Review: Boots ‘n’ Bourbon brings the Wild West to Toronto’s east end
Boots ‘n’ Bourbon ★½
725 Queen St. E., 647-348-0880
Matt Pettit, the entrepreneurial chef behind the Rock Lobster mini-chain, has brought the Wild West to the east end. His new saloon, formerly the Riverside Public House, is a honky-tonk fantasy of saddle-covered stools, Stetson-hatted bartenders and, yes, a thrashing mechanical bull. The kitchen stays on theme, churning out fried bar staples and spiced-up American South favourites. The fried beer cheese sounds like a hazardous carnival snack but turns out to be one of the best things on the menu: a sharp, creamy mix of chèvre and cheddar, dipped in a lager-panko batter for optimal crunch. Skip the fried buttermilk chicken, which fails to meet its standard. But do try the screaming crab, one of Pettit’s trademark dishes, which brings a jerk-spiced pileup of butter-poached snow crab and tiger shrimp with scotch bonnets, cilantro and lime.
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Boots ‘n’ Bourbon ★½
725 Queen St. E., 647-348-0880
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Matt Pettit, the entrepreneurial chef behind the Rock Lobster mini-chain, has brought the Wild West to the east end. His new saloon, formerly the Riverside Public House, is a honky-tonk fantasy of saddle-covered stools, Stetson-hatted bartenders and, yes, a thrashing mechanical bull. The kitchen stays on theme, churning out fried bar staples and spiced-up American South favourites. The fried beer cheese sounds like a hazardous carnival snack but turns out to be one of the best things on the menu: a sharp, creamy mix of chèvre and cheddar, dipped in a lager-panko batter for optimal crunch. Skip the fried buttermilk chicken, which fails to meet its standard. But do try the screaming crab, one of Pettit’s trademark dishes, which brings a jerk-spiced pileup of butter-poached snow crab and tiger shrimp with scotch bonnets, cilantro and lime.
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I love the East end of town, and I get genuinely excited when new businesses and restaurants open up shop. I wish with all my heart that I could say something nice….but I can’t. It was disappointing on all accounts. The food was terrible; the meat on our Po Boys tasted, and looked, as though it came out of the frozen food section of the
grocery store. I was able to find exactly four, small shrimp in my, otherwise, spicy mayo and lettuce filled sandwich. The cocktails were over-iced, watered-down and served in red plastic flip cup’s. My date had to ask 3 times if he could get his drink in an actual glass (the first two times he was told “no”, because apparently plastic cups are just their “thing”). I had no idea bad food/drink and rude wait staff was the new standard for the East end? The whole experience reeked of a first year University campus bar. Hopefully they are just ironing out the kinks, but for now, you’d be better off going to the Roy, Ceili Cottage or Tabule.
This is NOT a country bar. I don’t know who the owners are or what thier experience is…but CLEARLY they have never been to Calgary or Nashville, or really….outside of the GTA. The bartenders are wearing cowboy hats that look like they were purchased at the dollar store. They take reservations and there is a hostess. Seriously. Nothing country about that. There are not enough bar stools and what is with all the TV screens that play sports. I love sports -but I don’t need to watch the same sport on 4 different screens that are about 10 inches from one another. The drinks are over priced and frankly, not that great. Again – country bars don’t put fruit and veggies in thier drinks! The food was ok…nothing memorable.
Being a country girl at heart I was excited about this venue opening…but it was utterly disappointing. This bar is full of hipsters – and I’m pretty sure I was the only one who actually knew the country music that was playing, very very low in the background. My shitkickers will not be stepping into that bar again – but I really don’t think it’ll be around after the ‘newness’ wears off.
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