Firkin on the Bay

Stopped in for brunch on the weekend with my grandfather. He had the English fry up and I had this breakfast that had some Spanish influence done in a skillet (it’s on the cover of the menu). Both of us had nothing but good things to say. Service was great, food delicious, drinks cold and an amazing view of the city.

Solid British pub chain food. Three restaurants. Thats it on this strip. We’re not exactly talking major picks here but for what it’s worth, the patio is huge, you get a nice view of the Toronto skyline, and you can’t go wrong with the guaranteed quality carb pub style burger and beer combos. No signature dishes to give you that Marine Park Drive «Ahh» but, beers and patios. Solid B+.

This is my go to place for a drink after work. The atmosphere is fun and lively with a good crowd on Fridays.
I came here after work on Friday with two of my coworkers to relax with a drink or two and seated ourselves in the lounge area. Fridays they have a house Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon on special for $ 5.00, a 6 oz. glass. My one coworker and I got the Cab Sav and it was kind of more like a Pinot Noir but still tasty none the less.
We were all a little hungry but were informed by the waitress that they just did last call for the kitchen as it was about 1:00AM. She said she would go and ask for us which was super nice of her. They held the kitchen open for us! We got the fully loaded nachos with guacamole for $ 2.00 extra. We enjoyed the nachos and it was evident as we devoured them.
I would definitely come back and since it is so close to my work I will certainly be coming back.

Forget the comment re beer they no longer have Flying Monkey just corporate crap beer so if you like frozen food fried or reheated with crap beer and wine go you will love it If you like real food with great craft beer or good wine dont go

Went with some friends a few months back on a trip to Toronto.
Had great service and the food was delicious.
I ordered a Shepard’s Pie because who doesn’t love comfort food mid January after a 15 minute walk along the water to this little gem. Friends ordered other traditional British dishes — fish and chips, and one ordered fish tacos and said they were fantastic!
The décor was probably my favourite thing — so British!
My only qualm was the table — we were seated in the middle of the restaurant in a booth that would likely accommodate 6 in the summer, but given the amount of clothing we had to take off upon coming inside, we 5 felt rather squished. Suggestion: coat rack?
Will likely be back this summer to enjoy the patio!

My partner and I were pretty excited that a «British» pub was going into this location; we live very close and were hoping it would be good enough to become our «local». When it finally opened, we were pretty disappointed — the atmosphere is not what we’d hoped. Too modern, and missing that warm and friendly character traditionally associated with pubs.
Let me be clear: we’ve given this place a fair shake, despite the fact that the atmosphere doesn’t suit us. We WANTED to love it, and we’ve eaten here 4 or 5 times, at various times of day. The food is never terrible, but it’s never very good, either.
The service varies somewhat between casually negligent and hostile. My impression, reinforced with each successive visit, is one of swarms of aloof servers, whose attentions are rarely directed towards their customers. Never bad enough to complain to a manager, but not good enough to make me feel like the tip paid was actually deserved, either.
This afternoon’s brunch was pretty forgettable. We were seated right away (that was nice) but then waited… and waited… for someone to come take our order. Once our server got around to visiting our table, we both ordered the British fry-​up, figuring it would be pretty hard for even an indifferent bar kitchen to screw up. When our meals arrived, the sausage was unappealingly lukewarm, and everything else was merely okay; definitely below our standards for a Saturday brunch in a food-​centric city like Toronto. The final eyebrow-​raiser was when we were finally offered coffee refills — after we’d asked for the bill and it was clear that we were leaving.
From now on, we’ll wait in line for brunch at the nearby trattoria, which has never let us down. (I don’t think the staff at the Firkin will miss us anyway.)

Our server was the least attentive person I think I have ever met. I am guessing she was too absorbed by her flirtation with her coworker to do her job. I had a crispy chicken sandwich which lived up to its name. There was some fairly dried chicken and a lot of very seriously deep fried batter. It wasn’t the worst thing I have ever eaten but it was pretty lacklustre. My fries were warmish and spongy. This meal gave me serious heartburn. The best thing I can say about this place is it affords a great view of the Toronto skyline.

I went right around 5pm on a weekday to grab a quick snack and beer.
Sad to say, nobody greeted me whatsoever and were busy hugging each other by what looked like the kitchen entrance.
The only one bartender that was visible made eye contact with me, then went back to flirting with the men at the bar.
Yes, I say flirting because she wasn’t serving them drinks, she was asking if they could open her protein shake for her because it was closed too tightly, then started drinking her own drink along with the customers.
After a few minutes of standing around by the ‘Please wait to be seated’ sign, I walked out of the bar.
Despite it being the only pub near the neighbourhood, I will most definitely not be going back…

Great place for watching the Jays. Food and beer selection and quality are very good. Staff was attentive. Stephanie and Josh were terrific. Confusion about reservation was handled well.

Service and food seems to be on the up n up. Great local place to catch the game and enjoy the waterfront. Love the daily specials on food and draft here

Pros:
— nice patio
— known quality (Same as any other firkin)
Cons:
— They keep running out of food and drinks
— Manager does not take criticism well, says the kitchen is small to have all supplies
This is the second time I have been at the restaurant.
The first time we came on a Monday (They were supposed to have discounted burgers) but they claimed that since it was a Holiday the specials did not count. On top of that they ran out of burger meat (How is this possible? Go the the store next door, buy beef and you are back in running!)
We ended up ordering fish and chips and nachos, it was good.
Second time, during game 5 of baseball playoffs they ran out of 2 types of beer, One Butler is their house brand.
I was really disappointed at this level of service and asked to talk to the manger. I told her that it is not acceptable for them to run out of food and drinks, and that they should put something else on special once they run out of food.
She was not happy with my suggestion, and said that it is not her fault, it was a long weekend so their beer supplier did not deliver on Monday… (As if you did not know that ahead of the time, that it was a long weekend and could not have made any other plans to get the supplies in). She said she cannot put anything else on sale since it is corporate decision.
I am not going here ever again, I will go to Eden across the street from now on.
I wish the bar good luck with new restaurants and bars that will open up in the area in the future, this place will be empty.
Ambiance (5 stars):
very high ceilings, they have a few tvs for sports…
Service: (1 star)
The manager’s disregard for customer satisfaction is very low. The servers however are okey.
Food: (3 stars)
Good when they have it, but they keep running out of food. Really disappointing.

This place has a great view being right on Lake Ontario with minimal traffic between you and the water. It was raining when we visited, but the patio looked like it would be great on a sunny day.
The beer selection is very decent and you can get a «flight» of four samples if you dont know what you want or if you just want some variety.
We didnt feel like a meal, just an appetizer, so I only tried one dish The menu is typical Firkin chain pub food. We really enjoyed our Irish nachos. They were very generous with the bacon bits (real bacon, not the simulated stuff).
It is a pub, so 4 stars would be a typical rating. It is a very nice pub so I considered 5 stars. The service was slow and our waitress forgot the second glass of wine my wife ordered, so I considered 3 stars.
The compromise was 4 stars.

Dinner 9÷1÷15 on the patio. For a new operation the food and service was quite good. Originally planned to sit on the west end of the patio on marine drive, however the overhead exhaust fan noise was interrupting normal conversation. There is a building mechanical system design issue that the owner needs to address. We moved to another patio table east and around the building corner. We will return, but not to front patio.

As a recently moved to Toronto ex-​pat Englishman, I can tell you this is as close to a modern pub as you can get with great food and good drink to boot. Their daily specials are especially good value for money and ‘Barking Squirrel’ — a pint well worth a try!

The first time we went to Firkin on the Bay we experienced some opening week glitches (but it gets better, stay with me here). Our appetizer nachos arrived cold, my hamburger was a little too pink inside, and I didn’t get condiments for my burger. The place was busy and we had waited a long time for our food so rather than try to get our extremely busy server’s attention, I just sucked it up and skipped the mustard and relish, crossing my fingers that the meat wouldn’t make me sick. (It didn’t.) Our server was friendly but she was just too busy.
Two days ago we decided to try again, hoping that the Firkin had sorted out some of their glitches. And they have! This time our nachos came warm, my hamburger was cooked through, and my partner’s food (yorkie pie appetizer and fish, chicken tacos) was very good as well. Our server was friendly, knowledgable. and attentive. It seems like Firkin on the Bay has found a good rhythm, and it will get even better. I recommend you check them out!

Update September 12, 2015…
Our second trip to Firkin-​on-​the-​Bay was a completely different experience for us. We hoped to dine in there wonderful waterfront patio but it was closed due to the weather. This is not a complaint but a heads up for those expecting a quite dining experience. The place was packed being a Saturday evening but the noise from the loud music and chatter was not what we had in mind. This pub is going to be very successful, especially with this amazing location and probably just what many want from a typical sports bar. But just be aware if you want a quiet dining experience, choose the side patio if available, away from the noisy fans. If the patio is not available, the Eden Trattoria next door may be a better choice with much less noise.
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Original Review. .. I was told that their opening traffic on Monday broke all records for prior Firkin openings. Not surprising with such a fantastic location and a guaranteed clientele fed from all those condos in Humber Bay Shores. Apparently, they ran out of food because of the unexpected demand. Of course they had the usual opening glitches with newly trained staff. It was no doubt exasperated by the much larger number of patrons than was anticipated.
We had lunch there on August 26^th (Wednesday). The view of the Lake and City from their patio and even inside is probably one of the best in the GTA. The staff were all very attentive and eager to please. One thing for those who have hearing problems and want to dine al fresco, you may want to choose patio seating on the side by Village Court. It is much quieter that the front patio due to the noisy fans that I’m told are always on. I don’t know what purpose those fans serve but the noise does detract from the experience. I’m wondering if they could be adjusted during prime patio times so the noise could be muted. On the plus side, conversations from nearby tables are less intrusive due to the fan noise.
I understand that reservations are not being taken now but that could change in the future, especially in non-​high demand week days. They have no patio heaters which may deter some, especially with the cold weather approaching.
Firkin has posted open hours from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. Patios are open until 11: pm on week days and until midnight on weekends. That makes sense due to the proximity of condos close by. BTW, no plans for karaōke that nearby residents will appreciate.
This is not fine dining by any means. The food is typical pub fare with reasonable pricing but the location is great, especially for locals who will appreciate having a restaurant within walking distance.
Yes. That’s the CN Tower in the background.

Chipped my tooth on metal in the food here: not good.

Bad Experience.
This is the first week they are open and their service is far from smooth. Went there around 8pm on a weekday. Upon arrival there were about 8 people in line attempting to get inside and they were informed that the restaurant is currently at capacity and they would have to wait for a few minutes. Person at the front was taking names down for the waiting list and letting everyone know it will be about 10 minutes.
40 minutes after waiting they have decided to forgo the list and just let the people in that were nagging them about the wait, meanwhile they have waited for only 20 minutes. When inquired about the table availability they have informed customers that the kitchen is backed up and it’s more than 1 hour wait for food and they will not sit anyone because they do not want to ruin the experience.
Not sure what has happened there, but sounds like kitchen was slow and there wasn’t enough communication with the staff. Front of the house didn’t do a good enough job of communicating this information to the guests. Just overall disappointment.

I certainly can’t stand idly by while a new local spot (and something the community has been waiting for) is being punished during their first week in operation due to some minor hiccups. Jeez, has anyone ever heard of opening day/​week jitters.
Folks, listen to me for a second, any of you who follow my reviews know that I’m not about a chain most of the time. Given the choice I did a mom and pop shop or indie biz over the big guys any day of the week. And because of this I tend to judge the chains harsher than others because they have the frame work, training manuals and money to be perfect, so if they’re anything but that they really have no excuse.
That being said, when a chain does something cool, original and outside the box, I gotta give them there due and Firkin On The Bay is doing just that. Something cool, different and exciting.
I was in on Wednesday this week from 11am until about 5:30 pm working from the bar and got to observe their staff and operating procedures.
First off the space is brilliant, it’s almost a cartoon industrial look with expose fixtures and pipes only in bright fluorescent colors. Pair that with quirky fun graffiti, art and furniture all with a UK feel/​vibe and it makes for an aesthetically cool place to be.
The real winner here is the view of the Toronto skyline either from inside behind the floor to ceiling window, or from the wrap around patio out front. It’s amazing by day so I can only imagine what it would look like at night.
My server at the bar was on point with all key messaging, specials and solid menu recommendations. After having a Guinness to start my day I eventually ordered the butter chicken dish which was not exactly true butter chicken but a British pub inspired version. It was more of a butter chicken stew stop red curried mashed potatoes. As relish twist to an Indian classic. I really enjoyed the spin on this dish.
I think it’s important to remember that there will be small quirks and bumps in any businesses first week (s) and the point is to not skewer the business online but to accept that this is a normal thing and to come back in a few weeks to get a better sense for the true experience.
Eatcrest Out!