Ronnie B’s Southern Kitchen & Taps

I tried this place shortly after it opened… I had the gumbo and red beans and rice… having lived in New Orleans, I tend to be very critical of restaurants that advertise as «southern» or have food on their menu that is indicative of New Orleans… so, I was not critical of the gumbo and red beans and rice; they were ok, however, both needed more seasoning, but overall, they were ok… so, I went back there recently, ordering take out and, specifically, I wanted the gumbo… I also ordered the chicken wings, how can you mess up chicken wings, Ronnie B’s managed to do it… the gumbo was inedible and ended up throwing it out… the gumbo had no seasoning and tasted metallic and burnt… the red beans and rice is no longer on the menu… I was very disappointed because I felt the restaurant had potential to become what is lacking in Cabbagetown.

Have been to Ronnie B’s twice in the last week and enjoyed the food, atmosphere and service thoroughly. Try the grilled cheese made with raisin bread — excellent. Shrimp étouffée very tasty and the bread pudding is rich and sweet and just the right amount to share.

I am always on the lookout for the next «it» restaurant in the city. Though generally, the work is done for me; good restaurants tend to have a following and a slew of great reviews. Ronnie’s however, is a new kid on the block. In fact, one can call it a toddler. Yet, there was something about this «toddler» that had me wanting to test its potential. Is it wrong that I wanted to throw it in the deep end to see if it could swim? As screwed up as that sounds, I wanted to see if Ronnie’s could handle what I was thinking of throwing at them. So I contacted the restaurant and asked if I could use their restaurant… the WHOLE restaurant… for a THEMED event… for UNDER $ 35 per person. Yes, they had no idea who the heck I was and what I was all about. But guess what? They were game!
*Sigh, they had no idea what they had committed to. In fact, I would not be surprised if at some point they wanted to throw MY ASS in the deep end, and then hold me down!
Now let’s talk about the menu:
Jambalaya
I hate onions, and several of my group members are also not fans. So what did they do? They made two types! One with onions and one without. Yes! And I am so glad they did because it tasted amazing! Large pieces of chicken and sausage with fresh vegetables and perfectly cooked rice. It was one of my meal highlights.
Crab cakes
People devoured these. And they were not skimpy on the crab! I also liked that you got a fresh salad with the crab cake.
Mac ‘n cheese spring rolls
I really liked this idea. Bizarre yet so tasty! My only issue with this dish was that I felt that the rolls could have benefited from an extra minute or two in the fryer. I really wanted to taste the contrast in textures. Jane agreed that they need a bit more time in the fryer.
Pimento grilled cheese
OMG! Best grilled cheese EVER! I asked Jane if they could make it on raisin bread (she agreed), and it was phenomenal. I am a huge grilled cheese fan and I had never tasted a grilled cheese with pimento cheese before. The raisin bread brought it to another level of deliciousness. I heard several guests remark that they will never use plain ol’ white bread again!
Corn bread with maple syrup butter
I did not eat much of the corn bread (had onions-​yes I am a princess), but the butter… damn, I could have eaten it with a spoon! Jane had said that I could take some to go, but I forgot about grabbing it before I left, and remembered when I got home. I almost cried. Really, I almost did.
Chicken wings
Not very Southern, but finger-​licking-​good! As in, I was licking my fingers after eating them (yeah I got looks, but whatever!). The wings were tender and the sauce… I could have probably eaten this sauce with a spoon too!
French fries
Only item I did not like. I found them to be average and on the soggy side. But then I am a frittes person (thin and crispy).
Bread pudding
Perfect ending to a great meal. Oh! This was not your standard bread pudding either. No sir! This was «deep-​fried» bread pudding! Delicious!
****Keep in mind that my photos are not of the regular sized dishes. The restaurant and I arranged to have a tasting menu for my event.

My friend suggested we try this place as she loves the chicken and waffles here. I was in a bit of a weird food mood and couldn’t decide just what to order. It was also very close to closing time and I felt a bit rushed to make a choice.
Ended up going with fried pickles, and a green salad with grilled shrimp on top.
The pickles were a bit disappointing, the coating fell off and the pickle itself was fairly soggy. For $ 7, I expect more than one pickle cut up into slices and fried, but that’s just me. Salad was kind of meh, the shrimps were tasty but a bit on the salty side. My friend gave me a bite of her fried chicken, which I agree was totally delicious.
I would come back to try other menu items, just wasn’t wowed with my meal.

We came in during lunch hours on a Saturday. The place wasn’t packed but there’s a big group sitting at a long table and a couple sitting at a corner table. When the waitress came by to take our order, she mentioned that the wait for the food is going to be 10 minutes longer because they had to accommodate the big group first. We appreciated the warning. We ordered the mac n cheese spring roll appetizer, the fried chicken waffle and the pork belly BLT sandwich. 15 minutes went by and we still hadn’t received our appetizer. Food was coming out of the kitchen for the large table, but really, could we at least get our appetizer? Aren’t appetizers supposed to come out within 5 minutes after ordering? And during that 15-​minute wait, not a single person came to us to ask how we’re doing, apologized for the wait, nothing. The only waitress and who I believe was one of the owners were soooo focused on serving the large table that the rest of us got ignored. Our appetizer finally came (yay!)… but we immediately noticed that there’s bacon in our mac n cheese, which was not what we asked for. Told our waitress about the wrong dish, she (very) quickly apologized and took our order back to the kitchen. Another 5 minutes went by, then our mains showed up. But wait, where are the spring rolls? A couple of minutes later, the spring rolls showed up. Our tiny table was packed with food, which should have not been the case. Oh well…
My BLT sandwich was amazing. They used a raisin bread instead of a regular bread, which complimented the saltiness of the pork belly really well. The portion was generous as well (only $ 10!). The fries were very crispy (I’m sure they’re double deep-​fried — not healthy, but damn delish!) My boyfriend’s waffle was a bit of a let down. He said the maple syrup tasted weird, the waffle and chicken were under-​seasoned. He compared it to White Brick’s chicken & waffle and the WB’s version wins hands down. But for the price ($ 13), he thought it’s not bad and gave it a ³⁄₅. The mac n cheese spring rolls ($ 6) were not bad either. The spring rolls were big and loaded with macaroni and cheese goodness. They’re very greasy, though. Oil was dripping out of the bottom of the rolls.
Back to service — the large table got these delicious-​looking shots, on the house. What about the rest of us? I believe the true mark of a great restaurant is that every patron receives equal service. The restaurant owner only acknowledged the large table, never once did she come by to our desk asking us how we’re doing. She was standing by the bar which was 2 feet away from us and she never took a glance at our table. For a place that’s only been open for a month, I’m surprised that they didn’t try to win their new customers over through an exceptional customer service. When we paid, our waitress gave us 50% off of our spring rolls due to the order mistake. Finally! That’s the kind of customer service we had been waiting for. Thanks Meghan!
If I had to summarize my experience at Ronnie B’s in one sentence, I’d say «Ronnie B’s serves great southern food, but without the southern hospitality». I don’t think we’d go back to this place.

Tried to like this place, always looking for something new, love Southern food. Ordered the Jambalaya because it was the only thing on the menu I could READ!
Why would you use such incredibly SMALL print on a menu in a restaurant with really dim lighting?
Jambalaya was OK, just. Noticed dozen of staff working in the kitchen. Probably a lot of labour went into the jambalaya, which ended up being basically canned tomatoes with the hot peppers and an unidentifiable few pieces of fish. Could have been served in a warm bowl so it wasn’t tepid when we ate it.
Place will be successful if the hipsters catch it, but not for me.

Taking over the spot formerly housed by a sushi place near the corner of Carlton and Parliament, Ronnie B has shown up and become a surprisingly good fit for the neighbourhood. In a 1 block radius filled with of gastropubs, bbq, and pizza places, I was skeptical southern cooking would stand out, but they managed to make enough of a difference in menu offerings to make it count.
The inside is newly finished with reclaimed wood wall on one side, bench seating meeting tables on the other side, and 4 seater tables in between. TV’s on the walls playing sports and jazz playing on the speakers.
Tap beer selection is nice and craft focused, but admittedly weren’t the coldest on arrival.
Food menu is southern — think Louisiana style cooking with creole chicken, catfish, and jambalaya with occasional bits of unconventional twists like mac and cheese spring rolls (which were quite good dipped in the homemade ketchup). As a main I went for the Chicken Wings and Waffles; another twist on a southern classic. The first challenge was determining how to eat chicken wings with a knife and fork with waffles below them, as I would traditional chicken and waffles. Then I realized to cut the waffles, pour the syrup, and eat half a chicken wing before stuffing a piece of tasty fresh made waffle into my mouth at the same time. It’s awkward, but delicious. I just wish I figured it out sooner as the waffle was cold by the mid way process.
Shout outs to the very friendly staff. The chef even stopped by the table to make sure everything was good, although I wouldn’t expect such personal service on a busy weekend. Still, definitely worth visiting.