Lisa Marie

My girl friends and I were determined to have a Sunday brunch session. We had to wake up for an early yoga session to head here! We made reservations at Lisa Marie beforehand but we still had to wait 15 – 20 mins for our table –_-…
Service was okay.
SHAKSHUKAH (³⁄₅)
(Eggs baked in a spicy tomato sauce with roasted peppers, eggplant, zucchini and red onions, topped with crumbled feta and served with rustic bread)
The first bite was SO GOOD! Then it went downhill because the taste gets bland from there. It’s the same flavour throughout. I was getting so tired of the taste half way into my meal, same goes for my friend. We both had to snatch some food off of our friend, who ordered the LAMB SHANK AND GRITS — who ALSO had the same problem with the blandness of her meal. All in all, I would recommend a group to share these brunch items that I’ve mentioned to avoid blandness.
Side note: My friends who ordered the fried chicken highly recommends it!

We came on a Saturday weekend, the three of us, feeling extremely carnivorous. Naturally, we ordered a smoked meat board with some beers and it was definitely a good time had. The smoked meat board consisted of a sausage, roasted chicken, beef brisket, and some ribs.
By far, the brisket was the absolutely best. It was so tender and juicy and I can see why they told you to eat that first. The ribs were also very delicious. By the time we got to the sausage, we were either just really full or the sausage was genuinely not as great as the other two meats we first started with. The beet mash and slaw they accompanied it with, were however, extremely delicious. Finally, by the time we got to their chicken, we were having the meat sweats and nobody wanted to deal with it. It was also a bit too brined for my liking and it ended up being way too mushy.
Overall, I’d definitely visit this place again for a good time. Definitely a good summer place to go to!

The food is Lazy and underwhelming. Caesars are pretty great, and so is the house hot sauce.

This place is so down home comfort food I can’t get enough. I had a birthday brunch here and they were so accommodating and all the food was right (for 32 people that’s impressive) and hot and on time. The service was extremely friendly and cheeky. And they definitely don’t take themselves too seriously.

I went for brunch on a weekend and loved that they take reservations. Service was a little slow (30 mins to get our food) but the food was worth the wait thankfully.
There were many high tables and a few bench tables that were convenient for family with kids. The bar and paintings of the wall made for a hip atmosphere.
My husband ordered the fried cornish hen on top of jalapeño corn bread waffles ($ 17). A reasonable portion and the chicken had crispy skin and tender meat. The hot sauce on the side was ultra spicy, the way I like it!
I had the double pancake pork burgers topped with lettuce, cheese and tomato, with pad Thai fries ($ 15). I normally eat my burgers with my hands, and with the pancake as the «bread», it did not hold up well and was better eaten with a fork and knife. The pork had a nice spice to it and juicy! This is the first time I have heard of pad Thai fries… koodos for being creative, and also being absolutely AMAZING! They were the highlight of my meal.
I ordered a lemonade thinking it was fresh lemonade (even, my receipt printed «fresh lemonade») but it was the San Pellegrino Lemonade ($ 4). It was fine, but fresh lemonade would have been much better!
Overall:
Great food. Must order the pad thai fries and I wish they would make their own lemonade and orange juice. There are only 8 to 10 menu brunch menu items so go try them all!

I polished a whole plate of ¾ Seoul Chicken with their secret red sauce.
Gluttony was my friend. I also shared half of the delicious Roasted cauliflower and having a taste of their Tuna Ceviche Nachos, which my friend and I agreed, was both satisfying and perfect for a light dinner.
Needless to say I rolled home. My friend I praised the food and it’s flavors for a good 10 – 15 minutes after we had left.
I will definitely be back and I may be sharing — maybe not — but should — the Seoul Chicken.

Beast had a lineup out the door so we decided to try Lisa Marie. Far from being a lame second choice, it proved to be fun and delicious.
We sat at the bar, because we didn’t have a reservation (nice to know they take them), but I prefer the bar despite the stools. It wan’t a real issue since most of the seating here consists of bar stools, anyway.
We both began with a Caesar. It was perfect and prepared with a deep fried piece of sausage, olives and a pickle slice. My boyfriend had a bacon benedict concoction that he enjoyed very much. I had the deep fried cornish hen with pad thai fries. How great are those fries? I think they coat them in cornstarch, fry them and then then toss them in ketchup and peanut sauce. with bean sprouts and cilantro? At any rate, a solid side dish. The cornish hen was juicy as could be and the batter was crisp and well seasoned. The cornmeal muffin was only ok, but what I liked the best about this dish was that they served the syrup on the side but they also gave a ramekin of nice habernero sauce. I don’t like my food to be very sweet, so the ability to control this was appreciated by me.
Our bartender was great and even made me an Aperol Fizz upon request.
Great 70’s playlist going at a perfect sound level.
I think that a lot of their food is a bit gimmicky and quite unhealthy, but in the end, healthy is very overrated at brunch. It’s overrated period. Live like The King: Eat, Drink, Get Fat and Die.
Lisa Marie would be proud.

Went here with 3 others for the smoke plate, a few of their app plates, cocktails and the Elvis dessert.
Amazing service, great food. Thanks!

Thursday nights they have special ribs! The ribs are delicious. Nice and tender. They also have life music Thursday nights.
The whiskey sour is people made (with the eggs whites, a little over priced tho, but super delicious).

Went there last week for dinner, and it was a great experience! A lot of their dishes in the menu are asian inspired, so it’s ideal for sharing. The server was very nice and patiently explained every question we had. The lighting and ambience was very hip, but we didn’t expect it to be THAT loud, as we couldn’t hear each other across the table!
So overall it’s a great hang out spot and have good food, but I wouldn’t go if you are going for a romantic date/​looking for a place for actual conversation.

Food: ⁸⁄₁₀ — Value: ⁶⁄₁₀ — Service: ⁸⁄₁₀ — Ambiance/​Décor: ⁸⁄₁₀
– Fried Cornish Hen and Corn Bread Waffles ($ 17)
Old school fried cornish hen on a jalapeño corn bread waffle with maple syrup, hot sauce, and duck fat home fries.
I like corn bread (I don’t know where the jalapenos factored in because I didn’t taste any and I’m sensitive to heat) and I like waffles, but I didn’t like the combination. It was not as delicious as corn bread and not as crunchy or sweet as waffles. The chicken was good. Not much to say about it other than that it wasn’t dry, which is always a plus for chicken. The duck fat home fries were probably the star for me. These were my first «anything fried in duck fat» so I don’t know if them being extra crispy is what sets it apart, but that’s what it was: super crispy, which is my favourite.
The portion was decent, but I’m not entirely convinced it was worth $ 17.
I tried my company’s orders as well: the Bacon Explosion Benedict ($ 17) looked amazing and was a solid egg’s benedict. The portion for pad thai fries is huge, but I’d be careful if you don’t have a tolerance for spicy because it had a bit of a kick and cumulatively, it’d get quite spicy. The Open-​Faced Smoked Fish Club ($ 16) looked decent, but was a little underwhelming to me. I never really understood open-​faced sandwiches anyway and smoked fish is just smoked fish.
Service was quick and each table gets their own jug of water, so no complaints there. It’s a decent space. The back area of the restaurant where it’s more dimly lit looked much cooler than the front, but the front is not bad too. It’s spaced out enough that each table has their own space and privacy.
I’m not entirely sold on the food’s value, but it’s not a bad brunch spot.

The atmosphere was great, unique crowd that you couldn’t pin point to just one ‘type’. The food was good the pad Thai fries were great to share, and I couldn’t not order the tuna nachos (tuna was like butter and had a generous serving of fish on them), tried the cereal fried fish sandwich, which was good and the Montréal smoked meat sandwich (substituted the hamburger patty for ‘more’ of the smoked meat but it wasn’t a generous serving) I’d go back.

Booked a last minute table on vday yesterday at Lisa Marie and it was such a memorable experience.
Live jazz, great ambiance
They offered vday menu only yesterday
Ordered two salads were okay.
Pad Thai fries n ribs are tasty though!
Ribs were very tender and fries flavorful
Desserts need some improvement
Service was friendly and attentive
Overall would go back

Went there with friends for brunch. I had the cornish hen on a jalapeño waffle with pad thai fries. The food was good, but nothing special and a little pricey. The waffle was tasty, but the hen was lacking. I had also expressed a desire to have half salad/​half fries, but my server was unable to make it happen, which was disappointing. I wasn’t exactly asking for the moon or extra food; I simply wanted half a portion of each. There are many places to eat in Toronto, so I always find it odd when restaurant aren’t willing to do anything out of the ordinary for a paying customer, and it wasn’t exactly busy either. I probably won’t go back as there are better options in terms of food and service just a few metres away…

**GREAT BRUNCH on QUEEN WEST**
Finally had the opportunity to come here for brunch. Shamefully, I’ve always shied away from coming here because I just assumed it was a hipster bar. To my surprise and terribly quick judgement I was extremely impressed with my experience!
We were seated quickly and our server was the MOST friendly. The brunch menu had an eclectic selection for almost everyone. I ordered the Double Pancake Pork Burger which was basically an extreme and better version of a Big Mac. Instead of buns they cleverly slid burger and toppings in between 2 pancakes and gave you some maple syrup on the side. It also came with a side of Pad Thai fries. I was skeptical about trying it, but maybe it was the company I was with, or the vibe of the place, or quite possibly the awesome 90s hip hop that was playing in the background but I said «F*%k it. YOLO.» Probably the best decision I made today. Sad but true. Fries doused in flavourful sauce made for pad thai noodles. Those fries were AMAZING!
I give Lisa Marie’s 4 Stars for now because I WILL be coming back for sure but for their dinner menu, which I’m looking forward to!
Sorry I was quick to judge! I loved it, guys!

I guess your experience with Lisa Marie depends highly on when you come during the day. In my case I came a little later in the evening between around 9pm on a Friday.
Given this place has so many mouthwatering photos of brunch and stuff well let’s just say you can’t have that in the evening which is sort of sad. Being that this place is the brick and mortar of Fidel Gastro’s food truck there are some dishes that may be familiar to those that know the truck perhaps.
Granted I shared my plate of Seoul Fried Chicken described as:
«Half crispy fried chicken tossed in Korean pepper sauce served with the house made kimchi and sweet potato noodle stir fry»
This was from the online menu perhaps it’s not verbatim these days but the fried chicken we received had no such stir fry not to mention what we were served wasn’t really «half» a chicken as it is defined these days by almost any place you go to which includes yes, Swiss Chalet one of the lowest common denominators when trying to measure chicken dinners.
What I mean by this is the chicken basket I received was indeed by definition «half» a chicken but not half dark and white meat but rather the lower half which are universally known as the «cheap cuts». What I received was a basket of 2 drumsticks and 2 thigh pieces not 1 drum, 1 thigh, 1 unsplit wing and 1 half breast.
As far as the chicken goes it was just OK. This was the 2^nd time in the day I’d had so falled Korean fried chicken and and this point in my short yet condensed experience with KFC I’ve had more than my fair share. I’ve been to more establishments serving some sort of version of KFC since June ’15 than there are months between June and the present (December) in the GTA alone nevermind the 4 others I’ve been to in the US. I can say I know a thing or two about KFC and how many places serve it.
Now I get it that Lisa Marie is not a Korean restaurant I totally get that. The thing is neither is the Country General or Duke’s Refresher bar for that matter. Lisa Marie’s fried chicken is decent but besides kimchi and a sauce what makes this particular fried chicken so «Korean»?
The flavor is good but I would have preferred getting a true «half» chicken as it’s pretty much universally known and not necessarily 4 dark meat pieces which are not as large and filling as white meat pieces.
For a side I had ordered the Pad Thai fries. Now this was a treat. The fries not necessarily piping hot when I received them still had a neat taste to them. They seemed to be coated and have a spicy sauce on them as well as being mixed with bean sprouts. The taste is really nice and for 7 bucks I guess they are pushing the food truck prices too. This place for what we ordered was just OK. The fries were really good and the chicken was just OK.
Honestly I left with the feeling that this place was a little overpriced and perhaps a bit overrated. Perhaps I would have felt differently if I wasn’t served the cheapest cuts of chicken it wasn’t priced as it was.
It probably didn’t help that the KFC at the County General which I had just hours ago pretty much blew me and my friend away with the kind of presentation that I’ve never had before for KFC which includes over a half dozen places in Toronto and 4 other places in NYC, Chicago and Pittsburgh.

Communal seating. Loud band. Loud. Good food. Expensive. Hip.

Big time fan!
I really enjoyed the truck, glad to support the brick and mortar restaurant.
Booked on Open Table and was seated right away.
Nacho Tuna Ceviche was awesome. Lots of tasty tuna with a citrus kick… love it!
Will return for brunch!

So close to a 4 star review, but while some of their dishes hit a high, I wasn’t impressed with enough to completely fall in love with Lisa Marie.
I came in here with a group of 7 for a birthday dinner, which is perfect for sampling a vast majority of the items in their pretty small menu. It’s not a haven for someone like me that has lost their love for red meat, but even I couldn’t argue that some of their meaty dishes were delicious. But a big meaty fan would certainly love it here.
A consistent theme I see with the reviews here are that these guys pack a lot of flavour in to their small dishes and I would most certainly agree with that. But for me I recall more of the lows than the highs of the food here which is why I gave these guys a hesitant 3 and not 4 stars.
The service here was amazing, our server was friendly, knowledgeable, and gave us fine recommendations, and the food didn’t take long to start streaming out of the kitchen.
Didn’t love the ribs (but that’s just me, since I didn’t hear any complaints from anyone else in my group) or the pad thai fries and it was unfortunate they didn’t have my first 2 choices of beer listed on the menu.
The plus side for me is that their menu seems to change frequently, and I would definitely come back here for brunch since it seems they do that well, but while I wouldn’t suggest coming back here for dinner I would not be opposed if it was suggested to me.

Brunch spots that take reservations always deserve a bonus star.
Lisa Marie isn’t quite like any other brunch spot in the Queen West neighborhood. There are plenty of competition in the hip area, but Lisa Marie’s menu definitely stands out.
I had to try the Double Pancake Pork Burger, with a side of duck fat fries (which are actually made with home fries). It feels weird drenching the burger in syrup, but OMG it tastes phenomenal. If you love pancakes AND burgers, you must order this.
I also shared Cornish Hen & Waffles with a side of Pad Thai Fries (first time hearing of this). The dish was difficult to eat because of the bone in the hen. The waffle was hard to cut into, but together, with maple syrup, it was delicious!
My friends loved their dishes too — the peameal bacon sandwich was made like pulled pork! The Eggs Benedict Explosion looked delicious too.
The place is loud, so may not be too good for large groups as we couldn’t hear each other well across the table. I also liked how our bill came in a cassette tape holder.
Lisa Marie is where you will find creativity in not only their menu, but also their décor!