Pour Girl

Franchise theme is a dive, I suppose.
It was a Sunday January evening, went with a girlfriend.
It was dead (obviously sunday evening. who else would be out?) and there were maybe three other tables.
The décor was raw — wooden benches with peeling paint, hanging lightbulbs and candlelit tables. I liked it, almost a rugged feel. Upstairs is HUGE. Maybe fits 100 people? A separate bar with a nifty cage they lock at night; like those that you see on downtown store fronts. The washroom was pretty wore down; locks that don’t lock, slanting walls and all just made me feel like someone could take a peek. A breathalyzer by the washroom seems funny and useful.
Nothing too special on the menu — americanized favourites. Apps were around $ 5 and Entrées between $ 6.25 to $ 7.50. These ranged from Sandwiches like Avocado & Brie with a side, Noodles like Shanghai, and Brunch choices. They serve brunch at all times!!! Such a great deal, I went for the BLT sandwich. Wholewheat BLT, salad and sweet potato fries. It included a coffee but I opted out. Tax and tip came out to $ 8 — great price for decent food.
I like how they offer sweet potato fries substitute for no charge; how it should be, it shouldn’t cost any extra.
Note, no dessert. I didn’t order any drinks this time, may update in the future.
We ended up staying for two and a half hours chatting away. The servers were very friendly. Seeing as it was dead, they came around occasionally to check up on us though I noticed the other table had a hard time calling for them.
Nothing too special, but a great price, sweet location and super relaxed atmosphere means I’ll be coming back whenever I’m in the area.

I stopped by here around 5pm for a quick bite to eat and a drink. The patio was full but inside was nearly empty.
Service was friendly and quite quick.
The menu was strange, a mix of European, middle eastern, Asian and American food. Confused. After finding out my first two options aren’t prepared here but are closer to Costco, I went with a beef burger. It arrived quickly. I was feeling more hesitant my the minute when I wasn’t asked how I wanted it cooked and even more when it arrived and the meat was completely brown inside with hues of dark orange… Definitely marinated and overcooked. It wasn’t the worst burger but it was not good pub food by any means.
Atmosphere and music is decent, I kind of enjoyed it.
The beer selection is pretty good with local beers on tap, at least for a fairly cheap pub. That’s the only appeal of the place. I can imagine coming back here for a pint if I’m in the area, but I won’t get any food or make it a destination to visit.

This feels like a bar that’s missing an identity. Doesn’t do anything spectacular, but people go cause it’s cheap. It’s got a fair selection of beer, mixing craft with what I’ll call traditional on tap. They actually have more craft than the latter which is good for me.
There doesn’t seem to be anything they do great, but they just keep sending out the beer. Perhaps it was a bad weekend for them but this place was not packed in a Friday night and got less so as the night got older. The people also weren’t primarily students, no idea why.
When your pitcher is half full or have two halves on the table they still ask if you want more. I guess it’s good sales but just leave me alone.
What I noticed is, where are all the students gone? Is it too early and they all studying in the library on a Friday night in Sept? Or they go home to eat their mom’s cooking? Or is this place just past it’s prime? It’s funny that they keep the old Peel Pub logo at the top floor, to me that’s an added bonus of yester-​years past.
I’d be surprised if there are many more Friday’s like the night I went.

Pour Girl is about good food at a very low price but you have to be willing to wait. Practically anything out of the kitchen here is excellent for the price. At under $ 10 a dish, you get very well executed dishes. I’m impressed how the chef can make cheap ingredients taste great! The main thing to keep in mind though is that the kitchen is slow. Every time I’ve visited for lunch, I had to wait quite a while for food to arrive.

I went here with a friend to celebrate her graduation. I’m not really a fan. The place is really big and has a sort of cozy visual appeal. The washrooms are located all the way in the front and way upstairs. Total P.I.T.A. They were disgusting. The place wasn’t full and there were tons of people working there, but there was paper towel everywhere and one of two toilets was overflowing. We got a pitcher of sangria for $ 17. It tasted ok but isn’t what I’d call traditional. Maybe I’m a purist but schnapps and gingerale don’t go in sangria. The price seemed like a good value but upon seeing the mountain of ice in the pitcher I don’t think the cost is justified. The menu is pretty basic. There’s a burger, some nachos, some pasta. It’s almost all under $ 7. I had the quesadilla for around $ 5.25. It was edible but boring. No veg, no chicken (that costs extra), no special sauce. Taco Bell does a better job for less money. The music while we were there (8 — 10ish) wasn’t terribly upbeat which kind of ruined the mood for me. Not what I’d call a summer evening playlist. Our server was dressed like a hooker which I guess is probably a smart move on her part being a college bar and living on tips but I thought it was lacking class. Oh yeah, no debit. It’s 2013. Nothing makes me want to come here again but if one were on a tight budget and studying in the area I can see that there might be a draw.

I’m surprised this place is rated higher than Einsteins food wise. I went to Pour Girl right after it opened, and the food is what I would call fast food quality. I am by no means a foodie (ok maybe a little…), but I can tell right away when things have been cooked from frozen factory made food. The fries especially tasted like a worse version of McDonalds fries, and I wouldn’t call myself a fan of both. It has a nice atmosphere and perhaps better service than Einsteins however, judging by food alone, I just simply cannot justify paying anything over the cost of McValue meal for the quality of food that they have there. You can get a much better meal at even one of the food trucks across the street.

It’s better than all the alternatives. UofT bars have a reputation for sucking, and this sucks the least because — prices, beers on tap, having a menu that isn’t entirely fried.
You can get a sandwich, a burger, a salad for under $ 10. Pints are standard priced at $ 6. And they don’t have Coors or Bud on tap :)
The place is massive. And stocked with comfy/​slightly dirty wooden booths.
Bathrooms are on the top floor in the way way back and a drunk test on a Friday night.

Pour girl is just fine if you’re looking for an uneventful lunch. I came here with a friend during the weekday, and it was pretty quiet given it’s normally rowdy student atmosphere. I had some sort of sandwich and salad, that all in all, was pretty unmemorable. Cash only.

It’s okay. Standard student pub. It has a nicer atmosphere than Einstein’s in my opinion and the double shots are dirt cheap.
However, the service is slow and although the food is cheap, you get what you pay for.
The selection is okay, but I’d really rather go to Bedford academy for a drink.

This poor girl is a regular at Pour Girl… and I’m definitely too old to be.
Pour Girl is the least horrific of the U of T pint slugging joints along this section of college. However, this doesn’t mean you should enter if you’re over 22. Think undergrads with their parents’ credit cards drinking beer… until they switch to jagger bombs. Yeah. That place. That’s this place. So unless you enjoy sitting in a cornucopia of drunken undergrads, this place probably isn’t for you.
All this being said, it is incredibly central and has reasonably priced drinks and is quiet during the day if you want to take a beer meeting. I do this too often.
PEPPER POINTS: For their large and in charge front patio, perfect for people watching. And we all know drunken student watching makes for some effing brilliant people watching.
¹⁄₃₀

Recently opened replacing the old molly blooms.
I’ve past it so many times that when the urge came to grab a cold one, I couldn’t refuse! The first thing to notice is that the interior is really dark, which make that patio so much more appealing. This ambiance makes it a great place to catch a beer (or more) before the autumn air starts kicking in. On the plus side it means that the winter months will be pretty damn cozy inside pour girl =D
I like that their menu drives away from the standard pub offerings into asian themed foods. beer and asian food simply works and I’m glad that people are starting to notice!
The food and drinks are pretty cheap and I love that they have a standard drink special for the entire week! great price for the blanche du chambly, and the tankhouse ale! those are must tries.
I am not a fan of their organization as my bill on my second visit was incorrectly added up and I was charged the non special rate even though I order the drinks before the restrictions (perhaps the policy applies to the time the bill is settled rather than the time of order). Its clear than their strategy to save money by going cash only and non digital is causing a bit of a headache for both their wait staff and the customers, hopefully they can find a midground and turn this issue around.
All problems aside, this place is a fantastic student pub!

I’ve been here twice now — once during the day and once at night. Both provide a great atmosphere. The first time, I just sat on their front patio and split of pitcher of their sangria with my boyfriend. Drinks are very very reasonable here. $ 4.50 for a glass of their house wine. $ 5 pints and $ 15 pitchers. I sampled their food menu at night, which was not bad. My boyfriend had 3 pints of beer, I had 3 glasses of wine and we had the chicken quesadilla and chicken sandwich — our bill was just under $ 50. I didn’t experience slow service, maybe because I was sitting at a table close to the bar where they servers hung out. I would definitely come here again!

Absolutely horrible! The service was painfully slow. We had a group of 6 and would have doubled the amount of drinks we ordered if the servers were on top of things. The place was not even busy. The servers could not even remember table orders, they brought food to our table 3 times that were for other tables.
We ordered sweet potato fries that came with generic mayo. The nachos with chicken were awful. The chicken looked like gross formed pieces you’d get from McDonalds.
They only accept cash and of course have a dodgy ATM. I’m expecting to have my card compromised any day now.
The upstairs looked to be under renovation which is where the washrooms were. The washrooms were disgusting (think Trainspotting).
Students and people looking for cheap food are welcome to frequent this place, I will not return.

Ok so since my last review I have returned to Pour Girl… twice. Ok three times but once I just had drinks, I swear! During these excursions, I tried the veggie burger, the perogies, and the nachoes.
The veggie burger is surprisingly good! It has a great consistency with rice, barley and something green in it. I recommend getting it without cheese (without cheeese???) because it’s just this gummy single slice that takes away from the otherwise really tasty flavour.
Perogies are fried cheesy deliciousness, but at 7 $ for 6 perogies and a side salad, I would say they aren’t a great value compared to the other things on the menu.
The nachoes are great, lots of cheese, red and green peppers and a side of black olives (canned so not so great), jalapenos and sour cream.
As you can tell from me complaining about the 7 $ entrée being overpriced compared to the rest of the menu, Pour Girl is dirt cheap and basically everything is a great value.
The décor is cool, like the other pubs by the same owner (I have checked and yes, Pour Girl is owned by the same people who run Red Room, Nirvana, Green Room and the recently opened Pour Boy). It is sort of an antiquey feel with asian influences, very chill.
I love Pour Girl, it is so so nice to have a cheap, good pub a stone throw from UofT!

Great atmosphere, great location. Super hot waiter!