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Pickle Barrel
Categories: Restaurants Canadian (New) Restaurants Delis Canadian (New), Delis [Edit]
312 Yonge StToronto, ON M5B 1R4
Neighbourhoods: Ryerson, Downtown Core
(416) 977-6677
- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 8 am - 12 am
Fri-Sat 8 am - 1 am
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner, Breakfast
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Joanne W. said: "You cannot go wrong. You cannot go wrong. I've had their sandwiches a few times from the food trucks, and I decided to venture here today with a friend for lunch. Goodness gracious these sandwiches are amazing no matter what. My…" read more »
60 reviews for Pickle Barrel
Review Highlights
"My boyfriend gets the french onion soup every time we're..."
(in 3 reviews)
"And the Spanish Paella is a dream, chock-full of chicken..."
(in 3 reviews)
"NW corner of Yonge/Dundas."
(in 6 reviews)
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60 reviews in English
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Review from bold c.
Toronto, ON
1/8/2012 1 Check-in Here
Recommendation: The Corn Beef Sand-which at $4.99 is a steal!
30 Sec Summary
-----------------------
1. Fast take out (5 minutes for the sandwich)
2. Fresh food
3. Awesome pickles
4. Free food to sample while you wait
5. Avoid the sit-down - service is below par -
Review from Coy W.
12/31/2011
I forgot about this place until a few friends wanted to come by. We were they didn't take reservations and had to come by so we did and found there would be a 30 minute wait until we could get in. We agreed and got one of those things that vibrate when a table was free. We decided to wait and asked if there was a bar we could sit at. They pointed us upstairs and off we went.
There was an awesome staff member that helped us make room and get us a few extra chairs so we could sit down which was fantastic but offset by the bartender who didn't get us a menu until 1 minute before our thing vibrated. No, we did not get a table early, it was just that long until the bartender decided to get us a menu after acknowledging us a few times.
We all ordered some type of seafood dish. I went with the paella. The portion was large but I pretty much just ate the seafood out of it. I find the dish really overcooked and didn't enjoy it that much. The menu is huge though so there has to be something that someone might enjoy. -
Review from Kimberley N.
Mississauga, ON
9/29/2011 1 Check-in Here
I've been to the Pickle Barrel a couple of times in the past but today's visit wasn't impressive at all.
Me and my sister arrived for dinner on a Thursday evening. We thought we were gonna get decent service since there weren't many people. It took about 10 minutes for our server to come by and take our orders. We ordered the spaghetti with meatballs, honey garlic chicken wings, and lobster and jumbo shrimp in angel hair. The appetizer didn't take too long to arrive and it tasted decent. However, they were so tiny and are definitely not worth $9.99 for 8 tiny wings. When we finished the wings it took about 30 minutes for the main course to arrive. We were not impressed with the slow service especially when the restaurant is barely full. The spaghetti and meatballs were nothing special...I liked the pasta much more than the meatballs. My sister didn't like her angel hair dish and was a tad jealous that I ordered spaghetti.
It looks like we're not going here anytime soon. -
Review from Xi Y.
Toronto, ON
2/5/2012
The environment and service is not bad, but the food is not good. As a restaurant, they should not be saving money by compromising on the good chief.
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Review from Josh J.
Dryden, ON
11/22/2011
Service was okay. Food was terrible. Had the lamb off the local menu and everything that was on my plate was barely edible. Ended up leaving most of the meal on the plate - the same with my wife. I was actually physically sick a couple hours after eating, not sure if it was the food, but it was a very unpleasant situation.
I'd say stay away from this place. -
Review from Justine H.
Toronto, ON
9/17/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Restaurant: Pickle Barrel
Cuisine: Canadian
Location: Dundas Square
Address: 312 Yonge St
Price Range: $10-15
1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very Good 5: Excellent
Food: 2
Service: 3
Ambiance: 2
Overall: 2.5
This specific location I went with my family is located underground of Dundas Square. Personally I don't really like restaurants that are underground, it makes me feel as if I am trapped (yea I know I sound crazy but that's just me) They had lots of tables and huge booths, which would be good for family dinners or big group gathering. Personally I found the interior to be quite tacky, the whole green and turquoise blue theme didn't really do it for me.
Ordered: CALAMARI ($8.99) 2.5/5
This was def a big appetizer, but then again, it was $8.99 so you kind of expect that. There was some seasoning on top but I couldn't taste it and overall it was dripping in oil. Plus I feel like 50% of what makes a good calamari dish is the sauce that comes with it. However, the sauce that came with this was just like mayo and didn't have much flavor. I usually like it to be a little spicy or tangy. I would not get this again.
Ordered: ROADSIDE SLIDERS ($8.99) 2/5
This dish had nice presentation to it, and it came with 4 burgers made sesame onion buns, beef patty and mushrooms. The condiments came on the side (ketchup,mustard,relish) which I thought was kind of weird. I feel like DIY concept at restaurants are becoming really popular and suppose to be hip (I doubt Pickle Barrel did it to be hip) but I find it annoying how I am paying for a meal and I have to do the work. The patty was super dry and there was this weird chinese vegetable inside the burger which did not taste good together. This was another fail.
Ordered: LOBSTER & SHRIMP PASTA ($15.99) 2/5
Even just looking back at the picture, I am disgusted by this 'pasta'. It's angel hair pasta so to some point it's understandable how the texture of the pasta should be softer, but this was just plain mush. The moment I put it in mouth, it broke into thousand pieces and I felt like I was eating baby food. Because it was so soft and overdone, it was hard to pick up the pasta in the first place cause it would break the moment my fork got to it. This had lots of carrot and zucchini on top and that def did not help the blandness of the dish. Garlic bread was just meh. Another fail!
Ordered: JUMBO CLUB HOUSE ($10.99) 2.5/5
I usually like sandwiches made with plain toast or chewy bread but this was made with Onion bread that was so hard and rough it was ripping the top of my mouth. It had the basic stuff inside like turkey, tomato, lettuc and bacon and came with side of fries. I didn't really understand why there was a little thingiemajig of mayo on the side, was I suppose to do work again and spread this into my sandwich? WHAT IS THAT? If I didn't want mayo in my sandwich, I would have asked the watress to remove it. If I didn't ask them to, why are you skipping one of the steps of making a sandwich? I just don't understand. The sandwich was very dry and had no flavor whatsoever. Coleslaw was basically chopping up veggies mixed in vinegar. I never had such a bad Club sandwich ever in my life.
Ordered: SPANISH PAELLA ($14.99) 3/5
My mom ordered this and this was the most decent dish of the meal.
It came with lots of seafood (~4 mussels and ~4 really big chubby shrimp) and spicy italian sausage. The Paella didn't taste very authentic (but what do we expect) and tasted too much of tomato paste but hey, at least tomato sauce makes almost everything taste good. Overall the paella was made too wet but I can't complain anymore.
Ordered: MOLTEN LAVA CAKE ($7.99) 2/5
The molten lava cake is juis just like what you would get from the frozen section of Walmart for 99cents. I swear I tried one of those before and the shape, texture and the taste is exactly the same.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I am assuming they basically microwave this 'cake' and throw in some whipped cream and cheap vanilla icecream on top and charge us $7.99. This is so not worth that!
Throughout the entire meal, the service was very attentive and the server was always there to refill our water and pop. Because the restaurant is so big and we were seated in a booth in the corner, it was really convenient for us to sit there for long period of time and just chit chat away.
Summary: This restaurant is a really bad version of Cheesecake Factory! I want to give it another chance but it's hard to give an excuse when I got to try one of their appetizer, plus 4 entree and a dessert. Food is bad, the price ain't cheap and there is no reason for me to go back to this place. -
Review from Jessica H.
Toronto, ON
12/28/2011
Pickle Barrel was once one of my favorite restaurants (6 years ago). But as I go back over the years I realize it has gone completely downhill. The staff and atomsphere has stayed the same, which is great and friendly. But the food is lacking. Their menu is about the size of a book which gives you a chance to pick out exactly what you're craving for but my food always seems dry, over cooked, and tasteless. The presentation is great but the food is lacking. I keep going back hoping for the same great food but I keep getting disappointed. They need a new head chef or something!
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Review from Mumuuu S.
Toronto, ON
12/4/2011
This is probably not even a very good pickle barrel.
The underground location was depressing, for a pickle barrel.
The eggs were not so bad. I don't remember them, but that probably means that they weren't so bad.
That's not enough to make me give this barrel more than one star. I'm sorry, happy pickle man who carries around the tray of ice cream scoops. Although why should I be sorry for you when you are a cheap "Mr. Peanut" rip-off. Also, Mr pickle, you are the kind of drawing that gets really creepy and craggy looking close up. Like if you get to close to the king and queen in the subway, their faces are all melty. -
Review from Janice H.
Markham, ON
1/11/2012
The food was great. The service was terrible. The server was giving us attitude when we asked for the drink to be changed. We also never got the soup and salad that we ordered. Never coming back to this location.
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Review from Fern H.
6/3/2011
I'm not a huge fan of chain restaurants but a friend and I were looking for a quiet place in the area to chat and catch up. After seeing the loud and crazy atmosphere of the new Salad King, we decided on Pickel Barrel.
There was a lot of seating available, including many tables for two and cozy booths. We settled in at a table and our waitress told us it was margarita night so we both ordered the lime flavor ($5.99). The drinks arrived in massive glasses requiring both hands to hold.
For the meal, we order the talapia with Greek salad ($13.99) and the avacado sandwich with sweet potato fries ($11.99). The sandwich was probably better than the fish which was just a slab of salty, slightly burned talapia on a bed of salad consisting of mostly onions and green peppers.
Service was friendly, quick and they left us alone long enough for a good ol' gossip and catching up session. -
Review from Aaron P.
8/9/2011
Food was mediocre, service was mediocre, overall dining experience was mediocre, luckily we were in good company so it wasn't an absolute disaster. However, I would never come back to this place as there are places MUCH better than this within walking distance.
We came as a party of 8 equipped with 5 "Free Appetizer" coupons. We were seated and the first thing we noticed was the GIGANTIC menu selection. There was a lot of things to choose from and a lot of us had to take some time to read all of it to decide what to eat. After a few minutes our server came without introducing himself, not even giving us a smile and asked if we wanted any drinks. We just said we wanted water for now and he simply left without responding. After a while he came back, again not smiling or even appearing to be happy, and we ordered 5 appetizers. 2 Nachos with meat sauce, 2 PEI Mussels and 1 Vegetable Quesadilla.
Nachos with Meat Sauce - These came in great portions smothered in cheese, jalepenos and meat sauce. They were gigantic and we could not finish them all even as a party of 8.
PEI Mussels (Spicy and Non Spicy) - These mussels must've been bought from Costco or something. They were bland, incredibly small in size, and totally not worth the asking price of $8.99 (luckily we got it free)
Vegetable Quesadilla - Alright but again, did not seem like it was made with much quality (seems like it was made from frozen)
It took a while for all our food to arrive after the appetizers came (alright I guess for a group of 8). I had the spanish paella, while my friends ordered maple salmon, pastrami, steak with goat cheese, and a few burgers. I had a taste of some of my friends food. My Spanish Paella was decent and tasty, however it felt like they used the same sauce for the mussells for my paella. My friend's steak with goat cheese was quite moist and tasty, while my other friend's pastrami sandwich was horribly dry and tasteless. We came to the conclusion that this place was hugely inconsistent with their food and it was most likely due to the huge menu.
Our overall experience was mediocre, luckily our free appetizers made it worthwhile to go. However, I would never recommend this place to anybody that is looking for a romantic or an excellent dining experience as this place is bland and boring (not incredibly cheap either). -
Review from Shanley W.
Toronto, ON
6/15/2011
I would never go back here.. For starters, the menu is ridiculous, and I think this largely contributed to our awful dining experience. I don't know if our waiter was new or what, but she didn't seem to have answers to any of our questions about the menu, and came back at least three times to tell us we had to order something different because things were unavailable. Plus, she was soooo slow, we waited forever to order and for things to come, even though the place was pretty dead.
The food was nothing special, my mozzarella sticks were okay, but that's pretty hard to mess up. My family was unimpressed with the Tex-Mex spring rolls, and the nacho platter we had was alright. For the main dishes, everyone seemed to like parts of their meals, but no one was really wow'd.
The dessert menu seemed pretty good, but for some reason all the desserts are listed as coming with yogurt, which seemed super weird. Thankfully, it's just a poorly written menu, it's FROZEN vanilla yogurt, pretty much ice cream, not sure why no one caught that during proofreading? I guess after proofing the rest of their mammoth menu they were just getting tired by the end..
The seating is nice, and the decor is classy, but other than that I was really unimpressed. -
Review from Karen G.
Toronto, ON
3/10/2011
I love this place for the location, and most importantly the health-concious menu. Rarely (and I use that word loosely - more like never) will you find a menu in Toronto that includes calorie count per serving, but also TASTES GOOD and FILLS YOU UP.
Rose's menu of healthy-portioned, calorie-wise choices are a great option for someone who wants to eat out, but also doesn't want to jepordize their waistline. My favourite is the sun-dried tomato burger (no bun!) w/ smashed potatoes, delish! And the Spanish Paella is a dream, chock-full of chicken, shrimp and sausuage (I choose not to order it with mussels) amazingly flavourful but not overly spicy. It's hard to believe something that hearty is that low-cal. Being able to eat well and feel full, and know that you didn't just consume the calories of a small family's entire dinner makes me a fan.
That said, on my non-calorie counting nights, the menu is fairly large and diverse. The restuarant (chain) is also one of the few in the city that serves Hoegarrden. I only recommend ordering beer, no cocktails! Their cocktails are horrendously oversized, yet still only come with 1- 1.5oz of booze. Meaning if you're craving a margarita, what comes to the table is a big 'ol bowl of syrup and ice.Listed in: Best Restaurants in T.O. for…
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Review from Michelle A.
Toronto, ON
1/18/2011
I generally avoid the chain restauarants in this area, but it's tough when you're near Yonge/Dundas every day! I went for dinner on a Monday night and it was not busy at all. I was pleasantly surprised to see big black booths and quiet, private-ish tables. The menu is varied with all-day breakfast, sandwiches, wraps, salads, burgers, etc. The bar was also quite big and seems like a good spot for a few drinks after shopping.
To eat, I had a big spinach salad with brie, cranberries, and candied pecans... it was actually the chicken spinach salad but I said no chicken. It's bizarre - they have about 15 'meal' salads and zero are vegetarian... the meat eaters won't even let us have salad... anyway, it was quite big and a good meal portion.
If you have to pick, I think Pickle Barrel has better food/atmosphere for dinner than Jack Astors.
Also, they offer free parking after 6 pm.Listed in: Close to Ryerson
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Review from Ariel W.
Toronto, ON
10/29/2011
Got a table from the hostess, and then waited 20 minutes before leaving. No waiter came to offer drinks or take any orders.
Don't waste your time, go elsewhere. -
Review from Laura T.
Toronto, ON
1/18/2011
All day breakfast means I can go to the PB for waffles and ice cream any hour of the day. Delicious and fresh, AND close to Ryerson Uni, the Eaton Center and all the festivities around Yonge Dundas Square.
Good service (my water was constantly refilled), fun drink specials (pina coladas on Monday) and typical but cool PB atmosphere Great place to stop for a quick bite if you're in the Yonge Dundas area -
Review from Tim A.
Waterloo, ON
4/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
This is your typical Pickle Barrel. It's large, has a large menu, and it's a tad chaotic (which can result in slow service). If you need to be somewhere, let them know and they'll make sure you're taken care of in time.
Pro tip: If you make a reservation or want to be seated from the dining room, you need to enter via the lower level or you can walk in from the Yonge St entrance, down the escalator, and to the opposite side of the restaurant. Bit of a design flaw there. -
Review from Susan C.
Toronto, ON
6/3/2011
Yay, I love this place! Even if it's located right at the busy downtown core of Toronto, I never had to wait long to be seated. The food is delish and the waiter/waitress is always really friendly.
mmmmmmmmmmmmm -
Review from Joanne S.
Toronto, ON
10/7/2010
Thursday night around 7pm, 2 guests (including myself).
Service - we were on street level when we entered but there was noone there to greet us (seems to be a problem with this chain), so we proceeded down the escalator and went to the front of the subway entrance. We were seated promptly and our server came. Very nice man, very attentive and did not rush us at all. Bad timing with food, the table is already so small, at least time the food to come out when we're done eating the previous course!
Food -
Hummus dip - shared that with Friend, SO GOOD.
French Onion Soup - skip this, seriously. It's bad for you and isn't worth it. Way too salty, soggy croutons and WAY WAY WAY too much cheese. It was at best a melted cheese soup.
Friend had Grilled Vegetable & Goat Cheese Omelette, it was too much for her (good thing) but she was excited about the couscous and it was cold, that disappointed her. Also it doesn't say on the menu there are raisins in the couscous...
Florentine Benedict - Soggy bread with TOUGH crust, couldn't easily cut into it. Good eggs. Bad hollandaise sauce, was severely watered down and didn't taste like much. And I'm pretty sure they put lox instead of just smoked salmon. If not, I don't want to know how SALTY their lox is...
Margaritas are yummy and HUGE and were the special. Of course we didn't expect it to be too alcoholy, they underpour at chains, I'm pretty sure.
We didn't eat dessert this time around, way too full even for those mini ones. -
Review from geraldine g.
Toronto, ON
9/1/2010
I don't know how long I can milk the ``I'm from out of town`` clause but I'm going to now!
Toronto has some chains I have never heard of, like this one. It's busy and always full of people. So being a curious food hound, I gave it a try!!!
Now, chains always seem to get an awful rep over the little guys but this time round I was quite pleased.
We came in for brunch this past Sunday and I ordered my standard measure for breakfast: eggs, sausage, toast and has browns with coffee. It was a pleasant surprise to me that it came with a maple turkey sausage! I could have ate much more of those. In addition, the potatoes it came with (very few of them I might add) were delightful! He described them as potatoe latkas. Whatever they are, they were f-i-n-e!
If you are on a budget and wanna splurge on a dessert because you have an uncontrollable sweet tooth. They have something to offer you, mini martini glasses filled with one of their flavours of cheesecakes.
i tried their banana chocolate pecan cheesecake for 1.99. Yeah, $2.
Good times on the cheap people! -
Review from Melanie C.
Oakville, ON
7/22/2010
I generally try to avoid this place, but when a friend you haven't seen in years suggests the Pickle Barrel for dinner, it's rude to say, "No". I guess I could have tried, "No, thanks!" but that doesn't come naturally.
I was actually glad I tried this place again. There was a short wait for a table, which gave us just enough time to run an errand just outside of the restaurant before we were buzzed.
It was Mojito night so I ordered one. For $5.99 you get a gigantic beverage, but it was pretty watery.
I chose the miso salmon burger with couscous. The salmon and couscous were fantastic, the bun needs improvement. Two thumbs up for the side of wasabi mayo.
We noticed the desserts in the display case on the way in and requested one of them. Our kind waiter brought us a tray of six different mini desserts. I had a perfectly-sized (this means tiny) tiramisu and my friend had a rich chocolate dessert. I appreciated that it was only $2.99 and while I imagine it would be too small for most, it was the perfect finale to my meal. -
Review from Hideki K.
7/1/2011
I was told that the Pickle Barrel serves good food. When I tried it out back in April, that was not the case. I had a Smoked Salmon & Mixed Berry Salad and was not impressed. What was impressive was how diverse the menu is.
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Review from Phina T.
Toronto, ON
8/27/2010
I usually find that my best experiences with restaurants are when it's a spontaneous visit, planned dates and outings and it's like there's some sort of notice that goes out to the restaurants to disappoint me.
My BF and I went to this Pickle Barrel on Thursday evening at about 4PM, not too early for dinner but we thankfully arrived before the dinnertime rush. We were seated promptly and our server was a very nice girl. I have to tell everyone - NEVER BE AFRAID TO GIVE YOUR SERVER A LOUD "EXCUSE ME!" TO GET THEIR ATTENTION. I'm usually a meek little thing, but when I go to a restaurant, I want service. Being meek or polite won't get you their attention, I saved my date from getting a drink he decided he didn't want but ordered. His massive milkshake thing was good, and so was his big meatball spaghetti. However I seem to always draw the short straw: I read "Strawberry Smoothie".....now what I FAILED to catch was " blah blah made with yogurt.
Yogurt?!?!
What kind of a smoothie is made with yogurt?! I took one sip and made a face my bf had to comment on. It tasted like a nasty orange yogurt drink! I then whipped through the menu - everything usually made with milk was made with yogurt!!! I was completely let down as I saw sundaes and such delights ruined of their goodness by being made with yogurt. Chocolate sundae - yogurt. That's just WRONG! -
Review from Kat F.
Updated - 4/12/2009
Unfortunately my last visit to Pickle Barrel ended in a bit of a "Pickle Surprise". And not the good kind that shows up randomly on YouTube and features the on-screen debut of RuPaul, ya dig?
So let's see...about once a month I head to Pickle Barrel, eat a meal, and then buy a jar of their sandwich pickles at the takeout counter to enjoy at home. I've done this about a dozen times and most of the time it's a hassle-free mission. One time I had to explain where to get the pickles, but otherwise it's never a problem.
This time around, the takeout girl had no idea what I was talking about and even went so far as to accuse me of lying and "not knowing what I was talking about" because she had been an employee since day one and had never HEARD of anyone buying pickles to go. From PICKLE Barrel.
Sheesh. She told me she could get me some pickles but only if she charged me $1.50 per pickle, because she had no idea how else to ring it in. I told her fine, I'd take $10 worth (7-8 pickles according to her price point). She charged me $14 and then walked away from the counter.
And didn't come back.
10-15 minutes elapsed and I was standing there with my receipt, wondering where she had gone (every other time I've bought pickles the person took them from the display case) and when (if?) she was going to come back.
After another 5 minutes I got frustrated and called on one of the hostesses to refund my money because I was tired of waiting and unimpressed that the takeout person had just left me standing there with no explanation of where she was going or when she'd be back. The hostess wasn't very helpful and told me she couldn't refund my money, but someone else could. As I was being tersely refunded by another random person, the takeout girl came back with a plastic bag of pickles and plopped them down on the counter to give to me.
I explained to her that a) I was unimpressed that she had taken so long and had gotten a refund and b) that pickles normally came in a jar. In brine. Not randomly in sealed plastic bag the way they arrive from the distributor. She scoffed and I walked out.
I like everything else about my monthly Pickle Barrel experience but this takeout nightmare that I endured left such a "sour" taste in my mouth that I'm in a bit of a "pickle" as to whether or not I should bother giving them my business again.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/31/2009
I've gotta do a two-parter for my review of Pickle Barrel because part I of my visit (the sit down… Read more »
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Review from Melissa F.
Toronto, ON
6/29/2009
You are severely overrated.
Ridiculously large menu, I can understand why people go here.
I CANNOT understand, however, why people line UP to go here.
This is one of those places that you think is reallyreally cool when you're like 15 and you're still discovering what it is like to "eat out" without the parents...but realize that it's just another gross chain in disguise that you'd rather not give your business to.
So if you're over 20 and still frequenting this place and think it's cool, I'd take a second to re-evaluate myself. In fact, if you're under twenty, do yourself a favour and go to burger king and save a little money.
Really, people. you can find something better.
QUITE easily, infact.Listed in: You are severely overrated.…
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Review from Jenny T.
2/16/2010
Can awful service ruin a restaurant? Yes, and this is a prime example. The location is right, the food is good, there are mouth watering desserts on display but the execution of the service there is a complete failure.
I have been to Pickel Barrel twice since they've renovated it. There were a few hostesses but it looked like they were getting off duty and the manager was asking them to stay and they had a little dispute about whether the hostess should have stayed. Both the manager, off-duty hostess and the on-duty hostess did not give a rats arse about my friend and I who was just standing there. We just left and went somewhere else.
The second time, we made it into a seat. My boyfriend ordered the king crab and steak combo and I ordered a salad. The waitress said that they were discontinuing the king crab and would go check with the cooks. She came back and told us that there was king crab, so he ordered the king crab with steak combo.
It was not until I got my salad entree that she came and told him that there was actually no king crab! My friend said fine, I'll just order something else. He decided to ordered a larger cut of steak, but the server said that he MUST take the steak that was supposed to come with the crab because it was already cooked. So the waitress forced him to take the steak that was already made and substitute something else for the king crab.
And... his entree did not come out until I finished mine. When his entree came out, they also served his starters (salad and something else) at the same time. Did I mention that the steak was cold at this point? So half the time we were just watching each other eat. Terrible experience. -
Review from Annie L.
Markham, ON
7/13/2010
Food is to Pickle Barrel's standards but "SERVICE" can ruin everything!
I recently went on Sunday, July 4th which was Toronto Pride weekend. We decided to take my girlfriend's cousin from Ohio (his 19th birthday...legal in Ontario) for a nice treat on us. He was buzz, since we've been partying on the street. We weren't able to get service frequently and the waiter took forever on our glasses of water. I understand they're busy but their level of service isn't acceptable. They need to put more staff on events like this. Her cousin was applaud, since American service is apparently set really high.
We ordered a full rack of ribs, jambalaya pasta, 8oz steak, nachos, and alcoholic beverages. Food was delicious and no complaints.
The biggest problem was trying to pay the bill for a good 15 minutes. Her cousin kept insisting on skipping the bill but being Canadians, we didn't. We had to ask for a manager and complaint about the wait time. They gave us 25% off and the waiter came to apologize which was too late. Even though, we got our discount we're wholly disappointed. -
Review from Jessica R.
Toronto, ON
2/5/2010
This is a rating of several combined experiences at The Pickle Barrel at Yonge and Ellington, as I have been there many times.
PROS:
* Good atmosphere and decor
* Convenient location (right downtown, near shopping, theaters, etc)
* Great selection (the menu is a novel!)
* Fun drinks and desserts
* Good food and very decent prices.
CONS
* Awful service.
* Did I mention AWFUL service?
Yes, that IS a pretty bold statement, considering its a large place and they must have a fairly large staff. But literally every time I've went there, I've had bad service. Either inattentive waiters who don't return to your table for a ridiculous amounts of time (your food gets cold before you can tell them they forgot the yam fries... or something.), or OVER attentive waiters who seem to be rushing you out of the restaurant so that they can move on to the next guests.
One visit stands out in my mind:
I once reserved a table for myself and several friends. A few of us came together. I gave the hostess my name and asked the her (who's job it is to seat guests), when my friends arrived, could she please point them in our direction as we were quite deep into the restaurant and they may not be able to find us. She looked at me as if it was a ridiculous request and replied "Umm, okay."
An hour into our stay, I called my friends to ask why they weren't there yet. As it turns out, they came to the hostess/host counter like I had directed them to, gave my name, and the hostess said "I don't know, they're in the restaurant somewhere. You can walk around and find them." Isn't that awful?
And to top it all off, I sent an email to The Pickle Barrel about my experience, and got NO reply whatsoever.
If you're looking for a convenient spot downtown to grab a bite and a drink with friends, The Pickle Barrel is a good place to go. But if you're looking for quality customer service and a pleasant experience all around, go elsewhere. I've had better service at a McDonalds. Maybe I should save my Pickle Barrel tips and give them to the McDonalds staff!!!
Thanks for reading!! -
Review from Julianna N.
Pickering, ON
11/19/2010
I go here often for dinner as it is right near my school and the location is convenient. In comparison to the other pickle barrel location I've been to (at Yorkdale mall), I have to say the food quality is consistent. As a vegetarian there are a few options, but I'm beginning to get bored with veggie chow mein, veggie burgers, and pasta (which are pretty much the options). There used to be a veggie wrap on the menu with gouda cheese (which was tasty although maybe not the best wrap I've ever had) however I recently found out that they got rid of this item! The drinks are quite good, and I love how they have a drink special every day (I think it's every day?). The drinks on special are still expensive, but they give you a lot and they taste pretty good (the fruity ones, that is ;] ).
The service has always generally been OK, but with a bigger place like this it's always hit-and-miss. The only service complaint I have is once when I went the fire alarm (or some sort of alarm) went off and was extremely loud, going off for about 5-10 minutes. During this time, most of the staff was confused as to what was going on, and since they had no idea, none of us customers had any idea either. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to take my things and leave or wait there because it was a false alarm! Eventually it stopped, but I don't even recall an apology from any of the staff afterward (and it was pretty annoying).
Overall the meals are quite average, and I would recommend going if you're in the mood for "regular" food. -
Review from Bryan G.
Toronto, ON
4/21/2009
GENERAL NOTES
A glorified deli that makes good sandwiches and barrels of very average pickles. A very good catering option if you require that kind of thing (though they don't accept personal cheques).
MENU RECOMMENDATIONS
Egg salad on egg bread. Trust me.
SERVICE NOTES
Umm, none. (as in no notes, not no service)
LOCATION NOTES
NW corner of Yonge/Dundas. Sit down restaurant at street level and a quick deli directly below it in the lower level of the Atrium. This isn't the kind of place that's worth finding a parking space for in this part of town but if you're looking for a space around here I'd suggest the Ryerson lot. I always found that to be the cheapest option...6 years ago.
HUMOUROUS STORY
My Mother once described a well educated person who spoke many languages as a "cunning linguist". My Mother. -
Review from Min min T.
Scarborough, ON
7/26/2009
I'll agree with Melissa, Pickle Barrel is overrated.
And a warning to the herbivores, a lot of what appear to be innoncuous items on the menu are not vegetarian-friendly. A friend who worked here as a waitress told me that the pastas are cooked in animal broth. Don't bother if you're going meat-free. -
Review from Amanda A.
Toronto, ON
8/26/2009
I hate how people insist on going here when there are so many better options in the area. I went again, yesterday, and I feel robbed.
I can't tell you how many times I've been here - but what I can tell you is that this location is dark, drab, and they do not know how to cook red meat. Dry and over cooked every. single. time.
Do not attempt to order any "thai" or "chinese" food - lean cuisine does a better job at capturing international flavours.
If you go here, keep it simple. Wraps, sandwiches, breakfast. By the way, I used to go to the locations in Markham and Yorkdale, years ago with my mom and I really enjoyed it. I'm beginning to wonder if it is just this location, or if Pickle Barrel's quality has gone down in the past few years.
Oh, PS - if you order a sandwich and want to sub onion rings for fries, it is an extra $3.99 and you get 6 onion rings. -
Review from Thomas B.
North Bay, ON
5/25/2009 2 Check-ins Here
Not much in this world comes close to being better than this places Steak Frites Salad. If you have a chance, bring a friend and order this. The serving size is huge and it's phenomenally delicious all the way through. Who know, for round two with this salad you might want to get it all to yourself!
This Pickle Barrel in particular is very clean, very posh, and a really romantic venue for a nice date. My ex-girlfriend and I both loved frequenting this place every year for our anniversary.
The service has consistently been outstanding. Always super friendly and super considerate. When the waiters have something to do for you it gets done right away and with a smile. I couldn't have picked many other pleasant spots to bring my ex for our anniversary's which is why we stuck with this joint.
But what am I going to do now that we broke up!? I need a date to go get some steak frites with! (Now accepting applications :P) -
Review from Roma M.
5/6/2009
My experience, just like most others on this page was disastrous in the service department. The waitress had messed up the orders of about 3-4 tables around us before she'd come around to taking our order (we'd been already sitting there for about 30 mins).
My friend and I started to worry about what we'd be served (or not served for that matter). I ordered a milkshake that was supposed to taste like passion fruit. However, it came out distinctly tasting like strawberry ice cream. When I told the waitress how much I despise strawberry, she started arguing, quite rudely that I was mistaken and that it was Passion.
Wow, arguing with the patrons. Classy.Listed in: Blacklisted!
-
Review from Tina N.
Toronto, ON
5/5/2010
Despite a wonderful internal decor and an interesting menu, the service here is horrible. I blame it on entry-level servers. They are not knowledgeable about the food or cocktails, and haven't got the timing down for quality checks, refills and other obligatory duties. I was only able to see my server TWICE throughout the night of my dinner here!
As for the food, it's adequate and prices are ok since they're a franchise company but still.... in a food city as great as Toronto, you shoudn't need to waste your time or money here. -
Review from Hanna K.
Toronto, ON
5/31/2011
I come here with my best friends a lot to have a girls night dinner!
It has an awesome atmosphere and I like the fact that you have to ride an escalator down to the "family" part of the restaurant. The bar part is upstairs but I am only 17 so no drinking for me...YET!
I like the food but I would definitely not say it has the best food. It is a typical chain food style restaurant. The food is decent though if you are looking for a bite to eat after a day of shopping because the Eaton Centre is literally 50 seconds away!
I also like the washrooms! They have red lighting and are very clean! -
Review from Kate M.
Toronto, ON
From reading a few other review's of this spot it seems to be hit or miss!
I'm feeling lucky that my visit last night was a hit! Service was fast quick and easy! Usually I have to wait around for what feels like a BILLION years for water at other Pickle Barrels, but here is didn't have to even do the little wavy-flag over-point at cup maneuver! I loved my soup of the day, butternut squash (YUM!), and enjoyed my chicken quesadilla (sp?).
It is a Pickle Barrel so obviously you're not expecting the best of the best or anything, but all in all it lived up to my expectations. -
Review from Shari M.
Toronto, ON
7/5/2009
I go for the bruschetta. Every time I have had it the tomatoes have been so fresh and juicy. The grilled bread and feta that accompany the red beauties have never let me down either.
Not a huge fan when it comes to the actual main course, but the bruschetta has not led me astray yet. -
Review from Mozart A.
Whitby, ON
7/7/2010
Nothing spectacular about this Pickle Barrel.
The food was OK, nothing great. The lobster/spinach dip was "watery" for my taste, Red Lobster's so much better; the BBQ pork ribs in spite of tasting good were not tender and falling off the bone, they were waaay over roasted. I've had better ribs on Swiss Chalet.
Service was acceptable. Lots of time waiting for the waitress to get our order, get the bill... probably not her fault, but anyway, it kinda sucked.
With many other better options around... it was probably our first and last time at this location. -
Review from vivian v.
Aurora, ON
6/16/2009
Don't get me wrong, I want to love Pickle Barrel. I really, really do. But unfortunately this last visit has killed it for me. I'm sure I'll go back, with such an extensive menu, it's easiest with a big group.
I recently went with my mom because she refused to buy me Chipotle again, so we came to a compromise. But from the moment we got in, I had a whole slew of issues. I even took notes on an old envelope strictly for this review. Let's go:
- they sat the two of us at a table of four, it was nice to have room. then after putting our stuff down and getting comfortable, a new waitress came and moved us because the "section was closed". so we get moved to a teensy table. Fine, put us in a smaller table, there is only two of us. But they moved us to the table right beside the register so there was a constant lineup of loud obnoxious people trying to pay for their food and continuing socializing. right-beside-us. so frustrating when you're trying to enjoy a weekly meal with your mother. oh, and the best part? not 5 minutes after moving us from the "closed area" they seated a group at our first table.
- i ordered a very simple order of grilled cheese & bacon. I was brought just a plain grilled cheese. Okay, maybe that was my mistake and I didn't speak loud enough for the waitress to hear me through all the people yammering on around us. then the bill comes, and i'm charged for a grilled cheese & bacon. yeah, it's a dollar difference but it's the point.
- the waitress drops a handful of ketchup packets on our table because "they don't have any bottles left". Really? Shouldn't you have enough bottles for the entire restaurant? Well, that's not a problem. I don't mind ketchup packets, i eat at mcdonalds plenty, I'm pretty great at tearing them open. My issue stems from the fact that there is an uncleared table about 4 feet away from me with a bottle of ketchup that's not being used. There are enough bottles, it's just the laziness of picking one up from the other table.
- now this isn't my issue, but i was over hearing the fact that the waitress for the table beside us had gotten an earful from her customers because she had forgotten to put in half of their order.
It was a bad experience and it was super frustrating, but for the most part, it's not that bad. All the food is pretty generic, but maybe I'm pretty generic since I'm the one that ordered grilled cheese.
But the desserts? Oh, to die for.
