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Hey Lucy
Categories: Nightlife Bars Restaurants Pizza Restaurants Italian Bars, Pizza, Italian [Edit]
440 Bloor St WToronto, ON M5R
Neighbourhood: The Annex
(416) 967-9670
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Late Night
- Music:
- Background
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Wed, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
24 reviews for Hey Lucy
Review Highlights
"...been to Hey Lucy on Martini Night (every Wednesday night..."
(in 3 reviews)
"...you feel girly) and the "Jolly Rancher" martini comes with..."
(in 3 reviews)
"i finally tried brunch and was definitely impressed."
(in 7 reviews)
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24 reviews in English
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Review from Anne B.
10/14/2011
I have been to Hey Lucy on Martini Night (every Wednesday night martini's are only 3.99! Very dangerous...) several times and I have been quite happy with the beverages.
For the most part the service has been good, but there have been a couple of incidents...Most noteworthy being the time that my friend was attempting to hold a table for us after work and she was informed that she could sit in the table, but may be booted from it if we didn't all show up within the next 5 minutes. Come on! Are you kidding me?! Is that any way to treat a customer??
The food is pretty decent, but the main allure is the drinks in my opinion. I always enjoy the "Hey Lucy" martini (something about drinks w. cherries in them that just makes you feel girly) and the "Jolly Rancher" martini comes with gummy bears in it! In the mood for something more chocolatey? The "Caramilk" martini is sinfully divine!
If you're planning on going on Martini Night be aware that they don't take reservations, so you have to get there early to get a table.Listed in: Libations
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Review from Courtney B.
Pickering, ON
12/15/2011
I went here for dinner and drinks last night, not knowing about their $3.99 martini special. The place was packed, but the hostess was really friendly and accommodating.
The service was great, but I wasn't blown away by the food. It was perfectly good, but nothing memorable. Maybe I should have had the pizza? That is their speciality -- they have a special wood-burning pizza oven and everything, "straight from Italy" (to quote their menu) -- and my friend's pizza looked really good and loaded with toppings.
Their wine selection was surprisingly decent for this wine snob, and if I lived in the neighbourhood I could see myself dropping in for drinks. -
Review from Tara E.
10/17/2011 1 Check-in Here
Popped into Hey Lucy for a birthday drinks and dessert combination. The deep fried cheesecake was good, the dessert pizza should be skipped. Martinis were very sugary sweet. On Wednesday they are $3.99. Great deal. On any other night they are $8.99 and they are not worth that price.
Music was rocking. -
Review from Adaora A.
Toronto, ON
1/21/2012
This place is amazing. I honestly am shocked by the negative reviews some people are getting. I come to Hey Lucy's quite often (and I haven't moved to the area yet), and every time I come it's amazing. The food is amazing - pizza, seafood pasta dishes, you name it, the drinks are on point - Vitamin C, Gummy Bear drinks etc, it's all around good. I hope the negative reviews don't discourage people from giving it a chance. The servers are nice, the atmosphere is really chill and relaxing, an all around good time.
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Review from bree k.
Toronto, ON
11/10/2011
My boyfriend and I went for dinner here a few weeks ago around 5pm. We started with the Agnolotti Chips and they were awesome. For the main dish, I got the Mac and Cheese and my boyfriend got a chicken dish. We were both thoroughly pleased with the meal. On top of that, the service was fantastic and the prices were fair. We loved the feel of the place, and liked that when it got dark, they put candles on our table.
Overall, I would highly recommend this place. -
Review from Jorge L.
6/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
Service was awesome. The food was delish.
I will come back here to bring my family or a date. Why do I keep talking about dates? I keep forgetting this is not eharmony or Yahoo personal.
Moving on...
Hey Lucy looks fancier than other neighbourhood restaurant in the Annex but not pricier. The waiter was extremely nice and constantly asking if we needed something else.
We gave him a generous tip.
I came here for brunch and will check the place again. With or without date.Listed in: Bring-a-Date: Nice Restos
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Review from Lauren M.
7/10/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Decent patio and the service has improved leaps and bounds since this place first opened. I remember it being horrible the first time I went, but now, a couple years later and it's a lot better.
The food should generally to be avoided (not good) but it's an ok option for drinks. Wednesdays has $4 martinis and Thursdays has $5 glasses of wine. -
Review from Emily M.
5/10/2011
This is a good place to grab a quick bite to eat and a few drinks with girlfriends or even a date. It has a nice "datey" atmosphere...you know what I mean; dim lighting from pretty chandeliers and fake animal print on the benches, but done in a classy way. :)
I went with a few girlfriends, but definitely observed a few couples on dates! I've been here before as well for a birthday party and they can accommodate quite a large group if you call ahead, so that is nice.
Cheap martinis on Wednesdays and a wine deal on Thursdays I believe. Food is nothing spectacular, but it's decent. -
Review from Payam Z.
4/21/2011 4 Check-ins Here
3.5 stars!!
Hey Lucy's does one thing pretty damn well, and that is the $4 WednesdayTini night!
Where else can you get a variety of Martinis with a decent amount of liquor for $4??.... Don't answer that question, I'm sure there are other places...regardless of this notion, Hey Lucy on Bloor happens to do a pretty good job of making them most of the time, and serves as one of the top Wed. night watering holes for a good bunch of regulars!
The service is very friendly and quite efficient considering how busy it gets, and although I have had the wrong drink brought out a couple of times, the waitstaff has been very consistent with replacing the drink it or leaving it off the cheque!
If you go for the martinis and you're open to trying the fruitier ones, the Jolly Rancher (with vodka, melon liquor, schnapps and gummy bears at the bottom) is a good choice, as is the hard hitting chocolate martini! Godzilla and Curious George are also worth mentioning. See you on Wednesday! -
Review from Susan G.
2/5/2011
Great decor, cheap martinis, friendly staff, terrible brunch.
Why decide to have a weekend brunch menu if you don't know how to make bacon? Though I'm not particularly picky about my bacon (mm.. bacon...), my company was. They specifically asked for it "very, very, crispy" and managed to get completely floppy, greasy bacon. After it being sent back THREE times, it finally came back... half burned black, half floppy and rubbery.... how is this even possible?
Though they do make amazing Strawberry Cheesecake French Toast, the fact that they don't understand the process of frying bacon and the $5 Tropicana OJ is going to keep me away from another brunch there, but hey [Lucy], I'll go back for the $3.99 martinis. -
Review from Mariko M.
2/12/2011
Can't comment on the food, but came here for after dinner drinks and dessert.
Love the decor of the place. Dark, chic, mysterious. I must add that the bar stools with cow spots were super comfortable.
The martinis were delicious. They're $11, but on Wednesday's they're $3.99! I know when I'll be back. Once finished, my friend and I ordered the dessert pizza. I highly recommend! It's made in their pizza oven and has strawberries on it, drizzled with chocolate and a scoop of ice cream on it.
I'm intrigued by what their menu is like... I'll have to come back. -
Review from TOFoodReviews n.
Toronto, ON
9/24/2011
Geez. There seems to be some negative buzz surrounding this place. Most of the stuff I read made it seem like there wasn't any shot of much good coming out of it. So, imagine my surprise when the food was good, the service was attentive, and the overall experience was one that I'd come back for.
In all fairness, a lot of that negative stuff I read was about their Theatre district location on King West, which I've neer been to, but that just doesn't hold much value for me. The fact is, most of those places on that strip of King seem to get a bad rap. Get 'em in, get 'em fed, get 'em out; that's their philosophy as they wait for theatre goers to arrive, and then again when they hope for them to come back after the show... thankfully, Hey Lucy's Annex location isn't anything like that.
With their soft lighting, chandeliers and black-and-white cow print seats, it's difficult to describe what exactly they were going for when they designed this place, but somehow, it works well and provides a nice backdrop, particularly for a date night. The ambience is hip, the decor is comfortable and cozy, and the space is of a decent enough size that it can easily accommodate both large groups and couples.
Hey Lucy is busy in the summer evenings, mostly because of their killer patio that lines the entire side of the building. Perfect for people-watching, this packed space is a nice addition to The Annex, and it holds up well against other patios on the street (except for Pauper's Pub!).
Probably what Hey Lucy is most well-known for is their martinis. They've got a pretty decent martini menu with some interesting things on it, like the Godzilla and the Freedom 55, but man, these guys are expensive. Although they do come with a minimum of 2 ounces of booze, you can expect to shell out 9 bucks plus taxes for one. And while that may seem ok at first, having a few of them can easily add up... trust me on that. If martinis are your thing, but getting ripped off for them isn't, then you're definitely going to want to come back on a Wednesday. Wednesday is Martini Wednesday at Hey Lucy, and the prices drop to 4 bucks for the exact same martinis. But come early, other people like a good deal when they see one too, and this place fills up pretty quickly.
Their menu doesn't follow any sort of style; it's a bit all over the place, but it's still the sorta thing you might expect from a place like this. Pastas, wood-fired pizzas, paninis, sandwiches, all of it is pretty good, but unfortunately, this can unexpectedly change once the place fills up. In Hey Lucy's case, it's better to go when it isn't that busy.
While I wouldn't go out of my way to go to Hey Lucy, if you're in the area and looking for a night out, Hey Lucy provides nicely. -
Review from Jonathan K.
Toronto, ON
1/16/2011
Worst brunch ever.
I just read Abigail V.'s review and wondered if she had brunch at Hey Lucy's on the same day my friends and I were there.
Whether she did or not, even $4 martinis couldn't bring me back through Hey Lucy's doors. -
Review from Tina H.
10/6/2010
Hey Lucy. And BYE Lucy. Although the decor is cute and trendy, the service friendly, the food is no where near up to par. I went for brunch. The hollandaise is factory made, the English muffin dry with charred bits and charred flavour. They left my yolks runny, which was great and exactly what I asked for, but the whites weren't fully cooked. They don't use high quality eggs and you can taste it.
I'm glad I didn't order coffee because my friends sent theirs back twice because it tasted funny. Turns out the creamers and milkers weren't at their freshest. It's cheap though and comes with fresh fruit. They have lots of potential but need to step it up a couple of notches. I guess there was a reason it was empty on a Saturday morning.
I would not come here again. -
Review from Amelia B.
Toronto, ON
3/23/2011
This restaurant has a lot to offer and is the perfect place for a first date. Here's why:
1. Great zebra print chairs and banquets.
2. Nice ambiance and great mood lighting.
3. Great martini menu!
What I didn't like was the following:
1. Lack of beer menu.
2. The restaurant can be quite cold.
3. I think that this place is more focused on being hip than serving good food. I sense that the food and drink are merely there to impress and not to completely taste good.
I would recommend this place to those who love a night out on the town. -
Review from Paul R.
Toronto, ON
3/21/2010
We ate dinner here on a Friday night. It wasn't planned, we just happened to be walking down the street and the frontage caught my eye. The first thing you notice about this place is that the owners have sunk some serious money into it; the finishings are excellent, the tin ceiling is a nice touch and the wood burning oven is most impressive. I thought sinking this kind of money into a start-up operation was quite bold but when I Yelp!ed it on my on BB I found out there is another location on King. The Annex seems like a strange location for this type of restaurant but it seems to be doing well.
The menu was reasonably priced for this type of operation. The $8.99 Martinis are a bit much, but on Wednesdays they are $3.99. The menu offered simple selections (pizza, salad, chicken, etc. etc.) but our choices were done well - chicken stuff with veggies and Alfredo linguine for her ($16) and a Pepperoni Calzone for me ($10). She also very much enjoyed the Jolly Rancher Martini (the gummie bears at the bottom of the glass were a nice touch).
The service was friendly, attentive and unpretentious. A rarity in Toronto so it is entirely worth noting.
My only complaint would be that the pop comes in plastic cups, felt a little like Pizza Hut for a moment, ha ha.
Two entrees, a martin and a soda was $43 tax in + tip. Not cheap for dinner in the Annex but for a proper sit down restaurant and a nice, new (CLEAN!!) atmosphere I was happy. -
Review from neesa r.
5/4/2011
went here with few girlfriends for drinks.
it's a very cozy cafe, with quiet music, very friendly staff and apparently some great drinks offers on selected days (martinis on wed for $4 or so and there was something else but I don't remember now)
Sangrila special offer on one of the nights didn't impress us though - $16 for 1/2L...
I like the ambiance of the place nonetheless. The snacks they provide are yummy and light. Not sure about real food but the dessert pizza looked good by the glimpses of it that I had from the neighborer table.
Would love to try deepfried cheesecake that noone wanted to share with me so I had to skip it.
but I definitely like this place) -
Review from Melissa L.
Regina, SK
10/12/2011
They have an excellent $4 martini night with lots of variety! Godzilla is the best one in my opinion, and I tried at least 10 over time. It is very busy on that day though, so getting a seat was nearly impossible!
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Review from Victoria S.
Toronto, ON
1/16/2011
i first started going to hey lucy for the $3.99 martini wednesdays. i think it's one of the best deals in the city. ocasionally i stay long enough and realize i have to soak up all the martini in my stomach.
everything i've tried on the menu has been delicious. appetizers, pasta, pizza, sandwiches etc... the food has been consistent , which is the most important... and the service has also been consitantly upbeat, friendly and efficent.
i love the patio, on cooler nights they have the heaters going. and when it's too cold to sit outside, i love the cozy interior and the wonderful smell coming from the wood fired oven.
i finally tried brunch and was definitely impressed. i'm a benedict fanatic and the hollandaise was perfect. there was a small portion of home fries which were sliced thin and cooked with onions and peppers. so savory. so good. want more.Listed in: brunch, best happy hour
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Review from Joy S.
Woodbridge, ON
6/30/2010 1 photo
I love Hey Lucy!
I only sit on the outdoor patio.
The service is great.
The foods good.
The martinis/coctails are amazing!!!
They have a woodburning fire for pizza!!! - deff reccomended to get their pizza.
Not a huge menu - italian food.
Always eat here! -
Review from Tricia B.
Toronto, ON
3/26/2010 2 Check-ins Here
I'd give this place a really solid meh. Nothing really bad about the experience, but nothing really good either. Friday night dinner for two with drinks come out to $47. The server was nice but over-attentive, checking in on us before we'd finished the first round and right about the same time we noticed that we were still waiting for our food orders. And then waiting. And then she checked the kitchen for us, and still more waiting.
The panini wasn't anything special and the Lucy Mac 'n Cheese (I know, I know, I just really love cheese) had potential, but fell short with really fatty bacon and one enormous chunk of sun-dried tomato melted into the mix of cheese (which is always yummy) and soggy noodles. The plating was terrible (not a big deal, but definitely added to the unimpressiveness) and the side of garlic bread (I think that's what it was supposed to be) tasted like dry carbon from over-grilling.
Apparently the location is owned by Gabby's, which might explain why it tastes like pub-cooks attempting italian fare - because it is. I probably won't go back for dinner, but I might be willing to give brunch a chance. -
Review from Lester A.
Toronto, ON
2/23/2010
If Lucy is on a plate and covered with strawberry compote, garnished with fresh fruits and taste like fresh egg bread french toast, I'd eat her for breakfast, lunch, dinner and do it again, and again and again. Yup it was yummy and sexy and just delicious.
I'm usually not a big fan of anything sweet for a meal. specially for brunch, but Hey Lucy's strawberry cheesecake french toast, definitely changed that. For $9.00, this meal, though didn't fill me up, satisfied me well.
The service was great, the kitchen staff and front of the house made sure we had an experience and not just a meal. I enjoyed the atmosphere, for being a lounge/martini place at night, definitely not bad as a restaurant during the day. I enjoyed looking at the wooden oven in the kitchen, I wanted to take it home actually and just stare at it while I enjoy a plate or two or three of strawberry cheesecake french toast.
My friend had their Traditional brunch and he enjoyed. He did come back few days after and had their Fennel and Chili Shrimp for lunch, he didn't like it, said it was salty and just wasn't good. But then again, who would want pasta if you can have strawberry cheesecake french toast! -
Review from Diana K.
Toronto, ON
3/1/2010
I had never been to the King street location given my aversion to most things around the theatre district what with all the awful food at high prices.
Desperation and something having to do with an Olympic hockey game led me to venture inside its sister location. The interior was nice, but it was the sight of the pizza oven that got me excited. I was getting happy flashbacks of Libretto. Though it was not to be. The pizza came out bland with a soft, some might say, soggy crust. It's rather unfortunate that the menu's main attraction fell well short of expectations. I ordered sweet potato fries hoping for redemption from the kitchen. Same problems as before. Soggy and bland do not make for becoming attributes.
The decor is nice and so were the staff. I really wish the food were better. I may give it another go some day, but it will definitely be on a $4-martini night (weds). I'm rooting for them and hope this was an anomaly. If not, there's always the dozen or so sushi places within a stone's throw. -
Review from Alex x.
NORTH YORK, ON
8/29/2010
Came here for their $3.99 martini wednesday night; on the menu it said the martinis were minimum 2 oz. What i got were teeny tiny martinis not very well made. Server was very friendly though, and made up for the painfully slow food & drink orders. Just meh
