BLUE ELEPHANT PUB AND RESTAURANT 

90 Norfolk St. Street South,  Norfolk On. (519) 428-2886 

A group of us went to the Blue Elephant Restaurant and Pub on a Friday afternoon for an early dinner. It is located in Simcoe Ontario.  It is quite a large space and has a good variety of spaces.  

It has it's own brew store where you can buy beer that is brewed in their own brewery on the premises.

Daily specials are posted at the entry which makes it easy to see them in one place.

A rather large collection of craft brew bottles and cans is displayed in the bar area.

They have their own brewery that can be seen through a viewing window.

A couple of rooms are used for evening dinners.

The bar area is a good size and with a good view of the patio in the back.

The menu begins with a brief description of the brew house and its philosophy.  The menu is easy to follow and includes most typical pub dishes with a few twists. The prices are reasonable, with most mains costing less than 20 dollars.

The menu explains how the establishment has evolved over the years and become the first brew house in Norfolk County.

The menu is easy to follow and has a good variety of offerings with nothing over twenty dollars.

One of us began with a cosmo martini.

One of us began with a white wine.

the rest of us had a red wine.

One of us ordered the quiche special with onion soup. She liked the onion soup, but found the quiche rather ordinary.

One of us had the quiche special with spinach salad and feta and she enjoyed both.

Two of us had the fish and chip dinner one had one piece the other had two.  It was a typical fish and chip pub meal.

I had the lake erie whitefish pan fried in butter with garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables.  This was a pretty good meal except the fish could have been hotter.

There is an outdoor patio with a variety of seating.

All in all it was a typical pub experience with a few twists and an interesting craft brewery.  We will come again when in the area.

http://blueelephant.ca/

GRACE O'MALLEY'S

14 Duncan Street, Entertainment District, Toronto On., (416) 596-1444

We went to Grace O'Malley's for a rest after some boxing week shopping for libations and nachos.  It was a quiet Thursday early evening when we arrived.  

My son ordered a pint of Guiness.  My wife and I ordered a glass of California Merlot. 

The nachos with chicken was enormous and very filling.  It contained chicken, black olives, lots of cheese and jalapeno peppers and some vegetables.  We could not finish it.  It was a quiet oasis during a hectic day shopping.  The wine however was not quite what I expected from a California wine.
There was a well equipped stage near where we were sitting. There was a well designed bar and a variety of seating.  It's menu is pub fare with a Canadian twist.

WINCHESTER ARMS 3.75 out of 5

120 King Street West, Dundas, On (905) 627- 8016

A typical British type pub found in the heart of Dundas Ontario.  It has been a part of the town for years and is very popular.  As a result the main patrons are locals, a lot of whom seem to know each other.  This makes it a welcoming atmosphere. 

My son and I have been here many times during the week.  We decided to have a meal on a Saturday and were shocked when we arrived to find a line up out the door.  They seemed to be understaffed and were trying hard to keep up with the seating.  The waitresses were almost running from table to table.  We were seated quite quickly considering the commotion.

  My son ordered a chicken sandwich made of barbecued chicken with roasted red peppers, cheese on a tender ciabatta bun - it was very tender and tasty. 

 I ordered the halibut and mashed, thankfully I only wanted one piece of fish, because it was gigantic.  The mashed potatoes were soft and plentiful and it came with coleslaw.  It was a substantial and filling pub meal.  

We had a couple of pints of Kilkenny on draught to complete the pub experience.  Our waitress was very competent and tried to make our experience as good as possible - she was very efficient.   As we were leaving the evening's entertainment was just setting up for the Saturday evening.
Unfortunately their website is poorly managed and not working properly.  However it's menu is typical of most pubs, with some different twists.

STONEWALLS 

339 York Blvd, Hamilton, On (905) 577-0808 Mon-Thurs 11:30am - midnight,  Fri 11:30 - 2:00 am, Sat 10 am - 2:00 am, Sun 10 am - midnight

Went here a number of times for nachos and their irish nachos, which were quite tasty.  Three of us decided to try it for a full lunch meal.  It was after the lunch rush and there were several patrons still eating.  There was only one waitress, travelling back and forth from the kitchen trying to serve quite a large area of the restaurant, and she was run off her feet.
They have Country Music DJ's on Thursdays and live entertainment on the stage on Friday and Saturday.  There are TV's tuned to various sporting events scattered around the restaurant and bar area.  They also have an events calendar on their website.

I ordered a roast beef on a bun au jus with fries.  The roast beef was piled high, but was very chewy and I had to take some out of the bun because it was too hard to eat.  The fries were gummy and there was a lone pickle on the plate.  I had a glass of iced tea that was totally flavourless. 

My son had something called "road kill" chicken melt, which consisted of grilled cajun chicken breast, topped with avocado, salsa, bacon, lettuce, tomato and melted swiss cheese all on a toasted bun with chipotle aioli and sweet potato fries.  It was a mess to eat although somewhat tasty.

  My wife had the baby beef liver and caramelized onions (she didn't think it was baby beef liver).  It was somewhat overcooked and was plopped on a mountain of mashed potatoes with an overwhelming amount of gravy.  I don't think we will be returning here for food any time soon.  There are better places in Hamilton to eat lunch.

There is free parking and a patio facing the street.

http://www.stonewallshamilton.com/

ELEPHANT & CASTLE 3.5 out of 5

Entertainment District, 212 King St. W. (416) 598-4455  hours: 11:30am to 2:00am 

Four of us decided to have some drinks and apps at the Elephant and Castle on King Street in the entertainment district (they have 20 locations throughout North America).  We have been here many times before, for dinner specials and just drinks (good selection of draft beers).  For our apps we ordered, the bruschetta and an order of nachos with chicken.  The bruschetta was thin and kind of unusual and we didn't care for it.  The nachos were very large portion, which allowed the four of us to fill up quickly. They were delicious.

We drank a selection of draft beers including, London Pride, Stella Artois, Innes and Gun and Kronenbourg 1664.  This is a large Restaurant-Pub that has many different sections on the main floor including a long bar, a poolroom area and a large patio on the side in good weather.

It is always a lively place and can get very busy, especially after 4pm.  During the week a number of sections are occupied by various office folk letting off steam and can get very boisterous.  Service can be very slow - they could use more waitresses and bar tenders at busy times.  All in all if you want a good draft (a little pricey), some good pub food and a friendly atmosphere this is always a good choice.

bruschetta - very thin

large tray of nachos