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Leslie Jones
Category: Restaurants Canadian (New) Canadian (New) [Edit]
1182 Queen St EToronto, ON M4M 1L4
Neighbourhood: Leslieville
(416) 463-5663
- Hours:
Wed-Sat 5 pm - 10 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
12 reviews for Leslie Jones
12 reviews in English
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Review from Avitania B.
Toronto, ON
1/14/2012 1 Check-in Here
What a cute little place! Stopped in for a casual dinner with my SO on a chilly January night, and Leslie Jones did not disappoint. From the fun drink list (my favorite is the Dirty Shirley Temple, which sort of tastes like Tang), to the delicious antipasti platter, to the tender brisket entree with roasted winter vegetables, and finally to the absolutely awesome carrot cake (no raisins! YAY!) -- everything was great. Husband's haddock in lemon caper sauce was overcooked and a bit rubbery, though. The attentive and friendly service more than made up for that blip, though.
The food at Leslie Jones isn't fancy -- it's American comfort food, raised up a notch. If I lived in the neighborhood, I'd definitely be back more often. -
Review from Will A.
Toronto, ON
12/28/2011
I am constantly amazed by what these guys achieve in that little open kitchen. I have had to stop complaining about my stove at home after seeing the guys prepare food on four antique elements on a stove from the 80's.
I can't count home many times I have been and it is always great (best in summer on the back patio.) Yelp has them at $$$ but that seems high. Regardless, value for dollar, Leslie Jones is best in Toronto in my opinion. Usually the first place I recommend when asked about places to go for dinner.
At times it get's crowded but the staff seems to manage fine (thought I do suggest avoiding the small two seat tables by the service area as the traffic back and forth is a bit stressful during dinner.)
Try the carrot cake. Even if you don't like carrot cake - try it. Excellent. -
Review from Ruth M.
Toronto, ON
1/30/2011
It was a girls night out and we wanted to dine in Leslieville. There were 5 of us and one of my friends has a gluten allergy. The service was amazing, the food delicious and they played a great sound track!
They were super-sensitive to our favourite celiac and all the food was super-yummy home-style goodness. It's cozy and it would be a great date place! -
Review from Carmen M.
5/27/2010 1 Check-in Here
Oh my. Oh dear. Leslie Jones is definitely as good as it gets. It's not pretentious and it doesn't try to be something it's not. Leslie Jones is simply a lovely, inviting place that serves amazingly good food and has fantastically good service.
A warm, breezy summer evening and the front windows of Leslie Jones were open to look out onto Queen Street. They also have a lovely back patio with string lights and umbrellas. Candles lit on the tables brought a warm glow to the room, that was already filled with rustic, comfortable furniture. Bob Dylan on the sound system and jugs of water with lemon and orange slices floating and bobbing.
They bring pita and a delicious hummus to the table to start. For dinner, I had the slow roasted pork with fennel, braised onion and lime chili herb yogurt. DELICIOUS! I finished it off with their homemade carrot cake (sans raisins and nuts) with a cream cheese frosting that was divine.
The service just could not have been any better.
Like I said...oh my! -
Review from Greg C.
Toronto, ON
12/7/2009 ROTD 9/14/2010
Being a Breeder, Leslieville is a perfect place to live. Espresso shops are open super early for the weekend morning strolls (ugh) as well as access to some great parks and playgrounds. But for the elusive "date night" with Mrs Breeder, we tend to avoid all child friendly places. Enter Leslie Jones!
The previous reviews are right, Leslie Jones is a great place for a date. This is a spot we continue to visit. All candle lit tables, exposed brick walls and open kitchen.Washrooms are great, clean and modern with a hint of incense. The backyard patio is literally a back yard. It's excellent and the best patio in this area for a drink.
My dinner was excellent. Slow cooked brisket with a side of pureed butternut squash and root vegetables. I love how they threw in Brussels sprout to make it quirky. The SO had the daily risotto with Chorizo sausage but it felt a tad overcooked, which is the death knell for risotto, unfortunately. Flourless chocolate tort was a big hit, though. On previous visits, the smoked salmon pizza was superb. Loaded with Kristapson's smoked salmon and capers and red onion.
Our new date spot. Also, the chefs are super friendly, considering they probably heard our entire "Boff, Marry or Kill" debate.
This spot is Greg C approved! -
Review from Jennifer M.
Toronto, ON
8/12/2010
I feel bad. I wanted to like it. I really did.
Its so close to home, and the patio is nice, and the servers were pleasant. Its charming, really and would be fine for drinks with friends, but the food really left me wanting more.
Somewhere (Chowhound?) I heard that the Polenta was great. We ordered it as an app. Teeny portion and covered, doused, actually in sauce. The sauce was that ubiquitous red pepper and feta puree that was big during the "California Fusion" trend of the 90s. So disappointing.
I had the smoked salmon pizza and a glass of wine. The pizza was OK. Just OK. The smoked salmon is from Kristapsons, which is local. It was amazing, but thats just one component of the dish. My sister had the pasta special which was mediocre as well. Just pasta, with sauce, absolutely nothing special about it... plus it also borrowed the feta and red peppers flavor combination (so un-inspired).
My partner had a meat dish, which one I can't remember. He said the meat was cooked nicely, but it was in the $20 range and the portion was tiny. I certainly advocate people eating less meat, but then they could have bulked the dish with more veg and potatoes. There was less than a cup of veg/potatoes on the plate. He was left hungry and had some of my pizza AND something once we got home.
FYI - it is no longer Cash Only! I paid with credit.
I will go again, but only for a drink on the patio. I found the food to be very unoriginal, not very exciting and kinda pricey for what you get. -
Review from Denise M.
Toronto, ON
11/8/2008
A great place to take a date which will impress but won't clean your wallet out; everything on the menu is under $20. It's got the usual eclectic bistro decor of candle light, exposed brick and local art all over the walls for sale. There is an open kitchen concept and the music they play all comes from a turntable in the back.
The menu matches the vibe with a range of pizzas with funky toppings, pastas and daily entrees of meat and veggie dishes. The food and portions were pretty good and the server who was a total character gave us a small complimentary app.
I would suggest calling ahead on the weekends to get a table, we scooped up the last free one because we came earlier in the evening.
All-in-all, a great restaurant that I would patronize again. -
Review from Nate G.
Toronto, ON
6/5/2010
On the advice of Kat F. and yelpers, the wife and I headed into foreign territory tonight: Leslieville.
We made this trek specifically to check out Leslie Jones, as it sounded like our kind of place.
I loved the atmosphere and decor of the place. Very nice, clean, and laid back. The back patio was huge, but it was spitting out so we stayed inside.
She ordered the scallop linguine which was fantastic. She asked for no shrimp, and they checked to find out if she was allergic or just didn't like them... it was the latter so they were good to go.
I ordered one of tonight's specials: a duck risotto with a bit of italian sausage (actually I don't think it was italian but I forget what it was now). It was also AWESOME. wow.
However the downside: service was pretty awful.
Our waitress was very nice, but rarely stopped by even when we looked at her as she walked by.
Also our food took over an HOUR to get to us, which may be acceptable if the place was hopping but it really wasn't that busy. Also, people who showed up AFTER us received appetizers and their entrees before we got ours. We didn't even order apps.
I don't know if it was because we asked for no shrimp, that sounds kind of ridiculous.
She also tried to charge us for dessert on our bill, but we did not order any (we were too full. I wanted to try the carrot cake so bad but.. alas... stuffed!).
I almost gave it 3 stars because of this but at the end of the day, it was a great meal (if a bit pricey, specifically the wine... $9 for a 4 ounce glass? Of Australian Shiraz? Come on.) and we do want to go back.
If the service is like this next time we go (there will be a next time, the food was that good), it will be the last time and I will edit this review.
As is, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and hope this was just a one-off.
Overall, good times, great food. Bad service. -
Review from Nolin L.
Toronto, ON
2/9/2009
Tasty food, nice ambiance, decent prices. Wine list is mediocre, short, and slightly overpriced in my opinion. I'd also like to see items on the menu that are a little more exciting, but simple seems to be their 'thing' so I can roll with that.
Apparently the back patio is pretty stellar, but I've only been the one time thus far and it was February. Also heard good things about their signature carrot cake, but neither the missus nor I are carrot cake fans in general.
One major bone to pick though - cash only. I can understand for places where the average bill is under $40, but for a restaurant where dinner for two is pushing $90-100 not accepting credit cards, Interac, or even having an ATM on site is just poor form.
Nonetheless, we'll go back. And we want to try weekend brunch. -
Review from Jennifer M.
Toronto, ON
5/5/2010
I admit it, I'm a west end snob but am becoming a fan of the restaurant scene in Leslieville. I've now been to Leslie Jones two times in two weeks. On the first visit my friend and I split the mushrooms, the avocado salad and the vegetarian pasta of the day. All were amazing. I was there again last night with a bunch of friends. The highlights from the menu were - the polenta with a combination of basil, goat cheese and tomato. I would love if they made it large enough for a main. The flourless chocolate torte with the home made caramel sauce and whipped cream. OMG. Orgasm in my mouth. The server gave us some free shots after our meal. We pretty much closed the place down. It's a small restaurant but it has a quiet patio in the back. It's a great date place or to dine with a group of friends (no more than 6 though as they can't really accommodate all anything more). I will be back!
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Review from Jane G.
Toronto, ON
1/10/2010
It's a good thing we went there with cash. I thought the food was wonderful, and the service friendly. We'll definitely go there again. Everything was delicious. I recommend the salad with beets, toasted pine nuts and apples, hopefully it's still on the menu. Yum.
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Review from Luke A.
5/30/2010
After reading all the other reviews here, I can only conclude the staff were having an off night on my first visit to Leslie Jones. I guess the tip-off should have been the bartender pouring a round of shots for the staff as we sat down at the bar, and saying, "We need it." All of the waitresses did seem to be in a surly mood, and there was some confusion and dramatic sighs about a patio table that was for FOUR people but we were only two but "I guess you can have it." Even though we didn't ask to have it or make any claims on it.
After we sat, the waitress took our order, then another waitress came to take our order. And then they both disappeared for a good 20 minutes -- the bowl of olives that we'd asked never to be seen. When we did finally flag someone down, we got the olives, though nothing to put the pits in or on. And the drinks menu I'd also asked for required still another trip. Then some lengthy time later our main course arrived. Except that I'd ordered an appetizer and they'd totally forgotten about that too. Oops.
I feel bad criticizing service sometimes because every restaurant and waiter or waitress can have an off night. To be fair to our waitress, she did make the appetizer on the house, and seemed honestly appreciative (or maybe surprised?) that I left a decent tip. But unfortunately, I wasn't so impressed by the food that it was that easy to overlook the service. The missing appetizer was a beet and apple salad, which was pleasant but a touch bland. My companion ordered a dijon chicken dish which was very tasty indeed, but on the other hand, they had run out of the potato salad that was one of the accompanying choices but only told us this as they served the dish. My main dish was the Hot Italian Sausage pizza. The sausage itself was nice, but the crust was just okay -- thin, but a bit too dry and a little burnt. I will say that the dessert, a sweet potato cheesecake was excellent (though the piece was a trifle small). Also, the cocktail I had at the start, a whisky and grapefruit concoction called The Bitter Waiter (expect a joke when ordering it), was delightful and refreshing.
I'm sure I'll give this place another shot to see what all the fuss is about. The patio was nice. The main room seemed cozy. Also they do take credit cards now.
