Dark Horse

I went in there expecting an average restaurant, but I was pleasantly surprised at the great service, and a very pleasant server named Lisa. I think that is her name. The food was really good as well.

DO NOT EVER GO THERE!!! The worst restaurant experience ever. A friend of mine and I were asked to leave the place after 40 minutes staying in there. We had a two rounds of drinks until the waitress approached to us saying that ‘they did not make enough money’ on drinks alone and if we wished to stay longer we needed to eat’. We said it was 11:30am, we already ate and iit wasn’t even the lunch-time yet. She insisted so we left in awe. Luckily there are millions of other places in GTA.

Staff are extreme...

Staff are extremely friendly...bar tenders are awesome...great selection of beer...layer back friendly atmosphere. ..great patio. ..food is decent for a pub. I have become a regular.

A great patio and pub

I've been coming here for a couple years, always enjoyed myself, and was amazed at the poor reviews. They are nothing like my many experiences here, at all, so I felt compelled to write a fairer review to present a more balanced perspective. The Food: This is a pub, so expect variations on pub fare. That's not an excuse for bad food, far from it as I've enjoyed everything I've had, just that the menu is tailored to pub-style fare. I'm vegetarian, and I've never had an issue finding multiple options - something that many pubs fail to offer. None of my 'meatetarian' friends have had any issues or complaints either though. The brunch menu is great, and I highly recommend a visit on the weekend, but be patient for a patio seat. The Service: I seem to get the same two servers whenever I go, but service has always been attentive, courteous, and prompt. You're left alone when you get your order till it seems like you're finishing, but there's always a server nearby if you need one, whether inside or out. Service is better in the evenings than weekends, but the place is a lot busier on weekends. The Atmosphere: One of the biggest patios in the city, and by far the biggest in the area, means this place is a great stop any weekend or evening you're looking to relax. Getting a seat may be difficult though. Waiting for a table on the patio can take time, but that has nothing to do with the servers, and everything to do with the fact that the patio is almost always full (or very nearly so) - a table needs to open up large enough for your group, so be patient if it's a beautiful day or there's a festival in the neighborhood. Inside, you get a simple pub - wood paneled, a fairly long bar, but nothing special. If you're looking for a quiet pub to have a pint, this is a good place to visit. If you're looking for a boisterous pub... not so much. Getting a table inside is never really an issue. The Beer(!): Great beer selection. I want to emphasize that - it's great! Bloor West doesn't have anywhere with a better selection of draft beer. Period. They could do with a bit better support of local craft beers, but that's my only complaint on this regard. The breadth of draft offerings here is light years better than any local competition, and it's bolstered by as wide a selection of bottled options. Overall, this is one of my favourite spots in the city, as it is with just about everyone who's joined me. Good food, excellent beer, and a great patio - it's a great combination.

We live in the area and over the years have been...

We live in the area and over the years have been regular visitors to the Dark Horse. It was our favourite pub in the neigbourhood. Great food, great atmosphere and decent service. Not any more. We had tried a few times over the summer that maybe the decline of the food and service was merely a blip. Well no it is not. We don't know what happened. Change of ownership whatever. All we know is that the last visit was indeed the last visit. The service was terrible and slow. The food - my wife ordered (again she is a martyr) her favourite Shepard's Pie. It was (again) runny almost like soup and it didn't even taste that good. I ordered since it was the Ukrainian festival the Chicken Kiev. It was equally not very good having a burnt taste and smell and fairly unappetizing. I couldn't even finish it. Well we complained to the waitress and her only response was sorry. A few weeks earlier while in Ottawa an order of chicken was undercooked but still tasted great. We noted it and the restaurant deducted it from the bill as a complimentary. We will go back there again when in Ottawa. But the Dark Horse? No not again and we warn all - Stay Away!

Service with a smile? No service, period!

A Dark Horse should be renamed The Black Sheep. The service is truly abominable, which is a shame considering its shady, people-watching patio and the good selection of beer it offers. My husband and I were there for a late afternoon lunch during the Ukrainian Festival. We were there for over 1.5 hours--not out of choice, but because we waited 30 minutes for our drinks, 30 minutes for our perogies, and 30 minutes for sour cream for our perogies. Absolutely inexcusable. My husband spoke to the manager, who meekly admitted the place was understaffed. So? That's HIS problem, not ours. Do not patronize this pub--obviously, customer service is not a high priority--no, correction, it is not a priority at all!

If you can't take the heat, get out of the...

If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. It's summer for crying out loud. They should get their act together and staff up properly. We stood by the front door, knew there was a two seater outside for us and waited for attention from one of the rushing wait staff. Each one of them passed us by without a word. We went inside to sit and it smelled so bad we could not stay in doors. When we finally got attention it was because we almost tripped one of the wait staff coming out the door. How rude she was to us! We told her there was a table for two, could we take it and her response was so unwarranted that we just left. I am a regular and live in the area and have been to the restaurant quite happily before. These people were clearly not ready for volume - it's summer. They know they will be busy. It's no way to treat a customer even if you are busy. Acknowledgement is a start to good communication between customer and staff. Not sure I will be inclined to go back after leaving with a bad taste in my mouth!!