Intersteer Restaurant

Famished after an expedition to get bridesmaids dresses with my girls for my upcoming wedding, me and three girlfriends came upon this pub as the only place open on Roncy at the 3pm hour (turns out most joints in this area close prior to dinner service).
Despite having decent reviews on Unilocal,our initial reaction was a slightly run down, dank bar (I harken back to Moe’s Tavern a-​la the Simpsons: ‘This isn’t faux dive, this is a dive!’). Despite being a bright day, the bar felt really dark and the patrons were mostly of the bar fly variety. Not initially impressed, we hoped for the best and ordered. Half the girls ordered Polish (perogies and cabbage rolls) and the other more standard pub food (the quinoa black bean burger and chicken wings). Most of us had the shakes from hunger, so we also ordered some nachos for the table.
There was one girl running the bar and waitressing on this particular Sunday afternoon, and that may be why about 40 minutes later our lentrees arrived at the table — and our nachos about 5 minutes after that (there goes the concept of an appetizer!). One of my friends bit into her chicken wings and immediately reacted like her face was on fire. She called the waitress over to re-​ask for mild wings, as the ones she had were too hot. The waitress argued that those were in fact mild wings. My friend insisted they were too hot for her to eat, and the waitress, extremely reluctantly, took them back to the kitchen. A moment later she returned, threw down the wings on the table and said «The chef INSISTS this is just BBQ.» When my friend responded again that, whatever the sauce, they were too hot for her taste, the waitress argued «why don’t you just TRY them?» At this point I stepped in and said «hey, maybe let her see the menu to order something else?»
My friend ended up leaving and going to grab of slice of pizza down the road, and I don’t blame her. That said, the girls who got the polish food said the perogies and cabbage rolls were delicious and my quinoa burger was pretty good. However, the dank and the attitude really kept us from having an enjoyable experience, and I can see the waitress du jour don’t understand the concept of customer service. Plus we were left with a HUGE plate of nachos that, post lunch, we really didn’t want nor need.
There are some FANTASTIC Polish places down the street (try Chopin — bright, clean and the waitresses sometimes play piano between customers, really lovely overall). I give this place a big NOPE.

I think this is my favourite Ronces resto. Cool woody interior, nice patio in back and a little one in front. Lots of space inside, including booths. Love the classic movies on the tv, w subtitles. Love the fact it doesn’t even feign at being hip, even though it has the best bathroom hallway art in town!
But it’s the food that really makes this place in my opinion. Love the great value specials (short ribs!), the nacho pierogis are a decadent delight, and just two days ago had the best burger and fries I’ve had in a long while.

I and my friend ordered Steak and Polish Sausage. It’s quite good but I expected more from the sausage. Everyone comes here seem loves the juke box. It’s little bit loud, actually. This place is little bit small. It’s more suitable for small group 2 – 4 max, I suggest you should reserve table if you come in with a group of 6.

Very clean bar. Pool table and jukebox in the back. Patio out the back and in the front. Couple of cosy booths. Nice simple selection of beers and spirits. Would always recommend for eating the ‘Sticky Fingers’: Polish sausage, potato wedges, jalapenos, guacamole and sour cream. It’s fun to order and it comes in a big bowl, bug enough for 2 (I suppose). One con is the owner, well she can be a little strict/​moody at times (don’t get me wrong I respect this well run establishment). But she’s not there that often though.

I’m feeling very cheeky and want to say that this new, updated version of the Intersteer is not just for bar brawls anymore. Also, not just for crying into your beer anymore.
The Intersteer definitely had a special place on Roncesvalles and kudos to it for re-​inventing itself in a way that somehow still makes it home for the people who think of it as home, and welcoming for newbies who are in the mood for some good pierogies and beer. While other Roncy restaurants have crashed and burned in the face of streetcar construction and yuppification/​gentrification, the Intersteer carries on. It gets an extra star just for that.
Service is friendly and food is good. They have live music regularly, but I’ve never been there for it. A great example of that dying breed; the neighbourhood restaurant.

Horrible food, average drinks, bad atmosphere. Miss this place and thank me later.

We ended up at this place only because Foodliner was closed and Barque had an hour and a half wait.
First impressions was that the place seemed nice. We had seen the chalk board outside with specials for ½ price mojitos and perogies.
Firstly our waitress with thick frame glasses was not very pleasant at all. She seemed impatient and not friendly.
Second they messed up one of my party’s orders so it took over 20 minutes to bring him his food after the whole table had been served.
Third — My wife ordered a tuna melt and the bun was burnt on both ends and it looks like they tried to hide it.
Fourth — The mojitos were SO sweet.
The only thing they had going for them is the perogies were actually decent.
Would I visit again? Not a chance in hell.

the Dizzy was packed down the street so 2 buddies and I headed to the inter Steet tavern. It’s dimly lit, 70’s kind of country bar feel to it. They changed the channel on the TV behind the bar for us (sports), served us up some nice polish beer and we ordered some food.
Ribs — delicious.
Perogies — delicious.
Chicken fingers — i mean, for a kids food, these are probably out of a Janes chicken fingers frozen box.
It ain’t fancy but comfortable. Service is good. It’s not busy. Don’t expect fine dining but for buddies drinking or for long term relationships, it’s nice. They had a great bluegrass band on a Thursday too… not too loud, just a good volume.
I’ll be coming back for sure.

Same great staff, but they took the fish and chips off the menu!!! Basically pierogi only food options now. I will miss that tempura fish and chip dish.

I was with my friends on Roncesvalles and we decided to go to this place based on the Unilocal rating. My friend even said «that’s weird, this used to be a bum bar»
News flash: IT STILL IS A BUM BAR!!!
I asked for a glass of wine against my friend’s advice and it was off. When I asked for another glass, she opened a new bottle & it was fine. There were four of us and we ordered some food and I ordered another glass when we sat down.
She served me another glass from the old bottle. When I asked her for a new glass, she insisted that it was from the new bottle. Any other place would have asked if I wanted to try a different kind of wine. Nope. I was part of a party and didn’t want to cause a scene so I didn’t drink it.
The bill came & you guessed it, she charged me for it and when I asked her to take it off the bill, she deducted the amount of the wine (not including tax) and wrote on the bill in pen. OMG, I was so angry and the whole experience embarrassed me in front of my friends.
The bar was filled with lonely guys lined up at the bar drinking. I should have guessed.
I’m so angry, I’m not even going to review the shitty food, it’s not worth my time.

We went here to get some polish food, and they seem to have quite a good amount to choose from. You can get perogies many different ways (poutine, nacho, etc). We got the nacho perogies and they were quite delicious. It was loaded with toppings and there was tons of cheese. We also got some cabbage rolls and they were good too. It was a hot summer day, and it was quite cool, and clean on the inside… my experience there was only positive. It was also quite spacious and there was only older polish men there having beers, so it was quiet. I’d totally recommend it to people and I’d go back.

This is my go-​to place for meeting up with friends who live in Ronccy.
And being creatures of habit, we always get pub food like the nachos ($ 10.95) and poutine ($ 6.95). The nachos come in a huge heaping pile, enough to feed 4 people. They also have have poutine perogies ($ 6.95)on the menu… um, YES!
Not a great selection of beers on tap (Steamwhistle, Keiths, Cool, Stella) which is why we always get the jumbo bottles of Polish beer, Zywiec.
I like Intersteer because it’s just a very laid back place for drinks, snacks and catching up.

the Toronto Lover system:
5 stars = Must visit!
4 stars = Really good. I take my friends here.
3 stars = Somewhat worth it… if you have nowhere better to go.
2 stars = Below average. Attend only when necessary.
1 star = Do not visit!
I’ve been to Intersteer several times, mainly because of the food. They offer delightfully fresh and tasty chicken and pumpkin sandwiches. Salads are prepared with gourmet finesse, often featuring pine nuts, just enough balsamic, and some citrus flavouring. The perogies are just like you want them. The value is unbeatable — every dish is under or near $ 10.
Ultimately, it’s a bar, and the inside is nicely furnished. The main issue is the ambience, and that’s usually because of the music. It’s either a jukebox at the whim of the clientele (and it goes silent when it’s not fed with money) or some pretty bizarre musical acts that have turned customers, including myself, out to the street earlier than expected. Once they can figure out the soundtrack, this place will be very close to a 5.
4 stars

The food at this place is good because the chef on down the line seem to genuinely take pride in the Intersteer’s distinction along Roncesvalles. The quality and creativity in the menu — combined with competitive pricing — have stapled this kitchen and the staff up front, to the fabric of Roncesvalles.
Don’t change. Don’t change anything.
Bob

the Friday fish & chips are totally delicious and I will definitely be back again for more. They need to work on their draught beer selection but other than that, thumbs up.

This update is for one item and one item only.
That item is the Friday Special Fish & Chips.
Okay: here is the basic description: Nori wrapped Tilapia in tempura batter, on a bed of Asian slaw, served with Lotus root chips.
Shut up right! This is pub food done at a level so above and beyond that the only resemblance left is the price. The fish is done to perfection and the batter is light and crunchy, the slaw is indescribably creamy and fresh tasting, and the lotus root chips (which are more chips in the mode of potato chips than chips-​chips) are just incredible crunchy/​salty little delicacies. The whole thing is ridiculous and I will be at the Intersteer every Friday from now till perpetuity stuffing my face with it.
p. s. all the other new specials are really good… but like, the fish, holy fuck…

Intersteer is truly priceless, a longtime haunt for grubby locals on Roncesvalles. With its beat-​up pool table, jukebox, and excess of wood panelling, this bizarrely-​named watering hole was always a great place to get smashed on cheap beer. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore.
It’s all the more interesting, then, that Intersteer relocated a few doors down the street not too long ago, replicating the old-​world décor of the old location exactly. At first, the new place seemed a little too clean, and it didn’t have the musty smell from years of smoke. But the grizzled regulars seem to have migrated successfully. Intersteer also seems to draw a few more hipsters than before, possibly because of the slight decrease in its «dive» factor.