The Foggy Dew - 803 King Street West

Graham: After two failed attempts to get into The Foggy Dew, we finally succeeded on Thursday evening.


The Foggy Dew is at the south east corner of King and Niagara. The daily specials and draft beers are displayed on a chalkboard out front.


We arrived around 6pm and the place was already pretty full, there were only a few tables available. The atmosphere is very warm and cozy. There are televisions scattered all over the place, making it easy for anyone at your table to see whatever sporting event is on.


For my meal, I decided to go with a pub staple, the club sandwich. It was served with fresh cut fries, and creamy coleslaw.



My meal was great. I really enjoyed the fresh cut fries, and Liz must have too because she ate most of them. The sandwich and coleslaw were also very good. I wouldn't hesitate to order this again.

Liz decided to go with the Thursday special, Liver and Onions:


Liz: I was excited to order liver & onions because it has been a while since I've had it. Back when I worked in Welland, Ontario one of my favorite lunches was beef liver & onions over mashed potatoes at the 'Blue Star' cafeteria. It cost $4, and came with a free pop. If price is any indication of how good a meal is then $11 bucks for the same meal should give me some darn good food, right?

Not quite.

After my first bite I forced myself to try 3 more but could not continue. I was pretty upset with how poor my food tasted. I had a small lunch at work and was quite hungry. The mashed potatoes were watery and tasteless. Heated up frozen peas .... not my taste. The liver tasted bleak, and the gravy just made it worse. After the waitress spotted my plate still full and pushed to the side (picture below) she asked me if the food was alright. I told her I was not happy with my meal and could not eat it. She said, 'Sorry', and brought us the bill. It bothered me that I was asked to pay $11 for the food that was not edible. I wanted to leave the place ASAP.

I rate my meal 1/5


Thanks to our favourite couple, Ryan & Monique, for the gift certificate. The prices here are fairly reasonable, and it covered most of our meal.

But, I didn't eat my meal.. I guess you can't 'return' a meal even if you have a receipt.


This place has become very popular. If you're going to try and get a table on the night of a hockey or basketball game, make sure to arrive early. They fill up quickly and stay full for the whole event.

True. We tried to get in on the St. Patrick's Day, for lunch, but it was sold out.

This is our third time at this pub and every time the atmosphere is friendly and relaxing. Its a great place to go with your buddies and watch a game while chugging beer and eating fries.

Overall, the dinner was pleasant, and I enjoyed my meal. I'd rate this place at about the same level as the Old York, although I think I prefer the Old York's more secluded patio.

Despite my meal review I will give this pub a good rating. The reason being that interior design that makes it my favorite place to watch a game. The seating arrangement creates relaxing and 'at home' atmosphere. TVs are set up in such a way that its easy to see whats on from where ever you may sit.

Summary
The Foggy Dew
803 King Street West
(416) 703-4042
Price: 40$ for 2 people
Rating: 3.5/5

Niagara Street Cafe - 169 Niagara Street

Graham: When walking from King Street to the Old York Bar and Grill 2 weeks ago, we noticed a nice looking restaurant on Niagara Street. It looked really inviting, so we decided that it should be our next destination. So it happened that on a freezing cold Saturday evening we made our way to the Niagara Cafe for dinner.


We found the hours and single page menu posted on the fence in front of the restaurant. The menu advertises, "We proudly use naturally raised meats, organic dairy, and local artesian products".



Inside, the restaurant is essentially one fairly small room with tables tightly packed in. Brown paper covers each of the candlelit tables, and soft ambient music plays in the background. The atmosphere is warm and cozy, but due to the number of tables in the small room, I found the noise of people talking at other tables to be a bit distracting.



Before we ordered, the waiter brought us potato bread with roasted pepper oil and olives.


I've never eaten potato bread before, and it was delicious. The inside is a little more chewy and more dense than normal bread. The loaf was prepared with potato skins on the top, giving a flavour of baked potato. The oil and peppers perfectly complimented the flavour of the bread.

For my appetizer, I chose the grilled octopus with almonds in charred onion broth.



I had high hopes for this dish, but I found the octopus to be a bit too chewy (maybe this is normal for octopus?) and without much flavour except for the charred parts, which were bitter. The onion broth it was served in was also not exactly my taste, and had a bit of an unpleasant flavour.

Elizabeth ordered the soup of the day, which was parsnips with cream.


Liz: When I was little, my mom used to make chicken soup with carrots and parsnips. Oh, how much I hated parsnip! I would always pick them out, yucky.
So, when I heard that this soup was all parsnips, I just had to try it.

Either parsnips have changed, or my taste has. The soup had delicious sweet flavour, kind of like squash but I could definitely make out the parsnip taste. It was rich and creamy, perfect for a cold day. I would definitely have this soup again.

For my main course I chose the pork with white beans and vegetables.


The pork itself was perfect. On the top, the skin was hard and crispy, which went well with the juicy meat inside. Unfortunately, the sauce for this dish was ok, but not great. The flavour of whatever bean/vegetable combination it was made with really did not compliment the flavour of the pork. It's too bad because with a better sauce this dish would have been fantastic.

For Elizabeth's main course, she chose the duck breast with cabbage and spanish paprika sauce.


Liz: I was really hoping for duck not to be too greasy, but it was :( Grease seeped into the soup base so savory cabbage tasted greasy as well. Meat was juicy and flavorful and there was just the right amount of it. All in all, the dish was average. I would probably not order it again.


Overall, the experience at the Niagara Cafe was pleasant. The service and atmosphere were good, but the taste of the food did not dazzle us. I can't help but compare this restaurant to the Bungalow Cafe (our first review), which had better food for a similar price.

Summary
Niagara Street Cafe
169 Niagara Street
(416) 703-4222
Price: 80$ for 2 people
Rating: 3/5