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- Hours:
Mon, Sun 11 am - 11 pm
Tue-Sat 11 am - 1 am
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Best Nights:
- Thu, Fri, Sat
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- No
16 reviews for Harbord House
All Reviews
Harbord House
8/3/2010
Get to know John. He owns the place, is there most days, and wants you to have a good time.
The menu leans heavily on local and seasonal, though not dogmatically, and keeps the list short enough that the kitchen can actually get basically everything right. This has become something of a running joke with our group, since the excellent and ever-changing specials make it hard to return to the standards very often.
The vegetarian chili is a favourite of mine, especially on cold days - very chunky with beans and veg, not just tomato-sauce-without-meat. I'm also a big fan of the pulled pork sandwich with fries, if you run meatward. For apps, try the buffalo shrimp, and wonder why more pubs don't carry them - delicious.
Save room for the sticky toffee pudding. Don't make that face, I'm serious. I don't care that you don't normally eat dessert, or that sticky toffee pudding sounds too rich. It'll split up to 4 ways happily, so you can cop out that way if you want, but you really do have to order it. I kind of insist.
Tap list is all Canadian, again leaning on the local, and the guest tap changes monthly. John's got your hookup there, too.
Harbord House
3/31/2010
1 Check-in Here
I remember first trying this place with great trepidation a few years ago when it switched over from being Rowers (a place of great nostalgia - it was there, at the first frosh pubnight that us roommates discovered that we had all answered fave music with "anything but country" in our dorm placement questionnaire). Anyhow, Harbord House is a graduation of sorts and the timing of it coincided happily with my own elevation of tastes from chicken fingers and sugary plum sauce.
Harbord House offers great food, an ample selection of interesting beers with a focus on local fare. The portion sizes are generous but try to leave enough room for the sinful sticky toffee pudding dessert. Over the years I've tried quite a few things on the menu including the pulled pork, braised ribs, the salads, fish and chips and the burger. I have yet to be disappointed. They offer a tasty watermelon lemonade in the warmer months which goes perfectly with your sunglasses, sandals and a seat on the patio/porch.
They are kid friendly and have at least one high chair. It gets busy at lunch time and the stairs at the entrance are narrow and steep so you might want to leave the stroller at home.
Harbord House
3/31/2010
Food: In a sentence, greasy pub food that takes itself far too seriously. The three dip appetizer (9) is pitiful in terms of quantity. While the fava is relatively good, the hummus is most certainly commercial, and the black bean is bland. Serving it on a smaller plate to less emphasize the diminutive portions should be something to consider. Crab cakes (9) are too fishy, and are over-fried falafel-looking balls that lack all traces of the requisite crab. Fish and chips (13) are certainly the worst I've ever had, with a centimeter-thick batter that tasted as though it had been sitting in fryer-oil for a week, covering a pathetic filet of haddock. The pulled pork sandwich (12) fared much better. A huge pile of sweet/spicy pork strands was served on a toasted hamburger bun with coleslaw. While the meat was semi-tough, the terrific sauce it was doused in more than made up for it. The side of coleslaw, that was soggy and at room temperature, had the unfortunate taste of nothing. The poutine option (4) for the side of fries was an almost good pick: a mix of both sweet potato and Yukon fries were in a veal jus (soup, really), with too-few curds of cheese, and caramelized onions.
Decor: Old house, exposed beams, cheap tables and chairs, dirty carpets.
Service: Mediocre at best, bordering on unacceptable. The bartender was rude, service was slow.
I'd go back, but only as an alternative to some of the other Annex student pubs and restaurants, which isn't saying much. I should note that this wasn't the intended destination - I meant to go to The Harbord Room up the street, but wasn't paying attention. $80 for two (with drinks, tax, and tip), unwisely spent.
Harbord House
1/31/2010
More of a 3.5 really...pretty good but hmm...
I like the atmosphere it is very cozy and homey feeling. The service is also really friendly to add to the homey feel.
The food reflects the decor, comfort food but a bit more refined. We ordered a beef stew, mac and cheese, and chicken pot pie. With crab cakes as a starter.
The crab cakes were highly disappointing, the outside was too overdone, a bit burnt, the crust was a bit on the thick side, and the outside was dry which meant it was not freshly fried. The filling was also lacking, had crab taste but none of the complexity, sweetness, ocean taste of a good crab, The dip was nice though.
The beef stew was really flavorful, and the addition of stout really made the beef more dimensional, not just the simple taste of beef. It came with nicely toasted bread and I love nothing more than soaking bread in stew so that was a plus for me.
The Mac and Cheese I thought was too salty, I was not a big fan of the cheese they use, I guess I'm more of an old fashion cheddar girl. I never got the hype about parmesan which they used too much off. The noodles were nice, al dente. They used penne, but I think elbow offers the best noodle to sauce ratio. The mac and cheese ended up with the top having too little sauce and the bottom having too much sauce.
The chicken pot pie was also good. I really liked the filling cause it was well seasoned and you can definitely taste the chicken with really complimenting flavors with the aromatic vegetables but the filling was really scarce. They used puff pastry (which was better than average) so it looked much bigger than it seemed, when we broke apart the crust, it was very underwhelming.
So overall it is a nice place to just chat with friends and enjoy the food enough. But I thought the food could be better, a bit underwhelming experience.
Harbord House
6/7/2009
I HEART Poutine (as I am sure you can guess from some of my previous posts) and the Harbord House is one of the greatest places in Toronto to take advantage of this delcious appetizer.
Real cheese curds and the option of regular fries or sweet potato fries, you cannot go wrong!
The atmosphere is cozy and casual and a great place in the winter months to meet up with friends for a pint and a poutine!
I am definitely a fan.
Listed in: Best Poutine in the downtown…
Harbord House
9/19/2009
I can't imagine having coworkers in town without bringing them to Harbord House. The food is fantastic, the beers are real and local, and the ambiance is very cozy and relaxing. (Fun note: the pictures on the wall were all taken by John, the proprietor!)
I've been here so often that I don't think I've neglected anything on the menu. Best bets include:
- for appetizers, the dip trio and buffalo shrimp;
- for mains, the Hoser Burger (includes peameal bacon!), Cobb salad, Cottage Pie, or Pulled pork sandwich (though it's hard to go wrong with anything on the menu);
- and a must have is the Sticky Toffee Pudding. You don't need one each; one for four people will do. It's that rich, and that delicious. I have never known a person to regret the decision to have sticky toffee pudding, even those on very strict diets.
There are a lot of fancier, more upscale restaurants along this stretch of Harbord, but I would always rather go to Harbord House. Especially when I can sit around for an hour or two, drinking Durham Hop Addict, talking about all manner of everything with my fantastic coworkers - which Harbord House is all too happy to oblige.
Harbord House
7/21/2009
My visit here has become a blur, a faint memory without specifics. I remember going there for lunch with a friend, sitting on the patio, eating my meal in about 3 minutes because it was so good, and thinking to myself I need to go back again!
I do remember the pulled pork sandwich, the best I've ever had (don't tell my girlfriend that it was the best I ever had!). I also remember delicious french fries, again nothing specific, just that I ate them all, even the tiny burnt ends. And yes, the fresh watermelon lemonade. What!?!? Yelp, it was fantastic.
Since I've only been to this place once, I'm giving it a tentative 4 stars. However, a couple more visits and it may gain another star. Judging by other reviews here, this place definitely is a hit.
Harbord House
11/5/2009
Way too bougie for this bo-bo.
I really liked Rowers and it's laid back vibe. This place is just too pricey and for what? The atmosphere lacks compared to Rowers... if I want to watch fire on a display screen I can do that at home, thank you very much.
The food is okay, just too sleek for what should be Rower's. Um... I'll just leave it at that.
Listed in: Toronto Pub Grub
Harbord House
3/15/2010
Good beers, nice staff and comfy.
Harbord House
2/12/2009
I agree with Connie, this seems like the perfect "hang-out" for the over 30 type. We had a big group and it's a rather small space so they weren't too happy when we showed up. We got attitude from the waiter the whole time which made us a bit uncomfortable but I generally liked the place was set up, ambiance, food, etc. They don't have any dishes I'd go out of my way to have but it was good, affordable and a good place to grab a couple drinks after as well.
Their portions aren't HUGE... they just serve them in REALLY big plates :) Mains range from 12-22, most around 12-13
Harbord House
1/19/2009
I know I'm in the Annex, but what is this? A strip of restaurants that attract people over 30? Wow.
Though the Harbord House is still sort of casual and does welcome some college types, there's no riff-raff here. It's just a nice place to go for drinks and a mondo-XL-sized meal reminiscent of the southern US.
I had their burger and sweet potato fry combo -- massive and awesome -- but I also couldn't take my eyes off of my friend's fish and chip plate -- also massive and awesome.
The upstairs section is best; it seems a touch less cliquey and pretentious. And it also puts me one more step away from some Annex guy in a backward baseball cap.
Harbord House
10/30/2009
I thought the first time I went to the Harbord House was for a Yelp event, but I was wrong. I had actually been a year prior for a Flickr Meetup. I need to improve my memory. Anyway, I was at the Harbord House again recently for another Flickr Meetup. The bar is two floors, and the top floor makes a good place to have a large gathering. The bar looks really nice and cozy. It's very beige, but in a good way. The drink selection is great, and prices are reasonable. The food is shockingly good for a bar.
Harbord House
1/22/2009
Great food, affordable dining, great service.
This little Harbord Hideaway is great for a warm winter meal, or a summer patio evening 110-in-the-shade with a cold, frosty beer.
The chef's specials are excellent and one simply feels welcome when you walk in the front doors.
Check it out!
Listed in: KD's Top Restaurants
Harbord House
6/30/2009
Sure, they have microbrews, but the bartender was really bitchy. She wouldn't even list them for us.
Honestly, if you're not going to give us hospitality, why should we bother tipping you well?
Harbord House
3/31/2009
I love love love this place. It's small enough for it to be intimate and big enough to celebrate with a group of friends. So nice that I almost don't want anybody to know about it = )
Listed in: I'd destroy my liver for you:…
Harbord House
10/30/2008
Went here for lunch and had the fisherman's pie. My coworkers all had burgers and fries (some regular potato, some sweet). Apparently the sweet potatoes are a bit more expensive than the regular ones. The food was really tasty and arrived quickly. Our waiter was friendly. I would strongly recommend people check it out. It's a bit pricey but well worth it.
Listed in: Hot Spots in the Dot
