Safari Bar & Grill

This used to be our go-​to as we live in the neighbourhood. Beware it is under new ownership. The food is now terrible. I was there a couple of months ago and seated near the kitchen. I watched a server remove a bun from a burger with her bare hands! Eww, I hope she washed her hands! My husbands pizza came back undercooked twice. He ended up not eating that night. I gave it another chance last night. A friend and I each ordered the grilled calamari. It was slimy and chewy and was floating in what tasted like cheap jarred tomato sauce. I am so done with this place. The same goes for Drums and Flats — same new owners. I miss Dan.

I like the patio but that’s probably the best part of this place. It’s a family friendly spot with a safe menu, and a couple of decent beers but don’t expect great food. I think it’s slightly above average pricing for the quality to be honest, thus I gave it 2 stars instead of 3. The burger was so so — not terrible but nothing to write home about either — especially for $ 18. The wings were again standard but not juicy enough. It was the pizza that was the biggest disappointment. They definitely don’t have the nice thin crust concept down and just add gobs of less than stellar cheese to their pies. It’s the type of thing you regret ordering once you look at it and before you even taste it. Either do a nice Italian style or a good American style pie, this was neither and didn’t taste much better than frozen pizza from the supermarket to be honest.

My fiancée and I chose Safari to host our engagement get-​together with a bunch of our closest friends and family. We’d been here before last year for my fiancée’s brothers birthday party and thought it was a neat place to host a group of friends without breaking the bank.
We booked the space upstairs where their pool tables are located, and they sectioned off a nice corner for our party. They had a coat rack, a table set up for us to put a cupcake stand, as well as a buffet table where the finger foods would be served. There was only one waitress serving the entire upstairs area, and there were other guests up there eating and playing pool, but our server was pretty great.
We ordered Chicken Wraps, Chicken Wings and Sliders for the whole group. The food itself was alright, but the only complaint I have is portion. We ordered 25 orders and there was only one platter for each item. Last year when we were here, the hosts told us they ordered the same amount (25 orders) and it looked like they had almost double the amount of food. A little disappointed there.
One last complaint I have, when I paid the bill I wasn’t told the gratuities would be included (but I should have known since it was a large party), but after 5 pints and 3 shots, I didn’t even think about it until the next morning and double checked the bill and realized I had given a tip on top of mandatory gratuities. Oops.
Overall, it’s a good place to hang out with friends. There aren’t a lot of pubs with ample pool tables (and at a good price of $ 10/​hr), and a good selection on tap in the uptown area. (Please see my review on Spacco, LOL)

I love the food here, and upstairs is so cool. Patio is awesome. I love the pizza’s and one of the few places that you could get Innis and Gunn on tap; plus the service is good. Downstairs is dark and good place to get away for dinner. Upstairs is fun; pool table, table tennis and darts take up a good portion. Like the place!

Went today for Winterlicious. The lunch was ok for $ 15. Very bland food. Had spring rolls, kabob and apple tart. Friends had soup, fish and butter tart. Service was slow even though the restaurant was not busy. Disappointed we were not offered wine or a drink menu. Coffee refills were abundant. Looks like a decent menu, but will not return as there was no taste or atmosphere at the place.

Stopped in for a quick bite with friends mid-​week. We all ordered pizzas and they were all very good (The Green, The Red, The Forest). They offer gluten free crust and were able to accommodate the many substitutions and dietary restrictions of our group without a problem. Price was on point with most pizza/​pasta restaurants in the neighbourhood. The service was pretty good. It took a while to get menus, but once we did everything went fine.
Overall a solid spot.
They have billiards upstairs for pre/​post-​meal fun.

Safari — just a very standard breakfast spot. Never been there for dinner but had brunch a few times. This sunday — not a whole lot of staff on, which made waiting for coffee, etc. a little bit of an issue. The toast was not toasted but the eggs were poached and a few mix-​ups on the ordering. Overall — just a standard breakfast — nothing spectacular and nothing terrible.

I don’t understand the hate. I think it’s pretty good!

Great patio. Great Margherita.

Who doesn’t love free stuff?! Don’t know if it was by luck or if its a regular thing, but on this trip we ended up getting free lemonade and 2 free beers. It may have been that the waiter just forgot to put it on the bill, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the waiter just comp’d it. No doubt, the best service I have ever received at a restaurant!!! The waiter knew the menu like the back of his hand and gave his honest opinions. He made us feel at home and did everything to make it the best experience. And again, free is always a winner in my books.
The food was pretty good. As suggested, I ordered the lamb burger. Always love lamb and the shaved red onion and cucumber and cheese was a perfect complement to the yogurt sauce. The burger was a little overcooked, but still full of flavor! Also ordered the wings. Once again, I didn’t man up and got afraid of trying the clinically insane sauce, but after trying the medium, I think I would get it if I ever find myself back in Toronto (probably won’t ever happen). The medium sauce was sweet and didn’t pack any heat. But the wings themselves were a hit!
We came for lunch so it was pretty empty, but the restaurant itself was great. The lounge area upstairs was also awesome especially for watching the Euro Cup matches.

Gotta say I’m a little surprised by the hate for Safari!
It’s an easily accessible spot for my family, and the huge patio is always a big draw. Over the years I’ve had patio parties before going away overseas, to school, and I’ve never been disappointed.
Went last night for dinner on the patio at 7:30. We had called around 6:30 to ask about a reservation, but at least for the patio, they won’t take them for parties of less than six. They told us we probably wouldn’t have to wait long, and they were right, no wait at all.
Service was prompt, and when I spilled my half-​drank beer our server brought me a fresh one on the house. Don’t abuse that system, though!
We shared some Irish nachos to start, which were tasty, if a bit uninspiring. Their homemade kettle chips were good, but a bit under-​seasoned in my books. For a main my mom and I split the (9oz) Safari burger which had cheese, mushrooms, bacon and sauteed onions. It was huge and delicious-​looking, and came speared with a big knife. Unfortunately they cook burgers all the way through, and I just can’t call a well-​done burger perfect for me. I understand the rules, but gosh I don’t like em. The side ceaser we had with it was great.
My boyfriend had the chicken wrap which I’ve always dug, and my dad had the souvlaki pizzadilla — he loved it.
All in all, the food stops it from getting to the next level, but I dig Safari.

My review is going to seem really different from the others, I think.
Safari holds a certain amount of nostalgia with me, it’s where my Husband and I had our first date and where we celebrated our wedding anniversary last night.
I think the food is great– you have to keep in mind that this restaurant has the sometimes difficult task of satisfying the food needs of an interesting and somewhat diverse cultural/​religious group. As a result, their menu is a mish-​mash of different things, with no real direction. But everything on it is pretty good.
When you are seated, they provide you with fresh bread and roasted red pepper hummus. That’s pretty different, I think.
They’re also family friendly and have a second floor that houses televised events, pool tables, etc. And the bar is stocked, of course.
The servers leave a bit to be desired. I think their laissez-​faire attitudes stem from the fact that Safari is one of the few family-​friendly, well-​priced eateries in this neighbourhood and people will come despite poor service.
There’s not a ton of parking in the neighbourhood (all street parking or Green P) so you’ve gotta snatch something if you find it.
There are many, many restaurants which are much, much better, but this place holds a special place in my heart and the food is pretty good. And I think they know that.

What a dump. I need to stop going to awful places with my friends who think these dive bars are the place to be. Seriously, you are making money now. Stop going to places like this. And I know it’s not for the food. Because I know better places that serve pub food than here. The only reason why they are probably still open is because there are a ton of residential places in the area and not a lot of bars to go to. Plus, parking is awful because it’s on Avenue Rd and getting a spot on the side street near the restaurant can be very hard.
But anyways, the wings were terribly overcooked and extremely hard to bite into. It almost seemed as if they had been deep fried, left out to cool for too long and then thrown back in again. I had 3 of these before stopping myself. And the hot wings were not hot at all.
So I figured I’d try something else and something that isn’t served in most pubs. The lamb burger. What a disappointment. Once again, it was way overcooked even though I asked for it cooked medium. It came out well done. Now I’m not a fan of sending food back but I had to on this time and when I do, I get a sneer for my waitress. Seriously, do you want to see the back of my fist?
Will not come back.

Went in for a Sunday brunch and didn’t really do any drinking or billiards which is what I assume most people do there on evenings. We spent all the time in the patio which was very nice albeit slightly cramped if you have a seat lined next to the building.
Service was definitely friendly, although a little slow but I can look past that. The main reason this place is getting a 2 star review is that the food quality was not that great. I got the Egg’s Benedict and did not enjoy it too much. It was cooked all right and everything but just tasted unhealthy and like no real care was put in to it, comparing it to breakfast in places like Fran’s or Over Easy. Hmm that does sound harsh, maybe I should just say not to get the Egg’s Benedict and go for something like the apple french toast which was good and a must get if you like apples and french toast.
A couple of other reason for the 2 star is that I believe it’s over priced (close to $ 3 for a regular cup of coffee? No thanks) and my friends coffee came with 2 lipstick stains on it, and a pitcher of water had some sort of floating leaf/​moss type thing. Again I would revert back to my «not caring» outlook.
I’m not a fan of writing low star reviews, and I’m fairly certain that if I am made to go again, the experience would probably be better if we refrained from eating and just went on a night out.
In terms of parking, ample space all around on Avenue and the side street. Parking is free on the north side of that side street next to the restaurant while the south side is paid parking (on the weekends at least!) so that was a small plus.

I hadn’t been to this restaurant in probably 5 years or more. Unlike the previous reviewer, we found a parking spot right out front.
My gf and I decided to try something simple and out of the norm for our one year anniversary. So we had a very cheery server, which he happened to mention was the manager of the place. So we ordered a couple of alcoholic bevvies to start. Then we had the goat cheese spinach dip. Same as pretty much any other dip. The baked pita bread was good but the very salty tortilla chips probably tostitos were MEH!
Then we ordered goat cheese chicken and cheese burger and fries. My goat cheese chicken wasn’t too bad. I wouldn’t say to die for but the side items were pretty delicious although one piece of the ravioli was burned, unless it was charred. My gf liked her burger and fries.
The place changed a little bit from the last time I went there where you are in plain view of the cooks, which they seemed a bit young. But hey. They’ve gotta start somewhere right?
Maybe I’ll go back, if they pick my name out of their contest. LOL

although i’ve eaten at this restaurant several times, i definitely don’t return because of the service.
the food is great. the spinach dip appetizer is delicious, and it’s consistently good. the dinner menu is sophisticated pub food, but i have yet to find a single item on the menu that i don’t like. overall, i really enjoy the food, and eating on the patio makes the experience much better.
the part i really don’t like is the service. i find the hostesses are always quick to have you seated, but it takes forever to get the order in, let alone deliver the food. i always have to remind the waiter/​waitress to bring the humus dip, which is complimentary and really good. when the weather is nice and the patio is full, service is even slower and the kitchen is overrun.
i would still recommend this restaurant to anyone. i find that the good food and nice restaurant environment surpasses the pour service.

I have seldom experienced restaurants with worse service or a more unappealing menu. Upon arrival at this restaurant the first thing I noticed is that it is LOUD, I know it says bar but the lack of local watering holes in this area most mean that too many locals crowd into this cramped overrated lack luster establishment.
Although I wanted to leave immediately, with the moeny I already spent on parking I was already «in the hole». The menu is basic, with odd exceptions that one would never consider ordering from a bar. Its busy dark, loud and adding insult to injury is that you have to wait an exceedingly long time for everything!!! its unbelievable how long my girlfriend and I were left sitting around before we were asked for our drink orders or even giver menus.
If you are on Avenue Road look elsewhere for your dining need unless its early and you have time to kill, and my last piece of advice would be… Bring a book
Cheer,

We waited a long time to be seated here. Most of their staff seems to be 18 – 19 years old, which isn’t a problem except when they forget an order. The atmosphere is really nice, I’d prefer the patio though cause the inside is really dark and dreary.
I ordered a pasta and it wasn’t what I expected. In fact it was pretty dry but it tasted fine. I’d come back maybe once or twice. Nothing to notable.