El Furniture Warehouse

Restaurant: El Furniture Warehouse
Address: 410 Bloor St. West
Phone: 647-350-7326
Store Hours: Mon-Sun 11 AM - 2 AM
Website: N/A

Interior

Menu

Review

My Order: Warehouse Crispy Mac N' Cheese, $4.95

My obsession other than food is scoring a great deal. When you combine food and an awesome deal together, I cannot resist (hence why I always end up back at The Old Spaghetti Factory). So when I saw the buzz about El Furniture Warehouse, a restaurant with a very odd name, I wanted to check it out. The restaurant serves everything on the menu for $4.95 (excluding alcohol). I took three of my girlfriends to El Furniture Warehouse to see what the hype was all about.

We arrived to the semi-busy pub around 3 PM on a Wednesday. We were told that no outside drinks were allowed since my friend brought in her water bottle. It was a rule in case people planned on bringing their own alcohol. The waitress allowed my friend to keep it out and said that it was just something to keep in mind for the future. When we were looking at the menus, my friend pointed out how the alcohol were overpriced. I wasn't surprised because everything on their food menu was only $4.95. They had to make more money elsewhere.

For my order, I chose the Warehouse Crispy Mac N' Cheese. I liked the crispy layer on the top because it was a nice twist. I enjoyed it in the beginning. However halfway through the meal, I felt that they added too much seasoning and the taste became overwhelming. Nonetheless, I finished my plate because I still liked Mac N' Cheese. My friend who ordered the Beer Batter Onion Rings and Soft Beef Tacos liked the food she got. We all collectively agreed (aside from the one friend who hates onions) that the onion rings were the best. My friend who ordered the Quinoa and Green Apple Salad liked it at first but was disappointed that all the soy sauce seeped to the bottom of her bowl. Lastly, my friend who ordered the Braised Beef Spaghetti was not happy with her order. She didn't like it overall and thought it was something that could easily be whipped up at home. I ended up finishing her plate.

There was a 50/50 split with everyone's opinions. Two of my friends said they would not come back, because they didn't like the quality of the food. My other friend said she wouldn't mind, though it would not be on top of her list when choosing a restaurant. I, on the other hand, am a sucker for cheap food. I like that it is a nice open pub and all the food have good portions. I hear from other bloggers that other items on the menu are really tasty. Since El Furniture Warehouse offers an array of food, I would like to check out what else they have.
 

Snakes and Lagers

Pub: Snakes and Lagers

Address: 488 College St. 

Phone: 647-748-4004

Store Hours: Mon-Sun 3 PM - 2 AM

Website: www.snakesandlattes.com/bar/

Study Appropriate?: No

Wi-Fi?: No

Stamp Cards?: No

Interior

First Floor

Second Floor

Menu

Food - Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free Options?: Yes to all

(Left) Mill St. Weizenbock, $7

Fried Brussel Sprouts, $4.50

Review

Drink of Choice: Brasseurs RJ Cheval Blanc, $7

Appetizer of Choice: Duck Fat Fries $4.50 with Jerk Mayo, Kimchee Mayo, Chili Ketchup (+ $1 for each dipping sauce) and ketchup

I had the pleasure of being invited to review Snakes and Lagers after they opened back in February. If you are unfamiliar, Snakes and Lagers is the sister bar to the popular Snakes and Lattes cafe. Targeted towards a different crowd, Snakes and Lagers aims to be that perfect get-together place for the after-work crowd. As a pub, they offer a variety of alcoholic beverages with five rotating taps as well as a small range of appetizers and desserts to munch on. They also have seasonal drinks that come and go.

Snakes and Lagers sometimes collaborates with other places, such as the Black Oak Brewing Company for board game nights. Although game events do not happen as often as they do at Snakes and Lattes, there are some already planned, such as the Euchre tournament in the next couple of months. Snakes and Lagers plans on having only 300 board games, in contrast to Snakes and Lattes, which has a total of 1500.

The drink I had was the Brasseurs RJ Cheval Blanc. It's a light, smooth, beer with no aftertaste. Great for those who are light drinkers and don't like the heavy bitter taste of beer. I also got to try their popular Fried Brussel Sprouts and Duck Fat Fries (with an additional $1 if you would like dipping sauce, which is a must have! I loved all three sauces). When my boyfriend and I were recommended the Fried Brussel Sprouts, I was unsure because they were just vegetables. However, they were the pub's specialty so my boyfriend decided order a plate. I was pleasantly surprised because they were great! I liked how they were seasoned which definitely made for a nice appetizer that didn't taste like boring ol' brussel sprouts. A warning though is that Snakes and Lagers only offers appetizers and small-sized portions. There won't be any big burgers with fries on the side like most places.

When I arrived, it was around 5 PM and it wasn't too busy. After a couple of hours, it started to pack up with those coming in after work, ready to unwind and have a relaxing time playing games with friends. I definitely recommend Snakes and Lagers for an alternative to Snakes and Lattes. It's not as intense with the board game aspect like the cafe, for example, there is no Game Master (although the staff is knowledgeable and would be more than happy to help). Additionally, the game selection is not as massive if you want a wider range. The $5 sitting fee still applies to the pub like it does at the cafe though. 

Thank you Snakes and Lagers for the food and drinks provided for this review! :)