Old School

This was the first stop we made on a food-​driven trip downtown with a friend visiting home for a week. There were four of us and because we still had a number of restaurants/​food stalls/​etc. we planned on hitting up during the day, we ordered only two breakfast meals.
We ordered the Hogtown BBQ Benny ($ 16) — «soft poached eggs on cheddar chive biscuit + spicy hogtown hollandaise + low n’ slow pulled pork + potato salad + greens». The poached eggs weren’t runny by the time we ate them. They were more on the soft-​boiled side. This was quite possibly due to the fact that we had our waffles before we moved on to this dish. The cheddar chive biscuit was quite tasty. The hogtown hollandaise was tasty. It tasted like a slightly spicy smoked aioli (I have limited experience with what hollandaise is supposed to taste like). The pulled pork was not quite pulled. It was in fairly large chunks. That was slightly disappointing. It also wasn’t juicy or saucy. The accompanying sides were alright, but nothing special.
However, Old School gets a 4 star from me because their brown sugar, bacon, and banana waffles ($ 14) were outstanding. I’m not one to order waffles (I have two waffle makers at home), but my friend wanted this, so we ordered it. According to the menu, it’s «golden waffles + butcher’s crack + cinnamon crunch banana + brown sugar butter». Now that I’m looking at the description, I feel like some of those items weren’t what I ate, but what I ate was very impressive. This dish came with four fairly large waffle quarters. The waffle was the fluffiest I’ve ever eaten, and just based on the waffle and the accompanying butter, I would have been willing to order this again. Assuming that the butcher’s crack is the bacon, it was pretty much just slightly candied bacon. Tasty, but not quite crack. There were also only two slices of it… for four waffle quarters. The cinnamon crunch banana was a deep fried banana cut in half. I did not taste the cinnamon at all. However, the banana was very tasty as well. The brown sugar butter was more like cinnamon butter, but it was delicious. I would come back just to eat the waffles.
Service was very friendly and they were kind enough to split our bill into four equal parts even though we only ordered two dishes.
Next time I’m in the area for breakfast, I wouldn’t mind trying more of their waffle dishes.

Redeemed by Macaroni & Cheese!
Old School: you almost got 2 stars from me but your Mac&Cheese and bartender earned you an extra star… If the service and BBQ had been better that would be 4 or 5 stars!
We got there on a beautiful Saturday night and the patio was packed so we decided to grab a table inside since hubby planned to order a bunch of different sides and we could use the extra table space.
We were seated right away but it took at least 10 minutes to have a waiter take our drink order and then another 10 minutes for those drinks to arrive.
Finally we could place our order.
I ordered the Blueberry Hill which is as good as everyone says and the bacon aka Butcher’s Crack was tasty but not addictive enough for crack status. Some of the pancakes were a bit thick and dense while others were a bit thinner and crispier which were perfect. The blueberry sauce was sublime.
I also ordered a side order of the Apple wood smoked sausage which didn’t arrive with the pancakes in fact it didn’t arrive at all.
Hubby ordered the mini McCoy and found the chive biscuit to be his favourite part of the combo. The brisket was cut too thick and while it had a fair bit of fat, it was oddly tough. The ribs were smokey but very dry as if smoked to a crisp. The pulled pork tasted to him like it had turned but the waiter assured him it is the Carolina style vinegar sauce they put on the pulled pork after shredding the meat… to hubby it tasted sour as in bad and so he brought it home to the dogs who were glad to eat it.
He also ordered the Mac&Cheese which arrived 20 minutes after the combo… we had not seen our waiter, actually any waiter, in all that time, and at one point I saw him try and deliver our Mac&Cheese to another table and then carry it back to the kitchen… so when he finally showed up with the Mac&Cheese we asked where was the sausage I ordered and the beans hubby ordered. The young (and possibly new?) waiter freaked out and realized he forgot to order it and so another 10 – 15 minutes after that — and all the original food was cold — the last 2 sides arrived.
The beans tasted better than they looked and the sausage was peppery to the point of almost tasting like smoked pepperoni but it was juicy and the skin was crispy so it was a win.
The dish that redeemed Old School for hubby was the long awaited Mac&Cheese. It was an OMG moment for him… from the biscuit crumble topping to the al dente pasta, to the rich and creamy cheese sauce that was NOT oily, to the layer of crispy chewy cheese browned on top — hubby could not think of a Mac&Cheese he had ever had that was better. It actually went perfectly with the sausage when it finally arrived!
In the long wait for the Mac&Cheese hubby wanted another beer, and since our waiter was MIA, he walked up to the cool «old school» bar and asked the bartender for one and the bartender promptly brought it to the table. Best service of the night was from the bartender!
After we finally had all our food, we thought our waiter left and another waiter had taken over so we asked him for more water and he brought a carafe full, something that would have been nice to have received earlier in the meal.
But it seems he was not our new waiter, so we asked if he could find our waiter as we wanted to get our leftovers packed up and get our bill.
Flustered waiter returns and takes all our food away and brings a bag with 2 take out containers inside along with our bill. We ask for future if the Mac&Cheese is available for take out and he says the entire menu is and available for delivery through Foodora.
He is a sweet guy, and obviously new so we still tip him 15 percent and he absent mindedly walks away with our bag of leftovers we manage to grab it back before he gets too far!
On the way out we give a cash tip to the bartender because he actually deserved a tip for his excellent service, and he was gracious and appreciative.
We get home and open containers to give the dogs their pulled pork treat and discover that the 3 pancakes I had saved to take home were not in there but thankfully the Mac&Cheese was… I was not too upset missing my leftovers but hubby would have lost it if he didn’t get his leftover Mac&Cheese.
Next time we are getting the Mac&Cheese and sausage as take out! Maybe then Old School will earn another star or two!

One of the cool things about this place is that instead of waiting in line, they can take your phone number and text you once your table is ready.
I ordered the Classic Fluffy Flapjacks, the pancakes were moist, and the whipped vanilla cream was tasty. One of the pancakes at the bottom though, did not seem to be cooked through. I did notice that they were not many vegetarian friendly options in the menu, which was a little disappointing for me.
Our server (Joseph) was very nice, and came to check on our table many different times.
One of the biggest reasons why I did not give more stars its because the hostess was not friendly at all and dismissive as if she did not want my friend and I to stay.

This is Southern Comfort food at its best. The road crosser fried chicken with vanilla butter and cheddar chive biscuits was AMAZING only matched by the half rack of lean, mean & tender spare ribs. Both were especially tender and delicious yet not at all salty unlikely most BBQ places I’ve eaten at in TO. Now if they can stop some entitled patrons from bringing their pooches to the patio it will be perfect.

Unprofessional servers, slow service, dirty cook, distasteful/​burnt food. Will not be dining here ever again. It took them 30 minutes just to bring beer with only max 8 tables on a weekday! Mind you the bar was like 10 steps away with a bartender who was just chatting with a regular and not working. Preposterous.

Wanted to try brunch at old school for a long time, but I think it was a mediocre, though the food looks good for pictures lol

My boyfriend and I were in desperate need of a good brunch spot before we spent the rest of the day sight-​seeing. When walking in we first noticed a bar the right and the bartender giving a friendly greeting and letting us know the hostess would be right with us. Giving us time to take in the décor we noticed the fun and trendy dinner like feel to the resteraunt that hinted toward it’s «Old School» name.
We decided to sit outside on the patio because of the nice weather. I Decided on coffee and my boyfriend the lavender lemonade. We both enjoyed our meals throughtly and with our check also received advice on local places to check out from the waitress.
I would definitely come back here again expecially to try the blueberry pancakes. Overall I thought it was a nice place to have brunch with decent service and a fun atmosphere.

Old School (Toronto)
Casual restaurant with an «old school» vibe (love the illustrations on the walls). Tons of space to come chill with friends and throw down some ribs. My pulled pork was good, but the sauce was a little on the sweeter side and I generally prefer more of a tang. I really enjoyed my cocktails and the baked potato was really good.

Lots of raving reviews about the blueberry pancakes so had to try and they did not disappoint! My friend had the «Don’t Even Go There», which I had one bite of. I’m usually not a sweet tooth in the morning and the pancakes were already off my norm… the other dish is just not for me in the morning, too sweet for me but my friend devoured it. I would probably eat it later in the day. But blueberry pancakes were AWESOME and had a side of sausage because needed something to balance out the sweet. The staff were super nice, especially the guy who brought out our food! We went early and it was raining so no wait time which made it even better.

On my mini layover in Toronto, I was able to see an old friend on Spring holiday. She recommended that we grabbed brunch here at Old School because the pancakes looked AMAZING in photos.
Well, we had to try it for ourselves, and we were satisfied!
Showing up on a Thursday afternoon, you would expect it to be fairly empty-​ish. When we arrived, it was nearly packed, with only a few tables left for us. We started off with a Caesar and mimosa, which surprisingly came out a lot later than we expected. Drinks were okay overall, but we were turned off by how long it took for us to get them. We looked towards the bar multiple times, and swore the bartender was just chatting with patrons. Wish there was another shot of champagne in my orange to make up for lost time I could’ve gotten buzzed quicker.
As for the food, I ordered a basic breakfast plate with Canadian bacon, beans, potatoes, two eggs, and a garlic muffin. The bread was probably my favorite item on the plate! When hot and steamy, it was nearly perfection. My scrambled eggs were also very nice, but everything on the plate felt mediocre for the price that we were paying. For my friend, her pancakes looked and tasted great, and was probably the better option of the two.
I thought that Old School did a decent job at giving us a brunch experience. If they can tune up the service a bit and eliminate the wait time just a tad (especially for drinks), then this can turn into a really good spot for Toronto natives and visitors alike.

I don’t usually give a 3 but it deserves it, place looked big on the outside but the sitting area was small, as well as the bar. Food was below average; ordered the Porky Pork Waffle, and my fiancée ordered the Hogtown BBQ Benny. Presentation was nice, taste was good, but when it arrived to our table it was warm, as if it was sitting under the lamp. I thought that the service was fine, servers were proactive but our cup was empty most of the time until we called them.
Overall, our experience was OK.
Worth a try, sure.

I went to Old School on a Saturday night out with friends on their recommendation.
I really like the vibe of old school, it’s such a nice spot and I love their horse shoe shaped bar right at the front. It has an old school diner feel, but a bit elevated.
Their drink menu has a few classic cocktails and an ok wine selection, if you are able to read it!!! I felt like an old lady as a struggled to read the tiny font. Why? Just. why!!! The food menu is small but lots looked delicious. I ultimately ended up with the matzoh breaded chicken fingers, and my friend had the fish and chips basket. Both were really good and their fries are perfectly seasoned — yum!
However, I felt like the service was super sub par. No one ever came to top up my tiny water glass until I got desperate and hunted a server down. They kind of rushed us out too — not like they had a line or anything, but there was definitely a «is there anything else I can get you or just the bill» vibe.
Another weird thing (which doesn’t count against them at all, just an observation!) is that looking around, my friend and I realized we were the only women in the front section of the restaurant. Everything else was big groups of 4+ men. Weird!
So in summary, my chicken fingers were amazing but the service, meh. If you’re looking for this kind of casual place it’s still worth checking out, just don’t expect a refill on your water! :)

2.5 stars.
I found out about this place after seeing the most amazing pictures of the Blueberry Hill (griddle cakes with blueberry). My friend was making an impromptu visit to the GTA, so I figured it would be a good time to try their brunch. Well, we arrived around 1:45 and we were seated around 2:45, but it was my first meal of the day and I ordered a waffle, so I’m still calling it brunch.
I ordered the brown sugar bacon and banana brûlée waffles with a side of sugar cured smoked bacon because… bacon. Also, I was intrigued by that fact that it was also called «butcher’s crack.» It was OK. The waffle was nice and eggy, but nothing special. The bananas were anything but brûléed… a more accurate description would have been «battered and fried.» The bacon had a nice sweet-​salty-​moky balance, but for whatever reason, I was expecting candied thick cut bacon and what I got was not that. I don’t know.
Service was OK. Our server was pretty blasé and not very proactive. Water glasses were left near empty for quite awhile and our empty plates remained on our table until we managed to flag her down for the bill… which was a task in an of itself, as she was nowhere to be found.
TL;DR — long wait, average food, sub-​par service

Got mac and cheese, good thing it was only $ 10 because I couldn’t finish it. It was OVER-​THE-​TOP greasy and salty.
Everything else looked average. 2 thumbs down

Came here for brunch on Saturday at around 1pm. The hostess was really nice and would call you to let you know that your table would be ready in abt 20 – 40 mins. There’s a coffee shop across the street or if you’re feeling energetic you could walk down dundas st! Unfortunately for us, we went on the coldest day of the month (–25!!!) So after 5 minutes, we scuttled back into the warm resto.
Lemme say that ever since the first time my friend and I came here at 3am for some late night munchies, (Yessss they’re open ²⁴⁄₇!!) We have been meaning to come for brunch!
We ordered the valentines special — salmon Benny with avocado hollaindaise sauce. mannnn oh man. It was delicious! Just like a regular eggs Benny but w super creamy avocado sauce and smoked salmon ! Def our fav.
We also ordered the general fried chicken and waffles cuz it Loooks sooooo good! Almost every other brunch table had that dish. I’m a huge fan of CnW. However this one was alright. We were a little bit disappointed bc it only came with one piece of fried chicken and I thought the batter could have more flavor. Waffle was regular sized. The honey Tabasco sauce was also supppper spicy! So be careful! You’ll definitely need a sauce since the waffle is a bit dry but don’t go too crazy. We don’t eat super spicy food so our taste buds were prolly not used to being on fire.
Next time, I’m sticking w the French toast with cheesecake in the middle (ABSOLUTEEEEE FAV) !! Or try their BBQ!!!
Dont worry, I’ll be back!

After seeing so many amazing food pictures of this place on Instagram, I was beyond excited to finally be able to try this place out!
Service:
We came at around 4pm on a Saturday and was able to sit down within 5 minutes. Our food came out within 15 minutes. Overall service here was good and very welcoming.
Food:
BLUEBERRY HILL PANCAKES:
Blueberry pancakes with bacon, blueberries, maple syrup and topped with brown sugar butter. Pancakes were soft and semi-​fluffy. We loved how they added bacon — it gave a savoury taste providing a good contrast from the sweetness. The brown sugar butter tasted amazing and was a good overall topping.
HOGTOWN BBQ BENNY:
Pulled Pork Eggs Benedict with a BBQ hollandaise sauce served with garden salad and a potato salad.
The pulled pork was delicious and it definitely paired well with the poached eggs and buttery biscuit. Potato and garden salad was also very tasty.
Drawbacks:
Unfortunately, both the Blueberry Pancakes and Eggs Benedict were served to us a bit on the cold side. Within two bites we noticed that the food had already gone cold. We think that both dishes would have tasted much better if they were served to us hot.
Overall the restaurant has a welcoming, joyful atmosphere with a wide selection of dishes and we would come back!

Opened ²⁴⁄₇? WHY have I not discovered you sooner?
Came here for Brunch for two on a Sunday, although I don’t know if it would still be considered as Brunch if we were eating our first meal of the day at 3:00 pm.
We ate:
1. THE REAL McCOY (~$ 28): spare ribs, pulled pork, brisket, Kansas slaw and a cheddar and chive biscuit. If you’ve had a serious workout and looking to make gainz via protein intake, order this protein trifecta. It’s a generous sample of all three of their southern meats.
Now let’s break this bad boy down:
Ribs (4.5÷5) — Let’s start with the ribs, they weren’t fall off the bone, but close enough. Lightly dressed in BBQ sauce, but if you want to sauce out don’t worry, they give you a whole BBQ tube to squirt until your heart’s content.
Pulled pork (⁴⁄₅) — nicely shredded, crispy and full of BBQ flavour. Although not overly sauced, we found the pulled pork to be a bit dry, perhaps the pork had been cooking longer than ideal or we got the remaining bits as a result of our late dining time. Still good.
Brisket (²⁄₅) — comes in two thick and buttery slices, and when I say buttery I literally mean you’re eating two thick slices of 90% brisket fat. This could be heaven for a few, especially if you regularly enjoy eating fatty pork belly. Otherwise, the texture may be too oleaginous for most. The 10% meaty parts were tasty and tender, so I’ll give some credit to that.
Cheddar and chive biscuit — fluffy on the inside with a light crisp on the outside, very savory, and worked as a good balance to help neutralize the fatty brisket.
Kansas Slaw — good old slaw worked as a nice pallet cleanser, not overly dressed. We liked it.
2. HOGTOWN B.B.Q. BENNY (⁴⁄₅) ($ 16): 2 poached eggs with pulled pork stacked on a cheddar and chive biscuit, smothered in hollandaise sauce with a side of potato salad and green salad.
It was our first meal of the day so we had to have something with eggs in it. The poached eggs and hollandaise sauce were on point. The yolky poached egg survived the transport from the large plate to our smaller sharing plates, so you know it was cooked perfectly. The combination of everything was great. As noted above, the pulled pork was dry, but in this case the yolk and hollandaise sauced helped mask that.
We also really liked the potato salad, the potatoes were boiled well and had a nice chew to its texture. This salad was also perfectly sauced.
Summary:
Food (⁴⁄₅) — See ratings above. Southern BBQ heaven with your own squeezable BBQ sauce tube.
Service (¹⁰⁄₁₀) — Water service was on point. Waitress checked on us frequent enough and really made us feel like she cared about how we were enjoying our experience.
Atmosphere (¹⁰⁄₁₀) — Lots of seating available, great for family and kids and relatively quiet. Décor is very intriguing and there is a real «grocery store» in the back where you can purchase fresh pastries and sauces.
This may be my new late night go-​to. Sweet, smoky southern love at 3 am? I’ll be there and so should you.
Eat here.

I’ve been to Old School twice since it opened, both times for brunch, and I definitely had a better experience the second time around. I think this was mainly server dependent and because they have become more flexible on modifications to the menu.
As far as menus go this one doesn’t have a whole lot of vegetarian options. It is a diner menu and very meat dominant with a lot of pulled pork and the like. The first time around I tried the soufflé omelet with a mixed berry salad and the second time a modified eggs Benny that the chef did for me with arugula and caramelized onions. Both were fairly solid but not the most mind blowing I’ve ever had. Also the brunch potatoes were only ok.
Since my first visit they have conceded to get almond milk (after tons of requests I’m sure). Their unsweetened iced almond milk latte was very enjoyable. My friend got hers sweetened and it was way too much and she couldn’t drink it. When they made it again they brought out the sweetener on the side, it was basically sugar syrup. Tip: do this and add your own coz I guarantee you only need a quarter of it.
I like that they take reservations for brunch because it eases my reluctance to drag people over that way without a guaranteed seat. Especially because the queue inducing Patois is a few doors down and there is bound to be spill over for people who can’t get in there.
I’d be interested to see what this place is like later at night (since it is 24 hours). It’s a lot classier looking than its Lakeview counterpart and hopefully lacks the line and bouncer with God complex. Seems like a nice late night option in comparison and has more of a vibe than the Thompson Diner. I’d happily go back for brunch but I’m not ride or die.

When I came here for brunch with friends, it was quite empty. Initially the servers kept coming back to ask for our orders, without giving us enough time to actually look through the menu. And after they took our orders, it was like they disappeared!
I found the design elements (industrial) to be lovely, but the food was just okay for me. The menu seems appealing, but as I do not eat pork, I found the options limiting for brunch without pork.
I ordered the an omelette dish that came with a delicious biscuit, some fruits and home fries.
My friends ordered the chicken and waffles and the eggs benny. Everything looked delightful. It also tasted delicious, if overfilling. We had to walk it off for awhile hehe.
I think I would come back to visit the General Store in the back of the restaurant, but as I found the options limiting (in terms of non-​pork dishes) I probably wouldn’t return to the restaurant itself. Still it was an enjoyable brunch.

*the restaurant was spotless despite being open for 24 hours!
*the way they divide the menu is really confusing… some items are only available at certain times or day.
*The service was not really good as our server was almost nowhere to be found during the service.
*Also, when we asked for the bill, no one told us that we had to pay at the General Store which was at the back of the restaurant, I’m not sure why they don’t offer those wireless payment machines?
*Overall our dishes were good but not spectacular, and they were both expensive for such small portion, which interestingly was also the same problem we had at School. However the selection of dishes at School were more unique, so if I have to choose between two restaurants, I would choose their sister’s restaurant.
–Road-​Crosser Chicken — General Fried Chicken, Potato Salad, Tabasco-​Honey, Vanilla Butter, Coleslaw and Biscuit — $ 18:
My friend received two pieces of fried chicken and some sides. The scone was dry and cold, coleslaw was drench in dressings and the potato was just your average salad. However the fried chicken was still juicy, did not have too much batter and seasoned just right. The honey tabasco sauce was really good as well and added just a right amount of heat with some sweetness to balance the flavor out.
–Crispy Finger Dinner — Battered chicken fingers, Smoke Stack Fries, Tartar and Lemon — $ 18:
By the time I wrote this review, this dish is no longer being offered on Old School’s menu… I tried checking the website but I can’t seem to find it :(.
For $ 18 I received 4 pieces of chicken fingers and half basket of fries… The chicken pieces were fried to perfection and had good seasoning, but I think the star of the dish had to be the tartar! The sauce was creamy and had a lot of dill, which added some nice refreshing zing to the chicken. The fries came out piping hot, and I must mention both of our dishes were not greasy at all.