Review: trendy new Riverside restaurant for barbecue, craft beer and bourbon Aft

Aft  ★½
686 Queen St. E., 647-346-1541

Aft is Riverside’s most remorselessly trendy restaurant. Bricks are exposed, wood is rough-hewn, the bar is well-stocked with craft beers and bourbon, and the menu offers a rotating roster of American comfort food: smoked burgers on Monday, tacos on Tuesday and, most popularly, Texas barbecue on weekends. After 12 hours in the smoker, side ribs are bright pink and perfectly tender. Sides include decent coleslaw and thick, hand-cut fries, but it’s the molasses-heavy cowboy beans—studded with smoky brisket and pork—that call for a second order. Desserts are forgettable, like a dry chocolate-Guinness cake in a Mason jar, but you don’t go to a smokehouse for cake anyway.