Parts & Labour

I’ve been to P&L a few times now, and believe me when I tell you it truly shines when you go with a large group and eat family style, off of the fixed menus. I recently celebrated a birthday there with 12 of the guys, and everyone was very pleased and VERY full. The food is straightforward, well-​executed, and shows quality. My standouts include the fried chicken, ceviche and Côte de boeuf. Impressive cocktail list, and a pretty cool vibe downstairs if you wanna hang out and have a few drinks.

Were from Los Angeles, but we looooove Matty’s show on munchies. So when i got married (part 2) in Ottawa, my boys and I had to drive to Toronto to check this out. Glad we were there on Tuesday, so we were able to try Matty’s Tuesday night Chicken special. comes with about 4 – 5 pieces of fried chicken and 2 sides ($ 26).
It was ok. but thats sad because OK shouldnt be the case for Matty. I didnt know if this was the pickled brine, or just normal chicken. But i cant hate. i come from a place where fried chicken is a regular thing and everyone has their own special blend. But in Toronto, where there isnt too many fired chicken joints, this was probably their best.
Ill try them out again in the future to try and kill my minor disappointment
but them Mac and Cheesuz Christ tho!!! BANGBANG

So the burger is good here, but thats about it. If your into communal dining with randoms as seems to be the trend lately in toronto heres another one for you. I came with one other person for a burger and it was decent. Later a friend hosted her birthday here with a party of 14 people. We had pre arranged a set menu with a number of their menu items (not the burgers) such as the brocollini dish, the carrot dish, the beets, the corn, brocolli and cheese, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, collared greens, the cauliflower dish, the sliced beef, and the fried chicken (in other words probably about 60 percent of the menu). Apart from the fried chicken which was pretty good everything else was mediocre at best. The most disappointing part though was the manner and quality of service. The waiters were friendly enough but our meal took over three and a half hours to serve, we were never given dinner plates and had the entire meal on tiny appetizer plates. Perhaps worst of all in true communal fashion the food was served in large bowl like portions but disgustingly no serving spoons were provided. Essentially dishes were being passed between all 14 people (some perfect strangers) with only their own used silverware to dish out their own helpings onto a measily appetizer plate. Needless to say all of my friends at the party got sick afterward with stomach issues. I dont care how good your burger is, I will never go back.

Just had my first meal at P&L. The overall experience, especially the service staff, was exceptional! I came on a Tuesday so I gravitated towards the fried chicken special with some collard greens and Mac n’ cheese. The chicken was a thing of dreams: the ultimate contrast of textures, and the side dishes were amazing (perhaps the serving was a bit small, but nothing to scoff at). I highly recommend the donut for dessert. Trust me, it’ll comfortable feed 3 – 4 with just the ‘small’ order. I’ll definitely come back!

Never again. I knew going in that it would be overpriced but it was a friends birthday and she wanted to try it out. Let’s start with the service: unbelievably rude waitress that barely noticed our table (we had to go to the bar to get a drink twice). We ordered two meals and a birthday donut, and each individual plate took more that a half an hour to reach our table. The food. Gross!!! Had the P&L burger and was less than impressed. The birthday donut was fine but nothing special.
Regardless we were excited to check out the club downstairs. The end of our meal comes finally at 11:45 (not by choice) and we go to head down to the club. At the door were told the cut off for dinner guests was 11:30 for advanced line; something that our waitress never mentioned even though we had said we were going to their club. When we went to ask her about it she got extremely defensive and said «we didn’t spend enough to warrant an advanced line & they were at capacity.»
So we spent over 150 $ to eat crappy food from a rude wait staff and didn’t even make it into the club. NEVER AGAIN.

The mac & cheese was spot on, topped with crushed cheetos. I can neither confirm, nor deny, that I will be using this technique in the future. Cocktails were bang on, nice selection that should please most. I opted for the rabbit which, while tasty, was dry and overcooked. Nicely presented and very flavorful, but I left dinner thinking I should have gone with something else.

Delicious! We walked in without a reservation– staff greeted and seated us. The cocktail menu was complicated and probably admirable for those that partake. Our server helped us navigate the menu so that we had enough to share and entrees of our own. Because we dine with cute kids with foodie in training staff thru in an extra mac n’ cheese (thank you). I tasted a lot, but what’s worth noting– the broccolli and trout both creatively seasoned and to die for. Next time we are in town… we will check in again.

My review is for Sunday brunch. I’d had this on my restaurant wish list for awhile now.
Pros:
–the Caesar. It hit the spot
–plating and appearance of food
–the French fries
–communal tables– I actually didn’t mind this, was kind of fun
Cons:
–not as many options as I’d like
–it was really cold in there
Food was not amazing but not overly disappointing either. I don’t think I’d go back though.

Parts & Labour is a must in Toronto cuz Matty Matheson is that dude yo! Sounds like a little hip restaurant, but P&L has some real regal stuff on their menu. Keep in mind that this joint is not for the stingy crackers, it’s pretty bougie with desserts in the $ 12 steakhouse range, definitely word every penny doe.
Giving a shout-​out to my stingy dudes: on Tuesday they have a «Fried Chicken» special where 2x can eat for $ 26. On Wednesday you can get a «Burger» + «Beer» for $ 18 — beats ordering a pizza if you ask me.

I’ve been to the P&L Burger joint, but wanted to come to try this place out as soon as I found out they have a restaurant which serves more than just burger. The place is dark and service is honestly slow. But the food was good and tasty. Portions vs pricing, it is overall quite an expensive restaurant.
The beet salad was sweet and almost a beautiful culinary dish on its own. I ordered the rainbow trout wanting to try something different and the only disappointment was the portion of the trout. The taste and fish was well cooked with great taste of dill oil, crème fraîche, salt roasted beets, cured cucumbers and horseradish combination. The cocktails menu was robust and a good wine selection to go with your meal. If you want a safe choice, better go for the Burger. You can’t go wrong with ordering a burger at P&L.
In the winter when it’s cold enough, they even make the cider on the heated wood burning stove that keeps ppl warm at the front of the restaurant. Cool!

–5 stars! Worst place ever. Don’t bother going here you will definitely regret it.
Save your money for a better serviced, hygienic, more organized and professional establishment.
(You would think when a party of 40+ people are coming they would provide better service considering all the money you just brought into this dump for them)
No one from that birthday will ever be wasting our time making that mistake again.

I visited P&L for an event, so I can only comment on the food, not the service or pricing because this was not a regular visit, but a 4 course menu with cocktails.
We had the opportunity to try some dishes P&L had to offer, so let’s get to the food. The first course was appetizers, Steak Tartare, Salmon Crudo and Pig Tails. The steak was not like a tartare I’d ever had before; rather than it being in patty form and seasoned, it was mixed with the pickled carrot and charred jalapeño peppers. I had no idea it was the Steak Tartare when it arrived at the table. It was delightful. I think the masking of it being raw beef helped, but it was rich and flavourful.
The Salmon Crudo was intense! I didn’t realize it had seranno peppers in it and took a huge bite. Holy crap! Glad they had large bottles of water on the table! Being I’m not great with heat, I didn’t enjoy this dish. I love salmon, but I couldn’t taste anything but the heat of the peppers. Others loved it. Guess I’ll have to keep working on my heat threshold. *sigh*
My favourite was Pig Tails! Confused when it arrived, we were hungry enough to figure it out. We grabbed a scallion pancake, put some pork and marinated, grilled red cabbage in it and dove in. The pork was ground and in a patty seasoned to perfection. The cabbage gave this great crunch to the softness of the pancake. Mmmm. I definitely finished off what was left on the plate. No regrets! I’d get this again and again.
Next was a course of veggies done in the best ways ever. I’ve decided that Roasted Baby Carrots should always be served with ricotta; the apple cider gastrique and caraway crumbs were just a bonus. We may or may not have tried to stab each other for the last one. The Roasted Cauliflower was ok. There was almost too much going on with the sunchoke chips, ricotta, and salsa verde. My favourite was the Grilled Broccolini. MMMM! Broccoli with black sesame, pecorino and a fried egg on top. Whoever thought of this deserves a hug. I definitely finished this one off while the others were fighting for carrots. Teehee.
Meat time! Served up next was the P&L Burger and Fried Chicken. The burger was great! Fresh toppings and super juicy. I love me a burger and this hit the spot. The Fried Chicken was alright, not special, but still good.
The venue décor was simple and functional. Lots of clean lines, large tables, but not a lot of colour. The bar is the focal point here, coloured lights and lots of bottles. It was a nice place, good for a large group!

Every time I go here, it’s pretty empty and I love that. I had their fancy Country Fried Steak & eggs and I’ve never been so excited in my whole damn stupid life because it was way better tasting than it looked, and it was a true work of art. Don’t go anywhere else, ever.

Came here for a friends birthday with a party of about 12. I thought it was an okay looking place and definitely clean. I thought the service was good.
The reason for the low score is that in my opinion the food was nowhere worth the cost, simple as that it didn’t blow me away and I didn’t feel the value was anywhere close to what it should have been. I didn’t know this place won awards for their burger but I didn’t finish mine but that was more about the mayo like sauce and I don’t like mayo.
I would never come back or recommend P&L to a friend but service was good so 2 stars.

From the service to the mac and cheese, everything at Parts and Labour was absolutely wonderful and very much affordable. At $ 50 pp after tax and tip, we enjoyed a glass of wine and a scotch, the Dan Dan noodles, the cauliflower, the steak tartare (our favorite by far) and last but not least, the mac and cheese.
It was a great meal, in a great atmosphere. We’ll definitely be back!

Had a not so good meal at P&L last night. Three of us went for the Cote Du Boeuf special. We were excited and even more so when we arrive and told there was one left and it was for us! Wow, was I ever surprised by the plate. The meat was ok — nothing special and very fatty. Broccolini was ok but it could have been cooked more. The sauce they serve with the meat is awful; super salty and tastes like it came from a can. All in all, not impressed at all by the P&L CDB. Things got really bad when we got home and both had to rush to the bathroom (thankfully we have two) immediately and repeatedly.
I do enjoy the P&L burger but I think that’s it for me. I also had the «pork belly» there recently and it was actually a cottage ham, no belly in sight… What the?

Parts & Labour’s reputation as an über hipster hangout for tatted up «cool» folk always made it seem a little unapproachable for dinner to me. But after some glowing recommendations from friends and co workers I decided to give it a try. My boyfriend and I went by for his birthday dinner, and the general consensus when we left was that it was the best meal and all around dining experience we’d had in a long while.
Food wise we were both really blown away with how much they managed to do with veggie only dishes. The cauliflower dish was the highlight of the meal for me and my boyfriend couldn’t stop raving about the broccolini (which I loved as well). He was also a big fan of the beef tartare (his first time trying tartare of any kind) but my pescatarian ways prevent me from weighing in on that one. Since it was his birthday he got to choose dessert and we shared the ‘small’ doughnut dish– which was huge! I’m a little frightened to think how big the large must be… I would never have chosen that myself as I am not a big doughnut eater, but I am so glad we tried it! It was delicious! The sparkler they put in it for his birthday was a nice touch as well, so much better than a candle! We also had a little side of mac and cheese. It was nothing crazy special but the crumbs of cheetos on the top was a fun addition, that surprisingly actually worked. The only disappointing food item for me was the salmon crudo. It was drowning in olive oil and I thought all the spice from the jalepenos was a little misplaced. But that was one small blip in an otherwise stellar meal.
In terms of drinks we both tried quite a range! My personal favourite was the ‘Colour Me French” cocktail, which was as delicious as it was attractive and theatrical. The ‘El Tito Puento’ was quite nice as well. I rarely drink cocktails unless I’m at a place that really does them right, and Parts & Labour is definitely one of those places! My boyfriend stuck mostly to sipping on Flor de Cana 18yr which he hadn’t had since his trip to Nicaragua, but he did try one cocktail «Mexican Blanket’ — which was the only disappointment of the evening for him– can’t win ‘em all! Oh and a extra spicy caesar, which was DELICIOUS!
The atmosphere was fantastic as well, weirdly warm and comfy considering the more industrial themed décor. We happily wasted a few hours in there forgetting about the outside world. Service was good too, a little aloof at times, but that’s what you expect from a place like this.
No question we’ll be back soon! We’re gonna try brunch on our next visit and drown ourselves in those fantastic caesars :) mhm…

Got dragged to the No No Pony night by the BFF’s BF (they play Pony by Ginuwine every hour on the hour). No cover since we got there before 11pm. They musta heard I was coming since there was a sign behind the bar downstairs «we don’t do polar bear shots» so that immediately cramped my style.
The downstairs reminds me of my stoner friend’s mom’s basement that he was too lazy to even decorate with posters and never got cleaned. The music was okay-​ish. Got way too crowded as the night progressed. Typical Parkdale kids — I feel like most of them didn’t shower or even wash their faces before heading out. My BFF and I felt like we were overdressed in heels and make-​up and our boys looked practically Royal compared to the flannel bearded hipsters up in that joint.
What this Place Teaches me About Myself: My taste in boys is improving. Also, I might be getting prematurely old as I wanted to tell most of the people there to get off my lawn.

Saw this gem featured on Vice !
Had the burgers and they were dynamite. I definitely recommend a go ;)

Simply, this is what dinning out is all about! Had a great meal and experience while at Part and Labour for dinner on a Saturday night.
Make reservations because it gets packed. The FOH is very friendly, and the wait staff is very knowledgeable about the menu and extremely pleasant and helpful.
The menus is chef inspired, loaded with flavour and creativity and designed for sharing (Don’t come here alone!). The bartenders are also equally aggressive with their original and fun cocktails.
It is dark and loud, if that’s not your thing… be prepared. Also, they have large communal tables, they will try to give you some buffer space between others, but when it’s busy, it’s busy.
I had a great experience at Parts and Labour, and I hope you do too!