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Jack Astors Bar and Grill
Rating Details »
Category: American (Traditional) [Edit]
Neighbourhood: Entertainment District144 Front Street W
Toronto, ON M5J 2L7
(416) 585-2121
- Hours:
Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good for:
- Dinner, Late Night
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
13 reviews for Jack Astors Bar and Grill
(bellow is a short story, scroll down for the review)
Nad and I grabbed some drinks after work. at the Jack Astor's by Union Station we were given pretty good services by Nicki. so good I had to let the manager know. since i like getting creative (and also since we've been getting TERRIBLE service (if you can call it that) at Casey's right across the road) i decided to seek the manager and then had the following exchange with her:
Me - I am very pissed off! (i have a very mad look on my face)
Her (very frantically) - I'm sorry to hear that miss, come over here please, i promise i wont yell at you (yes, that's what she said, and no, i don't get it either...its possible i misheard her, but not very likely)
Me - Oh I am very very pissed off!!! (even madder now)
Her - Miss please, tell me what happened.
Me - I am so pissed off that other bars downtown don't have as good servers as you Nikki is
Her ( breathe again) Oh my! thank you!
Me Its all good. we'll be back
so yeah, if you're ever by union station and want to get good service, off to Jack Ass you go and if she's there, ask for her. shes a delight.
(she knows Nad and Anna by name so tell her we say "Hi" if you smart enough to ask for her section.
Drinks: 2 Long Island Ice Teas and a Kiss and Tell. (sooo good!)
Food: Calamari and Crab Dip. Pretty darn good!!!
Over all we were very happy with food, drinks, and above all service.
This place is a staple for me for meeting up with friends for lunch or even going here for lunch with work. I really enjoy this atmosphere at this place. Its got a sports bar type of feel, and the staff have great personalities. They are always cheerful and treat you like a friend rather than your servant. I have come to enjoy this place more because their service is really good for large groups. Last time I went with work there was a party of about 15 and all the meals came out hot and all within a couple of minutes of each other.
Their patio has become much better over time. Although it is situated on University (so there isn't much to look at other than traffic), they put up pretty high glass walls to block out some of the traffic noise. They have an actual bar on the patio which is great for those out there to still sit at a bar and people watch and can get their drinks fast.
Every time I go here I get the exact same thing; buffalo chicken fingers. They used to have my favourite chicken fingers until Baton Rouge took over. I enjoy them so much because they sauce them up quite a bit (medium is pretty hot IMO) and they also give you a nice ranch dressing for dipping. The combination is mind blowing.
Although I am quite boring in my dish selection, my wife has tried some different items. She has become a huge fan of the prime rib burger (she says its the best around), and just recently on their seasonal menu, she has really enjoyed the greek salad with watermelon. Sounds like a terrible combination, I know, but don't knock it until you try it.
There are two things I don't like about it. One is that for it being a pseudo sports bar, they need to upgrade their tv's to the new 16:9 world, and secondly, it can get really noisy in there, and there is nothing in the design of the building to dampen it.
This is a well-rounded establishment. A typical restaurant but a shinning example of what a good restaurant is. Everything about this place is fantastic, the only reason it doesn't get a five stars is because it's missing that "je ne sais quoi" that makes it jump into my mind when I'm looking for a place to eat in the area.
I've gone here a few times and the first thing I always notice is how gorgeous all the women working in there are. Like they must have some sexiness standard by which they hire their waitresses. But it seems that every time we ask for restaurant side we get a (flamboyant) male waiter rather than one of the sexy little waitresses who lured you in in the first place. Sigh.
The food here is awesome. The usual restaurant grub but they do it well. The dishes have been consistently well prepped among all my visits and the food has consistently been delicious no matter what I order.
The location is great, everything is well maintained and very well kept (CLEAN).
I will go back here when I have someone like my brother with me who refuses to try new things and just wants to eat at a good ol' North American style restaurant and I advise the same to you. This place is great for parties who have members who don't possess appreciation for diversity in taste.
It may seem strange to review a chain restaurant but I had to say something. I have been to some of the so-called "best" restaurants in Toronto and many times the food is over-priced and under flavoured, the staff is useless and the crowd is just pretentious and boring. As a resident of Downtown Toronto it was almost refreshing to find myself in a place where the food was good (and plentiful), the staff was friendly and helpful and the crowd was just, well, having fun being themselves. All of this and the meal for two doesn't completely empty the pocketbook. Nice.
Why aren't there more place like this one! In Toronto, you apparently can find better japanese food than in Japan, better middle eastern food than in Lebanon, even better french food than in Paris (si, si), but it is almost impossible to find at least average North American food. Apparently, good burgers can only be found in two kind of places: either in a greasy basement operated by a gorilla or in a big empty hallway looking like the deck of the starship Enterprise. Well Jack Astors is the exception. It's big but warm, it's clean but friendly. The people who work here are so nice that it is almost unreal and the burgers are really good. And they have wines that don't make you wish you were a beer drinker, which is very rare in this area of town. One more thing, do not miss the smallest brownie in the world. Delicious and only 98 cents!
I usually keep my distance from chain restaurants, but this particular Jack Astor's is a bit different from the locations they have in the suburbs. the restaurant has a downtown ambiance and it actually feels kind of hip considering it's right across from Union Station ... even though the food choices are not spectacular I can definitely recommend it for business lunches on weekdays and to tourists looking for a place to have a quick bite before exploring downtown ...
I met a work collegue here for a pint and an appetizer before I headed off to theatre. The place was packed with Maple Leaf fans prior that evening's match with the Bruins. All that was fun to watch, although the only really available space was out in the coolish outdoor patio.
The propane space heaters weren't really doing a complete job and neither did the service. Wait staff were pleasant and friendly enough, but that couldn't make up for the rest of our marginal "dining" experience. It took 10-15 minutes for our round of beers to come out and even longer for my marginal chicken quesadilla order. My collegue faired a litlle better with the pizza, but neither of us was impressed.
My first visit to this particular Jack Astor's location was right before the Blue Jays home opener last week and probably the most indicative of a peak night of business for the restaurant. I arrived just before 5pm and it was absolute anarchy (but in a good way) in the place.
The front entrance was spilling over with people trying to (unsuccessfully) get a table, but they hadn't made a reservation so they were being turned away. Luckily our group HAD made a reservation so we didn't have any issues getting a seat. Essentially though from 5pm until 7:15pm when the game started, the place consisted entirely of people on their way to the Jays game. So if you don't like baseball, or being around rowdy pre-drinking Jays fans, DO NOT go here on game night. Here's the schedule: http://toronto.bluejay...
All of the (hot) servers join in on the sporting fun and are decked out head to toe in Jays caps and jerseys. The service was decent considering we were such a rowdy group and the place was so busy.
I love ordering the Chicken Parmesan Bowtie Pasta (aka farfalle) without the chicken. It's really creamy and has sundried tomatoes in it, and the portion is good. I also like that the servers always deduct $2 from the cost of the meal because I'm not getting any meat on it - a nice touch!
it doesn't surprise me that reviews for this place are a consistent 3 stars. they definitely don't do anything wrong, and they definitely don't do anything amazing or unique- it's the bane of being a chain- you have to be amazing to relax the fact that you're a stamp amongst many.
that being said, it's actually quite a nice sports bar with very nice wait staff.
It was 10pm and I was searching for a place that played the Canucks game (hard to find, I soon found out, in Toronto). After trying the Irish Embassy (which gave me a bitchy and unimpressed "no") I found myself at Jack Astors. I told the hostess i was looking for the hockey game and she was lovely enough to check if it was on, or see if she could change a channel for us.
ta-da! done and done.
i'm there, watching a game with a cold beer in hand and everything came out peachy.
Reliable and nice, this place. I would go again for a "reliable" above average night again.
I really hated this bar. I have no clue what the food is like, nor do I care to find out, because they couldn't even get the bar part right. This place had the fortune, or misfortune depending on your view, of being just across the street from the hotel my firm was having a conference in. As a result it was bombarded nightly by a varying cast of people with expense accounts to blow, usually in search of cheap, crappy beer (ughh, no thanks). Jack Astor's was happy to oblige them on the crappy end, but not so much in the cheap department.
The selection here is what you would expect at Applebees or Chilis, and I'm guessing this is some equivalent of those places by the food menu. The problem is the service is drastically slower, even on the nights when we didn't flood the tables, and the beer is so overpriced you end up spending $10 a pint by the time all the taxes and tip are included. If they were pouring Samuel Smith or Rogue premiums from the taps I might be inclined to pay, but for Molson and Labatt I just don't think it's justified.
They do have a really nice outdoor patio with space heaters at nearly every table, which accounts for one of the stars I gave them. The other comes from simply putting up with our insane group who decided to completely take over the place on one specific night, pouring in about 200-300 people at one time. They made a shitload of profit in the process, so I'm sure it was no sweat off their backs, but points to anyone who deals with a surge of that magnitude.
I've been going to Jack Astor's since I was in high school and I have to say it's really changed since I was 14 - but definitely for the better.
It used to have pretty generic bar food but they've since gone pretty upscale with their menu.
The bruschetta is the most delicious thing that has ever touch my tongue and I could eat it for the rest of my life It's little crisp baguette slices with tons of juicy tomatoes, onions and parsley and then they drizzle balsamic vinegar and some kind of mayo sauce on top and it is just so insanely good.
The Thai Chicken salad is great - they give big portions so you're never left hungry. The flatbread is also delicious as are the noodle bowls.
Their frozen raspberry twister is delicious and refreshing and will take the edge off even the worst work week. I've never had a dish their that wasn't really satisfying.
However, with their new upscale menu come upscale prices, so don't expect a cheap meal.
This location has a great patio that looks onto University and Front but it attracts a huge after-work crowd and the it can get packed. Expect a 20 minute wait if you show up at 5 or 6 on Friday.
I've no idea why but this Jack Astor's seems to have upped its game a bit and appears to be a wee bit swankier. Is it because it's landed in a restaurant row on Front Street in Toronto? Is it because of the heritage that surrounds it in the Royal York (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...) and Union Station (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...)? Truly, who cares? It's a Jack Astor's.
It's much dressier inside than several other Jack Astor's that I've been to (and I've been to my share). There is a long central bar that provides the focus for the room, probably well designed for the commuters looking for a quick after-work drink before they hit the Go Trains or subways home. The table spaces are decent and in the nice weather, they've got a great patio with an outside bar for faster service. In the cold weather, they've got a great smoking section.
The menu is similar to most every Jack Astor's that I've had the pleasure of being in so there's no surprise there. Outside of the fact that the inside décor appears to have been downtown-Torontoed-up a bit.
love the blooper reel that plays on loop on half the tvs!
also, the garlic bread is TO DIE FOR.
drinks are good but expensive, lots of specialty stuff. they're not strong but they're delicious.
food is pretty good, kind of on the expensive end of pub food.
