Louis Cifer Brew Works

Came here for my aunts birthday last month. It was pretty meh. I was kind of confused why when she picked a place on the danforth it wasn’t Greek! but anyway.
They’re clearly known for their beer here; so obviously I got wine :) Just not a beer person but it was good! My brother ordered some home made like root beer or something and hated it and tried to send it back and they gave him some issues so obviously my mom being my mom made a bit of a stink and they brought him something new with no charge.
I ordered an ahi tuna salad. It was mediocre at best. I love my ahi tuna and the colour of this one did not look how it usually looks but nonetheless I ate it anyway. My boyfriend ordered some sandwich that the waitress warned him was really spicy so he was excited because he loves spicy food. He said it wasn’t spicy at all. I tried a bite and agreed which is funny because I am so sensitive to spicy food so the fact that she warned him and even I didn’t find of spicy was kind of puzzling. He even brought it up to her but she just kind of shrugged it off.
For such a mediocre experience I don’t think I’d return but I’m sure it’s a great place for beer drinkers!

Beer here is top notch, why anybody complains about the beer beats me. Although I’ve only been here twice it definitely is a great place to go. Had the burger (very good) chicken noodle soup (bit salty) detox salad (okay) My friend ordered the fish tacos a second time and noticed the fish wasn’t as good as the first time she had it. So i guess you could say there might be some inconsistencies with the food. Ill be back though to try more of the menu and for the great ambience! Good place overall!

Cool owner

If you call well in advance to book a party of 18 for a birthday it would be completely understandable for one to expect everyone to sit at the same table, especially for a such a large venue. That was not the case and management was very unorganized with resolving the issue and very unapologetic.
I love beer so I and my partner ordered a flight each. Overall their ambers porters and stouts were very tasty. Lagers and IPAs not so great.
I had one of the specials as my main. Thai spicy beef. Very tasty with the right amount of heat. Could have used
More vegetables.
I really wish they would have used more of the budget to make their washrooms look nice/​cleaner.

We went there on a week night for a book club Christmas celebration. The place is fairly new, excellent for large groups.
The menu had a large selection. Everything looked delicious but I opted for the steak frites. My steak tasted ok as well as the skinny fries however nothing too memorable. Price was reasonable for a 10oz AAA strip loin steak $ 25. I ordered a chocolate raspberry chocolate cake for dessert, portion was large but I did not live it. I do not recommend this dessert, esp. for $ 9.
Service was adequate and friendly. Servers were busy but around if you needed anything.
Good overall experience.

I really wanted to like this place as we live nearby. But service has been so slow the last few visits (not sure why anyone would need to wait 15 minutes for a table for two when a place is mostly empty!) that I haven’t been thrilled. Hopefully it will improve.

Great place to come watch the game! good atmosphere and a nice large TV. Food isn’t incredibly overpriced and I’d recommend the shareable nachos with pulled pork. They come to $ 17 but its a huge portion. Their Caesar tastes great too! The beer, not so much.

Amaizing place to celebrate or have a date! I loved the burger and the IPA beer!

This place gets a solid 2.5. I’ve been here a few times and the experience can be very unpredictable. The first time I dined here was brunch. They served me undercooked potatoes. This is the worst thing you can do to someone who truly enjoys their breakfast spuds. It was months ago and I still remember it. I recall our server at the time was quick to whisk it away and apologize. I appreciated that.
The most recent experience was for Monday night trivia, which is actually a good time. I ordered the Lemon Salt n Pepper wings ($ 14) and couple others ordered the chicken pot pie (comes recommended by the server $ 16) — both I would recommend. The pot pie was supposed to come with mashed potato except they were out. It’s 8pm and you’re out of mashed potatoes? What is it with this place and potatoes?!
The kicker came at the end when my friends ordered a second pitcher of the house lager. My friend took a sip and thought it tasted off so we all took a sip of it to confirm before he told the server. Believe me it was definitely off. We conveyed this to our server and she took it away. She came back to us a bit later and said «we’ll take this off your bill, but the manager and another bartender tasted it and they say it tastes fine». Why oh why did you have to tell us that?
First of all, we never asked for their opinions. There’s four people, no wait, four paying customers who say this particular pitcher of lager tastes strange. Secondly, it’s not like we drank most of it and then told you there was something wrong with it. Lastly, congrats to you that two employees think it tastes like how it’s supposed to and we’re wrong.
I think their house beer is pretty good so the one bad pitcher of beer is absolutely not a reflection of the quality. However, the servers ability to handle this situation was very disappointing.

Came here with friends on a warm Friday night in early July. The place was less than half full at about 7:30/8pm when we arrived. Large dark restaurant/​brew bar that would hold at least 100 if I had to guess, with tables spread over different levels and a large bar on the right hand side.
Friendly service.
I had the Hand cut nachos ($ 14 Corn tortilla, red onion, jalapeño, shredded cheese, scallion, sour cream, pico. extra $ 3 for guac) which were good, but quite standard overall. The Mac & Cheese Poppers ($ 10 Cheddar & jack cheese, panko breaded, pickles, smoked habanero ketchup) were good and exactly what you would expect of a baked breaded ball of mac & cheese. My partner had the Hell’s Kitchen Sandwich ($ 15 chicken breast, shredded cheese, hot ‘n’ sweet pepper relish, ranch, rosemary shoestring frites) and he liked it a lot. Another in my party tried the Brew Works burger ($ 14 Lettuce, tomato, red onion, toasted potato bun, rosemary shoestring frites.) which he said was very flavorful, but he had to eat it with a knife & fork because the bun wasn’t strong enough to support the weight and juiciness of the toppings. He even mentioned this to the server as a recommendation that they replace the bun with a ciabatta or something similar, then all would be perfect. The last person had the Chicken Pot Pie ($ 16 Short crust, mashed potato, market vegetables) and liked it. He also tried the Craft Root Beer and wasn’t sure what to make of it, but I tasted a sip and found it very good and interesting. We all could smell a strong licorice smell from it, without realizing that was what we could smell.
I’d definitely go back here and try the portobello burger most likely.

We went there on a Sunday with reservations and were seated right away. The server greeted us and recommended some drinks. My wife had already decided on the cider slushy but I wanted to give a flight a chance. While I really only enjoyed one of the 4 that came in the set I was able to get a feel of the selections they had.
The food was up next. We had the mac ‘n cheese poppers and the cheddar dip for starters. The duo of these two supported 4 people easily. For the main dishes we had the Hell’s Kitchen chicken burger, Brew Works Burger and a kale salad.
All the food was delicious and I would highly recommend this place. Luckily it wasn’t to busy but I can see how it can fill up quick.
Great food. Great service.

Upon entry, the décor seemed dark, inviting and comfortable. The atmosphere was lively without being rowdy. This restaurant is also huge; the main level has ample seating (bar, tables and a patio bench), and the second floor seemed to be quite large as well.
Being a brewery, Louis Cifer offers a small selection of house beers. Interestingly, they also offer a cider slush (pommerie?). Since I couldn’t decide on what to order, I ended up getting a flight of four beers ($ 10 for 4, 5 oz beers). Since I can’t remember the exact names of the other three beers I tried, I will tell you my thoughts on the cider slush; the actual flavour wasn’t too Apple-​y, but the slush on top made the drink extra refreshing.
I thought that the food wasn’t as good as their beverages; I had the sweet potato fries with chipotle aioli ($ 7), and the mussels with arugula, tomatoes and bacon ($ 14). While the fries were pretty good, portion size was too small to justify the price. The mussels were plump and juicy, but again, portion size was too small.
This place would be 3 stars if only the food was considered, but the extra star is for the great service; the owner, was quick to recommend some beers for us when we didn’t know what to order, while our server was friendly, talkative (not overly so) and took away used dishes promptly.

I’m so glad my first experience at Louis Cifer was well after they opened. I find too often reviews happen when a restaurant is still working out its growing pains.
First of all, I’m not a beer drinker but hubby and my friend who joined us definitely are and they enjoyed the chance to sample a few beers before committing to a pint, and both fell in love with the Nickelbrook Malevolent Imperial dark IPA.
We all had burgers, but I wanted mine as rare as they were willing to serve it, and the server made a point of asking the kitchen if they would cook it rare, and they did, which was great. The other burgers were well done, not medium rare as was supposed to be the standard, so I’m glad I asked for rare.
The meat had a garlic kick and was nicely but not overly seasoned, letting the taste of the charred meat come through.
The potato bun for the burgers may seem non-​descript, but it was a perfect texture to hold the juicy and hefty burger.
The bacon was wonderfully smokey and flavourful, crisp but not overcooked.
The shoestring fries had a fair bit of Rosemary which the guys liked but I wasn’t a fan of.
The only issue we had with the meal was that they charged $ 1.50 for garlic aioli but did not mention it was an extra charge when offered as a potential topping for the burgers or for dipping the fries. Certainly not worth complaining about but if you don’t think you will use it, don’t bother.
Had no room for desserts, but we were told they are made in house.
We will definitely be back soon.

The fiancé and I went to this bar before our concert at the Danforth Music Hall. We stumbled upon this place by chance, since the other bar we originally planned to go didn’t have a great menu that night.
We were pleasantly surprised by how big the restaurant was and were intrigued by all the house made brews they had on tap. Our server was nice enough to let us try a few drinks before we found one we liked. I’m picky about my drinks and she was patient with me. They have a no return policy on drinks, which is why you get to sample them beforehand. The drinks we had were alright. I had a dry apple cider topped with cider slush and the fiancé had a few of the beers that were made in house. The fiancé said his beers were good, but not amazing.
We had the mussels in a white wine sauce with bacon and arugula as a starter. The sauce was delicious, but I kept biting into pieces of shell when I scooped up bacon bits with my fork. I had the pretzel and sausage platter that was served with a warm pretzel, chorizo sausage, and some other sausage I couldn’t figure out. The pretzel was soft and yummy and the sausages were delicious, too. My dish was served with a red potato salad, which I also enjoyed. The fiancé had the fish tacos, which came with 3, rosemary shoestring fries, and a garden salad. The tacos were alright. The sides were better. The fiancé said the tacos were missing something… like a sauce.
We were satisfied with our meals and service and would definitely come back!

I was walking on the Danforth with a friend and decided to walk in here as we had heard some good reviews about this place. I was not disappointed, I had a pint of the dirty blonde beer which according it my waitress was one of their more popular beers and it was also brewed in house. The beer was a mix of a wheat beer and a lager and it had an interesting coffee undertone. I would recommend checking trying a pint. For food I had something off of the featured menu, the brisket sandwich with frites. The meat was tender and the frites were crispy but I found the bun was a little soggy. Saying that it was a great dining experience and I will be back here again.

I went with my bf and my bestie just because it was new and we were hungry.
It turns out to be a great space for a place its size (it’s very big) even thought we were taken upstairs the atmosphere was great and we got a table with a view of the hole place.
Food: we ordered 3 shareable :
Mussels, pork r and beef nachos
Drink: tasting of beers
Everything was excellent the sauce in the mussels combined with arugula (yum). The pork crispy with a tangy sauce.
I usually don’t eat nachos I think it’s just overpriced chips but this ones were all with cheese and beef green onion I hardly had any empty chips, thumbs up !
Of course the beer was excellent !!!

not a bad place for drinks and some snacks, pleasant hipsterish décor… the lemon pepper wings were good. lightly fried with no batter, and seasoned with real lemon juice and pepper… it was so basic but so good, none of that crappy artificial lemon pepper seasoning.
tacos were very light… not heavy and fish was not battered up. fried mac and cheese was good and the spicy real hot peppers in the ketchup was a nice surprise… price is not the best, but i dont really expect great value or prices when you go to a place like this… its decent. worth a try.

I came here by myself on the day before Christmas Eve. I’m an old woman with special needs which include: Need beer in order to shop for Christmas presents otherwise I will roll in a ball in the backseat of my car and pretend I was mugged. Also need a clean toilet at shopping Base Camp .
I decided to «Shop Local» for my crotch spawn this year. Fuck malls. Last year I lost my temper in a parking lot and I am ashamed to say it wasn’t even at Yorkdale where you can righteously lose your shit cuz it’s part of the process and everyone knows it and embraces it as a sport. It was at that lame Eglinton/​Vic Park dump where I was circling for 10 minutes for a spot and some beeyutch pulled in seamlessly off Victoria Pk and STOLE my place that I was hovering over. And she had the audacity to yell at me when I tried to claim what was mine. I know you don’t care but I still think about it and it gets me worked up in a white rage.
Breathe.
So this year shop local was my plan. Relax. Go take yo’self for a nice lunch. Have a pint. Be kind. Make merry. Ho Ho Ho.
I was excited to try this place because of its name, all devil-​like Louis Cifer… Lucifer, like the DeNiro character in the movie Angel Heart, do you remember? When Mickey Rourke was hot and that girl from the Cosby show showed her tits? Okay I IMDB’d this mess and it was spelled Louis Cyphre but same kind of idea so I was expecting some kind of Louisiana swamp-​like atmosphere, something sexy and dangerous. But this place not so much. Giant open concept with repurposed barnwood. Sigh and eye roll. It had a big chain vibe with all its merch but! Super clean washrooms so I’m not complaining.
I sat at the bar like a harlot and ordered an IPA. There own brand wasn’t hoppy enough (they give samples) so I opted for a Dead Elephant which had more tits to it. I ordered a chicken sandwich which promised to be diabolical in keeping of the theme. I liked the bun. Buns are important. They should be soft and smooth without sesame seeds. I would have like the chicken to be crispier though. There was a sweetness which turned out to be a relish of some sort… could have been more Satanic, but still a good try. Fries: weird and little, like soggy frites. I have mixed feeling for that particular genre of fries, it’s hard to do well, they need to be crispy if they are skinny. But I’m not that picky, I will eat all the fries any time any how.
All in all, nice place for lunch or hanging. You can bring an old woman there and she will be happy to sit at the bar and Instagram all the cocktails. Oh! They use wieners to garnish their Caesars, #goodtimes.

A Beer Sanctuary and much needed safe harbour on the Danforth. Been here a few times with friends and family. It’s quite impressive to see and experience the quality and level of all things after just a few weeks of being open (love the Don Jail doors to the brewery). The Pommies Slushy and Wine on draft are cool additions, but as a beer lover — for me its the rotating kegs that draw me in. From their more sessionable IPA to the hit you in the head hoppy variety. Would compare the selection to Bar Volo, Monk’s Table, Stout, and Hair of the Dog — not so much to the other brewpubs.
Service is excellent and often packed on Friday and Saturday with both families (which is great to see) and a younger crowd much later — though that means that sometimes you need to be prepared to wait for a seat — as it is with quality. Can’t wait until they start brewing on-​site (guessing it’s something about the prohibition era approvals from the government).

This is my second visit here. This place is brand new and looks it. The décor is upscale, clean, and neat. There are 20+ taps, many of which are their own brew (currently brewed off site, but soon be done in house I am told). The «works» are the first thing you see. The food during both of my experiences has been good, but not great. I can’t say «hey, make sure you try the _​_​_​_​_​» unless the «_​_​_​_​_​» is the beer. There are some really great beers here including Dead Elephant which is one of my favorites, is about as hoppy as I can tolerate, and has a cool story behind the weird name (I’ll write it at the bottom of this review).
Pros:
Spacious.
Clean.
Rotating Craft Beer Selection.
Good service.
Convenient (right off of the subway).
Cons:
Spacious. This is both a pro and a con I think depending on our mindset. When busy it is BUSY, when empty it is a little large.
Food has improved, but has room to grow.
If I lived on Danforth it would be a haunt of mine, as it stands I’ll probably pop in for a pint whenever I’m nearby.
So, the Dead Elephant:
You might hear the word «jumbo» and think of large, and you should. That is because there was once a giant African Elephant that toured with PT Barnum who’s name was Jumbo. He was the largest in captivity and a worldwide sensation. So much so that the world Jumbo just became synonymous with big. While on tour in 1885 he was hit by a train and killed in St. Thomas Ontario, which is where the beer is from. The train was also killed.