C’est What

Really should’ve tried the poutine when I had the chance!
I have to say, I was underwhelmed after the hype I had been hearing. While the interior was gorgeous and cozy, the seating was a bit tight. My friend and I came during the early evening, which was busy, and the service was not great. The food was decent, but a bit overpriced.
I would definitely give C’est What a second chance, but it definitely was not the experience I was hoping for my few days in Toronto.

During our time here we have had a pleasure eating and enjoying friends. We had a awesome time here. I absolutely love the selection of beers. The staff is amazing and very welcoming. This js definitly our spot when we are here in Toronto.

I loved this place when we were in Toronto last spring! Their falafel is hands-​down the best I’ve ever had! They also had a great craft beer selection.

I came here with not much of an expectation, I don’t know if it was their terrible website layout, actually yes, I blame their terrible website layout (I am being serious).
The entrance was a skipper, you don’t expect it to be where it is. You enter and you go subterranean and that is when all of your judgments of the website go out the window (pun intended, when is it not?).
Service
Friendly people, as the name of the song goes around here. They know how to keep their customers happy with…
The Drink
Waupoos Cider: The best Canadian cider and one of the best in general that I’ve had. A 6.5 with a light semi-​sweet taste gave it content and smoothness.
The Meal
Butter Chicken Poutine: Butter chicken on top of fries? There hasn’t been a day that I haven’t thought about this plate. ⁵⁄₅
I loved C’est What, all they had to do was let me try a drink and one dish to win me over. The location although not so welcoming from the outside turns out to be a very relaxed spot where you can come and unwind. Fix that website though.

Came here for dinner and drinks before a concert. We sat at the bar (we’re bar flies, we can’t help it) and had a few different pints and ate the tandoori chicken sandwich and the goat roti. Both dishes had a really good amount of meat (not a ton of filler).
The bartender was friendly and gave us samples of a couple different beers as we were undecided on what to drink (not to mention they have some beers that are made in house that we’ve never heard of before).
We got the apple pie for desert, which was also amazing. We barely came up to breathe haha.
I would recommend C’est What to anyone who enjoys beer and comfort food.

My much more «in the know» friend introduced me to this place, and I’m happy she did. Have only been once so far, but I can see why it’s highly rated. Good beer selection, although I think I had a boozy coffee myself. And the naan with hummus, which was warm and fresh and delightful. Prices were very reasonable and the whole place has a great energy and vibe. I really enjoyed hanging out on the couch by the fireplace…

Gord and I had supper this evening at C’est What? on Front Street E.
Black Oak Brewing Co. had a tap take-​over … Ken, the owner of Black Oak, bought Gord a beer for his birthday
When I got there about 5pm, it was fairly quiet. When we left a couple hours later, it was fairly busy.
Gord ordered the Beef Stroganoff special. He said it was really good. In fact, he asked for a spoon so he could get the last of the sauce.
I ordered Dijon Chicken and it was really good. I’d get it again.
Nikki was our server and she took good care of us.

I had a great experience at C’est What! We went for my friend’s birthday on a Tuesday. Our sever was prompt, and helped me pick a great tasting beer from an excellent selection. I also had the club wrap, which was a little above average in price, but typical of a downtown location and quite tasty.
The atmosphere is fun and they have a variety of seating options (bar, tables, comfy chairs) and a pool table.
We were a large group of 12+ ppl, so I wasn’t sure how it would go, but I’m happy to say the night was a success!

I went there years ago and was treated rudely by the owner/​manager and made the mistake of going back now and well… some things have changed. What has changed? A new storefront, new fireplace and a redecoration, but you cannot judge a book by the cover. The service is bad, almost hostile. When the poutine arrives late and it is gooey cold you have to ask yourself did they make it in the mid-​afternoon and serve it hours later or made it for us and let it sit on the counter for an hour and that’s why the service was so slow. To boot, the room was half empty. The kicker and really what gets under my skin: the waiter’s attitude. ATTITUDE.
Same old same old. too bad, a pub in the area, with a fireplace and comfy seats would be huge, but C’est What is C’est Full of Ourselves and will not see me again.

I’ve been to C’est What twice now and it’s becoming one of my favourite pubs.
They have a wide selection of beers and food for every palette.
You can order beer in three sizes; small, medium, and large. The small size (190mL) is a huge benefit if you want to sample more than two beers.
Beers I’ve tried,
Al’s Cask — I was shocked at how smooth it was.
My s/​o said it was almost too smooth.
St Ambroise Apricot Wheat — The apricot flavour is very subtle. It went well with something salty on the side.
Coffe Porter — Marries breakfast and nightlife together into one glass. Be careful, the coffee flavour is quite strong and may not agree with everyone.
Beau’s Lugtread — A classic. Smooth, sweet, and havenly.
And…a peach infused beer with a name I can’t remember. It was by far my favourite because of it’s strong peach flavour. I tend to prefer sweet over salty and would probably have this beer for dessert when I visit next.
Food I’ve tried,
Sweet Potato Fries with Chipotle Mayo — Crisp, salty, thinly sliced sweet potato with a dip that is to die for. AMAZING!
Butter Chicken (sans nan bread) — The sauce is creamy and the chicken is moist. The rice was fluffy and had fresh peas on top. This dish came with a mango chutney. The mango cut through the creamy sauce quite well.
Jambalaya — Hot and spicy rice, meat and vege. Sweet onion running through the dish helps tie all the flavours together. It’s like a party in your mouth and no one is stopping it.
This joint has two pool tables, a few old board games and live entertainment.
C’est What is also kid friendly. A family of 4 was seated next to our table and they seemed to be having a great time as well.
The servers are very professional and personable. Well done C’est What!

I’ve been here twice in the last week now… once on Saturday for casual drinks for a friend’s birthday and again last night to grab a bite to eat as I constantly hear ranting and raving about the food… the place itself is home-​y with fireplaces and pool tables, separate rooms with bars in different areas — kinda has a high school cafeteria feel and look to it as one of my buddies pointed out…
The food was actually delicious and hit the spot for all 3 of us as we were enjoying our craft beverages … we got the homemade taziki and hummus, a side of coleslaw and the famous goat roti. mmmmmm is all I have to say…
My only issue with this place is the fact that I felt like I was talking to a wall all night either trying to get the bartender (s) attention… or opinion on either a menu item or craft beer. I get that not everyone wants to talk to their guests… and that wasn’t what I was looking for as I was in fine company among my own friends… however, if you work at a bar that has a 4 page menu on beer alone, you bet your ass you best be prepared to talk about it or at least offer a slightly convincing opinion that tricked me into thinking you actually gave a shit. There was no sense of urgency behind the bar… it’s Friday people… pick up your feet… and I’m pretty sure the menu had more personality than the guy serving me. Just saying. What a shame (as he was kinda cute to boot…) but seriously made me want to get my bill and leave.
The food may be good enough to bring me back for a second shot… but I’ll probably get takeout and sit in front of the wall at home rather than at the bar here… it’s pretty much the same thing.

A good basement bar to relax and catch up with friends after a rough day at work. There is a great selection of beers with descriptions to help figure out what to order for the night, or just ask the helpful waiter with your beer preferences. I had a butter chicken poutine and a Joan’s dark secret beer. The beer was good but the poutine was cold so the cheese didn’t melt and detracted from the meal. Minus points there.
There are several pool tables to kill some time with or you can hangout by the fire on the couches and have a beer. A good place to hide out for a couple hours.

C’est What? C’est okay.
I’m a sucker for basement bars, craft beers, and franglish puns — so this spot had my name all over it. We stopped in for an early dinner on a weeknight when it was just starting to fill up.
The atmosphere is pretty good for a casual dinner or drinks with friends, and the service was fast and friendly. The beer list is exclusively Canadian and they make several of their own in house. We tried a sampling of their housemade beers and a few others — Big Butt Smoked Dark Ale, Coffee Porter, Steve’s Dreaded Chocolate Orange, the Eephus Oatmeal Brown Ale, Headstock IPA, and the cask.
The Coffee Porter and Chocolate Orange were among the best, but it would have been hard for either of us to have more than one. The other selections were all pretty good, but we’re big IPA and dry ale drinkers (read: love hops) and none of them packed much of a punch. I’d try them again on a long night out, but for just a drink or two I like my beers strong and meaty.
The food was slightly better, and there are still a few items on the menu I’d like to check out on our next visit. We ended up ordering the Moroccan Stew and the Jambalaya, and both filled our need for comfort food on a cold night. We saw from other tables that the portions were pretty big, so we didn’t end up ordering any of the appetizers or sides. It turned out to be a good decision because we both found the walk up those stairs to be more than a little daunting after we’d finished our meal.
All in all, it was a cool little spot to hang out for a few beers and fill up on rice. We’ll be back to check out more of their selections and hopefully find a few rotating seasonal beers that might be more our fancy.
Jusque là!

Who would think to find a small underground bar hidden away on Front St? Came here for a good night to unwind and relax. This place serves the typical pub food but has a fantastic selection of craft beers and rotating taps. All the food and drinks were very reasonably priced and good.
It’s a large underground space good for a casual meeting up with friends over drinks or even a game of pool (at $ 15 an hour it’s as good as it gets.) or a first date depending on how low key your date is. I’ll definitely be back soon.

The beers you’ll find here are unique, don’t expect to see the regular mainstream offerings. If you don’t like beer, or cider at least, you won’t find much else to drink. Had the sweet potato chips on the side, which were alright. Definitely prefer it in fry-​form but they didn’t have that. On a food and drink level, this place is alright. You’ll love it if you’re an avid beer drinker though.
The atmosphere is definitely something to come back for. It’s really chill and unpretentious — something that’s hard to come by in the downtown core (that’s not to say it caters to the college crowd because rest assured it definitely doesn’t).

C’est What is known for their micro brew beers with many different styles available everyday. Great variety of beers.
Unfortunately, their beers are o.k., just o.k. and most likely will leave you asking what they were thinking or ‘C’est What’ referring to what you are drinking. I’ve been to many micro brew houses all over North America, and C’est What really needs to pick up its game. There are far too many good bars that brew their own, maybe they are lucky they are not close to any really good brew pubs.
They do make it up with their food though, I suppose that is their saving grace.
C’est What? Meh. C’est o.k.

This is a low key hangout with pool tables, a fire place and fish tank. C’est what? has shows from time to time and they can become very busy, but for the most part they are slower than most places in the area.
They serve food until late so this is makes this place a even better place to end your night at.

Great beer selection here as mentioned in other Unilocal reviews. It’s a nice place for a few drinks after work and seemed quite roomy for a basement location. The food is fairly average, nothing particularly outstanding… But this is the place for a beer with friends.
I’d return during the winter time, since it lacks a patio, and there are other establishments in the area to enjoy the weather.

I really, really like C’est What? for their remarkable beer selection. I love that I can order beer in three quantities. Sometimes I am driving and sampling a few of the 175mL is a really nice way of getting some variety without getting drunk. And oh. the variety! There are always casks and taps a-​plenty. I guess there are bottles, but I never order them so I can’t say for sure.
I have always found the service to be pleasant for the most part, at least at tables. I have had a harder time at the bar, but I am usually at the bar when it’s especially crazy.
The food here is good, but not amazing. I am especially fond of the sweet potato chips and the bison burger.
Environment is quite cozy and I adore it.
Really, go to C’est What? for the beer above all else, but even if you happen to not be into beer, you’ll still have a decent experience.

The food and service is okay. I had the morrocan stew that comes with naan and coucous. The couscous was very bland, and the naan was soft, white and doughey– nothing special. Tomatoes, chickpeas, raisins, carrots etc. Stew nothing special in terms of flavours. Presentation was nice though. My friend had the butter chicken, which was creamy and very flavourful!
This place is very unique to the décor. Exposed bricks and low ceiling, artworks, pool table, bar and some board games in the front. Went during the day so not many customers, but the waitress’ service was okay. She didn’t ask if we needed anything, if the food was okay or if we were ready for the bill.
Overall, food, service was meh. Great environment though. ³⁄₅.

Petit bar/​resto en basement, mais vraiment sympa! Fier de son succès il faudra attendre 1h pour avoir une table mais pendant ce temps c’est difficile de trouver une petite place pour se poser (même au coins de la cheminé style chalet français bien sympa)
Plats bons à prix raisonnables donc c’est sympa et on y passé un bon moment!

Bar pub situé dans le quartier financier le C’est What ressemble à une sorte de chalet au ski. Du bois partout et un gros coin cheminée avec des sièges confortables pour prendre sa bière.
Il y a un système de boîtier clignotant pour les réservations de table.
Au menu burgers, club sandwich et aussi des plats végétariens.
J’ai pris la fameuse poutine dont les français qui reviennent du Canada parlent tant. Pas mal du tout avec un supplément bacon.
En dessert le crumble pomme cannelle est une tuerie.
Bref une 1ere expérience torontoise très satisfaisante.
Le petit plus: les 2 billards à dispo des clients.
Le moins: les peintures qui ornent les murs, pas du tout à mon goût.