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James Joyce Irish Pub - CLOSED
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Music:
- Live
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
14 reviews for James Joyce Irish Pub
14 reviews in English
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Review from Payam Z.
3/19/2011
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/___ /
*
*
*
A bird shat on me as I waited like a dunce to get into a bar that was pretty empty anyways. Other experiences were not any more pleasant and at least the bird's massive load sent me straight home and gave me a good excuse to miss out on meetin some friends at Joyce.
Moral of the story: yes, they can still crap on you past sunset.
Everything that's wrong with this establishment has already been mentioned. -
Review from Chris P.
4/24/2011
My bestt friend and I stopped in here because we were in the area and looking for a place to sit, drink and talk.
It turned out we weren't able to do much talking since the live band that was playing was ridiculously loud and not even not that good.
The waitress came to take our order, I said I'll have a glass of your house red. To which she responded, oh do you mean wine??' My initial reaction was to think oh shes got to be joking but it turned out that she was actually waiting for me to answer yes or no to clear up any confusion. Seriously.
This place looks like it needs to go on one of those restaraunt makeover shows. It is so dingy and dirty and the bathrooms are beyond disgusting. The tables and chairs look like they are about to fall apart, I was afraid to even sit down at first.
The appetizer plate we ordered was crap quality at best. It consisted of dry nachos, burnt jalapeno poppers and rubbery brushetta with 3 containers of unknown dipping sauces. Yummmy!
What else can I say? This place SUCKS.Listed in: Bestie and Me
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Review from Dishan W.
10/20/2010
This was the first bar I went to with friends once I was 19. I now realise that I'm glad I didn't think all bars are like this.
There's nothing significantly wrong with the James Joyce, but compared with a lot of the other bars I've been too it falls short. It's a good enough bar with your typical drink selection and passable food, but there's nothing special about it.
I have not attended it for over a year now and I've only visited it a very few times.
I've not have any problems with the staff here, they've been friendly enough.
The interior does not say "come in and have a seat", instead it's "come in if you must, but try standing up around the pool tables so you don't an easier time to look around while sitting at how non-amazing I am".
I recommend another pub if you're around this area.Listed in: A Bloor Street Pub Crawl
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Review from Thomas B.
North Bay, ON
5/21/2009
This place was hyped up a lot by my friend and his roommate who live around the corner. When we got there though I was kinda disappointed. We walked in and found a seat near the back. The table was soaked with beer and the areas that were clear were sticky. The seats were sticky. The floor was sticky. What can I say it was a sticky bar!
It was also hot in there so we opened the window and were rudely asked to close it. The service was slow. Waited about a half hour before getting served and when the waitress finally brought our beer she slammed them down on the table and spilled it everywhere. (Now I know why everything was soaked with beer and sticky.)
My advice: keep walking west and hit up another bar. Most of the other bars in that area are really decent! -
Review from Isabel R.
Toronto, ON
3/14/2010
I stopped in here last night during a Bloor Street pub crawl, and the place was packed. I have absolutely no idea why. This was definitely by far the worst bar we went to ... and the standard wasn't set very high.
Though the place was busy, a lot of that was due to people standing aimlessly around. There is no bar service, and you can only be served if seated. Even though there was room for additional tables, there were none, so about half of our group gave up and moved elsewhere.
They were the lucky ones.
A guy who works at the bar got up on stage, WASTED, and started playing the guitar and singing. Not only was it accompanied by some of the worst feed back I've ever heard, he mostly just shrieked horrible covers into a microphone. Not to mention, for some reason they had the PA cranked, so we could barely here eachother over the horrible karaoke-like entertainment.
Needless to say ... I wont be returning. -
Review from Melissa F.
Toronto, ON
3/4/2009
Just another pub in the annex. But irish. so you're guaranteed nice people and some randoms in the crowd that will either make or break your night.
go just for the gamble.
i think thye even have 1-2 real irish servers. -
Review from Lauren M.
6/23/2010 1 Check-in Here
No craic here whatsoever, this place is such a craphole. I've visited numerous times but I was reminded of it's lameness again, being recently dragged here to watch a footie match.
I live nearby and I've seen the place shut down at least 3 times for abusing their liquor license (I'm assuming serving to minors).
- The decor is horrific - cheap looking and dirty. Washrooms equally ghetto.
- Really crappy food, even for pub fare.
- Absolutely horrible open mic nights with music so bad you're tempted to leave and go somewhere else.
- Annoying clientele - drunk students and stinky hippies.
- would say service is average/ok, I've never experienced any major problems.
There is a pool table at the back and lots of tvs. The place is ok-ish during afternoon hours if you fancy a game of pool or watching a match. -
Review from Melinda M.
Toronto, ON
12/5/2009
While I didn't have an awful experience like some of the other reviewers of James Joyce's Pub, I also wouldn't return.
The worst thing about this place from my experience is the decor. Everything is just so cheap. The tables are basically card tables with uncomfortable-looking metal chairs around them. They looked so unappealing, we headed straight for the bar.
The bartender was very nice, decent beers on tap including Guinness and Kilkenny and Mill Street brews. I wouldn't even consider eating here so didn't bother looking at a menu. Just a generally dingy and unappealing place, the opposite of a cozy pub.Listed in: Toronto Pubs, Good for Wings
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Review from Paul R.
Toronto, ON
9/14/2009
Not a bad place. I've always enjoyed it when I attend. Price on food and beer is pretty good. Nothing fancy, it is what it is.
Update 02/21/10 - James Joyce is under new ownership. Food prices have gone up and many of the waitstaff have been replaced. Still generally the same, but I much prefer the old wait staff.
Further Update - 04/07/10 - This place has really gone down hill since the new management. Food portions are smaller. The friendly waitstaff that used to be here are entirely gone. Burgers and Fries have gone up in price by 200% (from $2 to $4 but still...), the Burgers don't taste as good, the portions are smaller and toppings are of lesser quality. This place is dead to me now. Took forever for our bill to come so we had to line up at the bar to pay (the place was empty so what gives?) and the order was taken incorrectly. -
Review from Kate O.
Vancouver, BC
11/2/2009
It's not even worthy of a single star.
They will rip you off time and time again. Once, they triple-charged my credit card, another time, a couple of friends paid their tab and left and the server claimed that they were $40 under and made me pay for it... even though I specifically requested that we all be on separate tabs. Another time, my idiot ex-boyfriend walked in with a bottle of wine, and instead of putting it behind the bar, the bartender smashed it in the kitchen... Overall, rude/drunk staff, crappy food and crappy environment because they cram you in there like sardines. I've never had such contempt for an establishment and would probably celebrate if it went under. -
Review from H V.
Toronto, ON
3/18/2011
Screw this place.
Went there yesterday for the first time ever. I've walked past a thousand times and always declined to enter, owing to the scuzzy atmosphere and sketchy clientele. But being the only Irish pub in the hood, and merely a stone's throw from my apartment, I figured we'd give it a try for Paddy"s Day.
Big mistake.
We were actually having a reasonably good time, despite the jacked up drink prices (I was informed by a regular that they doubled them for the big day) and the fact that the staff refused to close the front door owing to 'safety reasons' thereby causing half the bar to freeze. Then out of the blue a staff member informed my party that we had reached the "three hour limit" and would have to leave - now.
Not surpsingly, my reaction went from disbelief, to indignance, to outright anger. We were not (very) intoxicated, and in no way were causing problems. In fact we were laying down good money at the bar. And I was just getting to make some new friends. The staff were utterly rude and implacable. When I questionned why we had to leave, they quicly became agitated and told us to get out. IMMEDIATELY. When I demanded the return of my $10 cover charge, they became very surly indeed.
We were never told about any 'three hour limit'. The notion is completely ridiculous to begin with - why would you punish the people who had the foresight to arrive early on a day like Paddy's Day??? Utterly moronic. A blatant grab to collect more cover charges.
In sum, I felt used and abused. Avoid this place, it's a craphole anyway. -
Review from N.J. G.
Toronto, ON
9/4/2009
Went here to finish off a night of "bar hoping". Drinks were well priced and there were a good number of patrons. "Curtis" provided the live tunes - I think he was forced to only sing Irish tunes- but my friends seemed to enjoy it. I customarily orded fries. I don't quite remember the name of the type of potatoes I ordered (there were about 6 options) but what I got was not what I expected. I was delivered thick slivers of potato. No not wedges but more like scalloped potatoes only super thick. They were so thick that the first one I bit into was still hard. This instantly put them on the bottom of my pub list. I don't mess with my potatoes. If they are gonna be crunchy, they better have the word "Lays" oh them.
Listed in: French (Freedom) Fries
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Review from Jimi S.
ON
12/23/2008
this is one of those chain irish pubs with the dumb names. not that james joyce is all that dumb; if it isnt brothers with stuff like "the dogs bollocks" or "the cock and bull" then it sure feels like it.
i got there around ten or ten thirty at night, and it was mildly busy with ample seating available. there was also a one man band playing in front of the perspiring window at the front, where they often have people perform. he was very energetic, did a particular irish ditty i heard growing up, and mildly butchered other rock classics. but that wasnt the problem. ive always found that even if i sit as far back as i can from the stage i have to yell at my beer mate for him to hear me and cup my ear for me to hear him. this is to be expected somewhat, but its overkill here.
they have caffreys. thats at least half the star count there.
finally, when i went to pay, i had only ordered one beer while i was there, and i wasnt allowed to put it on credit card - not enough for them. that was crap, but then i was directed to go to the atm machine by the bar. fine. but that wasnt working and they had no debit. if you are going to be unorganized or if you have problems like that, acknowledge it and take credit cards until you get that fixed.
if im in the area and its convenient id come back just like ive come here many times before. just cuz. -
Review from Brad D.
Toronto, ON
12/3/2010
Currently close for health violations
