of us.
the music was loud and pretty monotonous but ok.
I don’t think I would come back though.

My husband and I were out walking yesterday evening and came across The Old Sod. It looked interesting so we stopped for a drink.
Aside from a fella sitting at the bar drinking coolers and talking to the bartender about kids’ movies, we were the only ones there. Kind of strange considering it was a Saturday evening. Needless to say, we didn’t stay too long.
We won’t be rushing back.

This bar sucks.
Why?
–Slow waitresses
–Absurd prices on pitchers
–Terrible bar food.
–Drunk locals who were friends of the bar staff who want to start fights.
–This was on a Tuesday night. Half of the time we wanted a new pitcher we needed to go to the bar to ask the bartender.
–The bar food was bad, the club house sandwich was made with some old meat. The fries were so brown and gross because they haven’t changed their oil in ages.
–There were a few locals/​regulars sitting at the bar laughing with the staff, they started talking shit at one point. Apparently he though it was funny that I looked like Mark Zuckerberg. (Which I don’t at all). I was surprised to see the bar staff laughing along with them.
Save yourself the trouble and go to Gabby’s across the street.

Like most kids in Etobicoke, I’ve been going to the Sod since I was in high school. It’s the local watering hole for (usually underage) Etobicoke kids. Since I’m no longer in high school, I barely set foot in this bar unless everybody I know from Etobicoke is back in town (usually for the holidays) and decides to get together.
Tuesday and Sunday nights are karaōke nights. Apart from that, there’s an older guy usually doing covers all night. The waitresses are pretty cool, food is decent and prices are affordale.
Now, I’ve never had to worry about people putting their hands on any of my stuff if I were to step away from my table. The other night, however, my best friend and I stopped by for a few pitchers. We stepped away from our table for two minutes (and our table was right next to the guy working the door) and our pitcher and drinks go missing! The waitress said she didn’t take them away because they were still all full. The manager comes out and basically said «too bad, there’s nothing I can do!» Really? We’ve been coming here for so long and you can’t say «sorry, here’s a pitcher on the house»? Hmm. Not impressed. Another employee also said «oh he doesn’t care if you don’t come back, he never has trouble filling this place».
In the end, I think it was the waitress who took it upon herself and came and brought us a few drinks. Nevertheless, this left a really bad taste in my mouth and I’ll make it a point to a) never come back and b) make sure everybody I tell everybody in Etobicoke who goes to the Sod not to bother going anymore. There’s so many bars close to it that I’m really not sure what the appeal of the Old Sod is… Especially since it’s always filled with underage kids puking in the (filthy) washrooms.

Sometimes, you just gotta drink the haterade and show your finest snobbery.
If your boat floats for any of the following, you may find The Old Sod somewhat enjoyable:
* Old man singing «Brown Eyed Girl» on stage
* Live-​at-​homers pounding beers and communicating through a variety of «whoo“s
* 22-​year-​old «wish I was snowboarding, although I’ve never been snowboarding» types staring in your general direction
I’m no fan of these highlights, so I will pass in the future. Take away my Nova Scotia card if you must, but pubs with Van Morrison and sea shanty sing-​a-​longs just aren’t ma bag — but if I had to do it somewhere, I wouldn’t do it here. I say go to a Firkin instead.

Like The Madison or Brunswick House (you see where I’m going here — read on at your discretion), The Old Sod attracts a certain kind of clientele. And in Etobicoke that seems to be the «bored, quasi-​suburban shit-​disturbing underagers». Needless to say *I* don’t fit in with this demo, yet I somehow found myself at The Old Sod for a nearly unbearable 90 minutes on Friday night.
As someone who’s a decade over drinking age I was actually SHOCKED to be carded at the door — especially considering most of the people inside were clearly still in high school and clearly not 19. There was your standard «Madison Piano Man» older dude singing Van Morrison and Elton John covers on guitar and lots of stein-​sloshing and singing along.
Let’s not forget the requisite fistfight outside. Honestly I haven’t seen a brawl like this in years — two guys in dogtags ‘n wifebeaters (it was scarf weather btw) started scrapping right outside the bar and their pals joined in soon after. There were ripped shirts and bloody faces. Before I knew it I was witnessing a 30 on 1 pileup in the middle of Bloor Street. All these chumps tackled the one bromigo and started pounding him into the pavement until the fuzz arrived and broke it up. One guy’s girlfriend bragged «Oh no! He needs stitches!» Boo.