Steel Toad Brewpub & Dining Hall

I have attached for your reference, a drawing of the proposed ROW and the temporary proposed pedestrian/​bike pathway provided by the Active Transportation Branch.
My fiancé and I came in for HH on a Tuesday afternoon. We opted to sit at the bar. The décor is quite nice and the restaurant is quite spacious. There is even a second floor. I really like the wood beam exposure. HH is a good deal for any pizza $ 6 off, $ 5 steel toad drafts, $ 5 wine, and $ 6 for meat and cheese plate. We ordered a few beers and shared a pretzel and some fries. Pretzel was good, warm and not too dense. We tried the Saison Sauvignon, the West Coast IPA, and the American Amber Ale. All were pretty good. They have TV’s which is a plus! I’d like to come back and sample some other beers when I’m in the neighbourhood.

Pretty solid pub fare. We came here on a whim since we were starving and I live a block away and wanted to try something new. We were quite sceptical and have stayed away for a while because of the steep prices for the fancier meals and subpar reviews. However, we had a pretty good dining experience.
We ordered 3 dishes to share — the pretzel, the hot wings, and the burger. My boyfriend also ordered a beer. We were pleasantly surprised at the end when our bill came that on game nights, there’s a burger and beer special for $ 15, so we actually saved $ 6 on the beer!
The pretzel was okay, nothing special. I loved the wings though. Usually hot wings aren’t nearly spicy enough for me but here they have a very nice kick. I can tolerate a lot of spice (probably too much for my own good) and even I could taste the spice a little while my bf was half dying. The burger was also quite delicious. It had a very nice char flavour and it was simple yet worked beautifully.
Overall we enjoyed our time and our server Jessica was also pretty awesome. We’ll be back to check out their changing seasonal menu.

The ambiance of this place rocks! I love the industrial, modern feel of Steel Toad. It’s very large with high ceilings, very roomy. For beer, I ordered the Steel Toad West Coast IPA which was good, crisp.
The reason for 3 stars… The food lacked finesse. I just didn’t get a sense the chef is committed to making great food to accompany it’s beer. We ordered the daily special which happened to be a fried chicken sandwich with slaw on it. First, the breading for the fried chicken was lackluster; more along the lines of a beer batter rather than the classic buttermilk, which was off putting. Second, the slaw slices that topped the fried chicken were cut too thick. Don’t get me wrong, I finished the meal… Just walked away wondering if the chef actually eats the food sent out of the kitchen to experience it from our perspective.

Went in with my wife for some food and a beer, I got fish and chips, it was gross and they give you two tiny bits of cod which tasted not so fresh for $ 20. I don’t expect 5 star food from a brewery but at least don’t serve tiny portions of gross food and charge premium prices. Pretty disappointed, we could have eaten somewhere allot nicer for the price we paid.

I’ve been to Steel Toad, primarily during NFL season as it’s a great place to watch games. The atmosphere is warm but airy given the high ceilings. Service has always been solid – waitresses friendly but could be a bit more attentive. Many screens including a huge projector.
I’ve eaten their burger (⁶⁄₁₀) and pizza (⁷⁄₁₀). Both I’d order again if it were a day of drinking and watching football.
I usually get the lager but this time I ordered a Pilsner. It looked like a pils, but was so hoppy that the bitterness lingered for well over 15 seconds after a sip, very much like an IPA. We asked to get lager’s instead and the waitress was kind enough to bring us new ones; however, there was a long blonde hair stuck to the side of my glass and hovering at the top. I know that the first reaction is «eww» but c’mon… these things happen. I approached the manager who was very apologetic and took it off my hands right away. He returned with a fresh one and a round of shots for our group. It was appreciated but what I liked was that shortly after, he was speaking to all of his staff by the bar. It reinforced that if you make a mistake, accept it, apologize, and make sure it doesn’t happen again, which is what he was doing by speaking to his staff.
I’ll be back for sure as it’s a good spot, but their pilsner is a «bohemian» pils which was misleading.

Don’t waste your time on this place! With a myriad of options around Olympic Village there’s a lot of other far better places that are worth your time!
This place doesn’t quite know what it wants or what it’s supposed to be. My best guess is the founder of this place thought they were creating a brewpub, wanted it to also be a sports bar, wanted it to be a whiskey bar, wanted it to be quasi fine dining and figured it would all work out in the end. Well it didn’t!
Cons:
They have a door man, take reservations, slow service, small beer selection, live music and sports.
This place needs to figure out what it actually wants to be. With all the great choices in the area, don’t waste your time here…

Brunch at Steel Toad
Myself and four friends went to the Steel Toad Brewing Company for lunch. The building is beautiful and historic with the inside reflecting the rustic warehouse feel. Lots of natural light highlight the sleek modern furnishings and neutral colours. They truly let the building be its own artwork. The staff was extremely friendly and polite, we were seated right away and our server, Layla, was exceptional. She told us there daily specials and was quick to get our drinks and food. We tried their craft beer taster pack and had a ton of fun trying the 4 different flavours and comparing our favorites. We each ordered something different, their pizza was incredible though with the other dishes were of a good size and quite satisfactory. Prices are a little steep in their drink menu, but the food prices are reasonable; be prepared to spend at least $ 25-​$ 35 at least for lunch and drinks. The overall experience made it worthwhile and enjoyable. It is a perfect place to go with friends to listen to live music at dinner or watch a sports game, while upstairs holds a more classy dinner atmosphere. We all agreed that we would go again and recommend friends as well.

Party of 5, second time around, close to home. One order of wings and pizza… The quality is just not there for the food. Sorry Steel Toad Brew up, Better luck next time.
We end up going to Craft Beer Market. It was more happening and baja fish tacos cancelled my hunger pains for sure.

Steel Toad is the better alternative compared to Tap & Barrel and Craft Beer Market. That said, there’s still a long way to go in improving.
Atmosphere: 4 stars — great story, good for groups, plenty of air, love the live music, occasionally too loud to talk
Service: 4 stars — very helpful, professional, knowledgeable staff, management fixes when mistakes are made
Drinks: 3 stars — great selection of beers, ginger beer kinda sucks
Food: 3 stars — average quality ingredients, boring flavours, very good presentation, above average prices

As so many places were closed on labour day, we were incredibly lucky to stumble on steel toad brewery. We were on our way to catch the bus back to Seattle and needed a quick lunch, and had such a great one at Steel Toad! Since it was the middle of the day and we were in for a long ride on the highway, we didn’t have any of their beers, but their food and service were excellent. Our server Annette was so friendly and nice! I got the tuna tataki salad, which was really fresh with the perfect combination of flavors – I’m already thinking of ways to recreate it myself. My lunch buddy got the pasta of the day, which was a carbonara that he really enjoyed. It also helps that the space is gorgeous, with high ceilings, huge windows, and soft leather chairs. Steel Toad was such a pleasant surprise, and we’ll definitely visit again for beers next time!

We come every Friday after work, happy hour is now until 6pm ($ 5 500mL Steel Toad beer, $ 6 OFF pizzas are the highlights) the servers all know us by name, the food is always great, there’s a patio (get’s a little chilly in the early evening when the sun goes down) there’s live music every night. If you have any questions, the staff have the answers. The building was the old OPSAL Steel manufacturing building and they’ve kept the interior in the original character style. From any table you can see the brewing room, you can watch the pizzas going in and out of the wood-​fired oven.
Also, if you fill out the comment card, you’re entered into a draw for 4 awesome prizes (i won’t spill the beans!)

Steel Toad Brewery & Dining Hall Vancouver is located on 97 East 2^nd Avenue between Ontario and Quebec. It is located near Earnest Ice Cream, Craft Beer and Tap and Barrel.
The space is transformed from the hertiage Opsal Steel Building dated back 1918.
The name Steel Toad itself references the «steal toads» workers (members/​crew of a steel plant).
The interior of Steel Toad itself is massive: stainless steel of the modern brewing equipment contrasts with the wooden building. Two stories and plenty of bar space.
We came here one Sunday after service before taking a stroll around False Creek. The prices looked reasonable and had a good selection.
Calabrese Salami 14: 12″ thin crust pizza with olives, red onions and charred red peppers. Nothing special about this pizza.
Lamb Burger 15: piccalilly, harissa aioli and sesame bun. Locus on Main has a far better lamb burger than Steal Toad. This burger was sloppy and flavors were non-​cohesive.
Overall experience was underwhelming and disappointing. Food took a long time to arrive despite a near empty restaurant. Service was lackluster.
It’s a shame given the beautiful space. Given such fierce competition just steps away, Steal Toad will really need to put on their game face.
Steal Toad could be a great spot for a beer. They do have a good selection at reasonable prices. After all, a beer is a beer.

Four star beer, three star experience.
Steel Toad is the polar opposite experience to that you get in the small East Van and Main Street tap rooms. This is craft beer on a grand, almost Cheesecake Factory scale. And because it’s big and because it’s Vancouver, that means it gets obnoxiously busy. Expect to wait. And wait. For a table.
An excellent customer service initiative is that they serve the waiting folks beer. So if you can get into the inside waiting area, you can get beer. Very good touch. Others wouldn’t do this.
The beer is fantastic. The traditional Yorkshire Ale is without doubt the best traditional English style ale you can get in the city. From the pump handle serve to the room temperature finish, it’s as authentic as you can get. Also props to the Saisons and Pales. Great beer.

I’m surprised the reviews are a bit lower than other breweries.
I have to say that the selection and price of their beers is top notch. And their food is very good quality and definitely gastropub quality.
The room is not cozy, more like a large group– watching the game kind of place.
No growler fills.
This is a good place, but Olympic Village is pretty meh and there’s no reason for me to really come back.
Maybe if they started doing growler fills…

Hey Ho!
I like sitting at the bar the barman are kind
and let you drinking yur beer quietly without disturbing you.
Yes this place is more smaller (so less noises… Yay)!!
And I really appreciate-​it…
It’s so loud sometimes at Craft, Big Rock or Tap and Barell…
Whammy! Oatmeal stout.
With a touch of chocolate, toffee and roast coffee.
Really refreshing…
Also you can book for your reservation online. Thumbs-​up!
And their web site they advertised which entertainer would be in after 6h30pm.
Very useful.
Also I tried already for dinner:
Chicken leak pie (totally worth the 21 token).
And for cheaper (15 $) the tuna melt (w sourdough bread) is whammy!

I really enjoyed the huge space and non-​chain brewery. The place was packed all night! It’s a great place to watch a game, have beer and eat. On Saturdays they have live music and yesterday’s band ‘Nick Hope Duo’ were awesome. Not too loud and so easy on the ears. The atmosphere was the best the beer and food were good.

Finally, an alternative to Craft Beer Market and Tap & Barrel in this part of town.
Parking is available along Main in the evenings, as well as the side streets.
They’ve done a good job renovating the formerly decrepit factory warehouse building, and now it has that trendy vintage look. Really liking the interior, as almost everything is a medium shade of brown or grey. Not too dark, not too pale. There is a nice large main area with an outdoor patio (with those garage type doors), and a smaller (somewhat quieter) upper section. There was a live performer, but the sound system doesn’t do the job. My friend and I had to resist covering our ears when the system clipped.
Staff were very friendly, and the waiter was very helpful with the beer selection.
The one big caveat about this place — as of the time of writing, they are unable to fill growlers because of licensing issues. Guess the government needs to eat even more. With that said, the taster packs here only come in 2 varieties, A and B (4 beers each). No need to pick and choose — just need to visit the place twice. Or only once if your liver needs the exercise.
Witbier — tastes like oranges and lemons (citrus). Nice and pale.
Beliner weisse — this was my favourite out of the 4. It does taste suspiciously like many of the beers I had in Germany. Gotta be that sour mash.
Brown ale — yup, tastes like nuts. Sweet finish.
Brett saison — little bit fruity, but bitter. The menu calls it «funky tropicalness». That works.
The waiter mentioned that the food here is worth checking out, as it is priced reasonably for the quality. I didn’t try anything this time, but the food being ordered at the adjacent tables definitely looked and smelled delicious.
I will be back to try the food, and that other taster pack. Recommended.

I was really fishing for a place to give a bad review and re-​balance my Unilocal stats. Unfortunately, Steel Toad exceeded my expectations and delivers a solid 3 stars (3.5 if that was possible).
I think it is safe to say that with Tap and Barrel and Craft already in place, and Mahoney a short walk down the seawall,. the Olympic Village has hit saturation with the brewpubs. However, as I discovered, each has its strengths and weaknesses.
Tap and Barrel has that patio, as does Mahoney and Sons, so in summer they are clear winners despite maybe not having as good a menu as Steel Toad. In fact, ST has the most extensive menu of all of them and the food is decent, so for winter time, it has my vote of the bunch.
How else does it compare?
Unlike Craft the acoustics issue is less of a concern here. To make matters better, on the night we were there they had live music (decent too, a duo of acoustic guitarists doing 90s classics) which was at a reasonable volume.
Also, there is a dining room upstairs with a few interesting alcoves etc. making it somehow less barn-​like than Craft despite what this place originally was. And on the that note, I think the reno here was really well done,. somehow it retained more than just the beams, the original windows and much of the now visible wood frame adds to the vibe and is a nice contrast to the steel beer vats which have been nicely incorporated.
Overall I like the vibe in here more than Craft but it is still that same sort of good pub food that is becoming too common. It is time for Olympic village to get a few smaller, cozier places that don’t seat hundreds — I don’t know like maybe a regular restaurant? Until then, this is a good option, we just don’t need any MORE of this scale and type in this area.

[Frog Prince]
When I caught wind that another resto-​brewery had popped up in Olympic Village, I couldn’t wait to try it. I’m a big fan of Craft Beer Market and Tap & Barrel so I came in with high expectations. I finally had an excuse to pop by last Thursday with a few friends after work.

Steel Toad is located in an iconic red warehouse on 2^nd avenue and somewhat resembles the red barn that is Craft Beer Market. The interior is one lofty space with seating for 150+ people. The ambience is my favorite thing about this place. The live music and 50-​foot ceilings project a lively, fun atmosphere to spend some time and grab a few drinks.
Since we were in a brewery, I had to try the beer. Their selection is limited to maybe 8 or so. I’m a tad biased and spoiled with the wide selection available at similar establishments in the neighborhood. I got the American Blonde which I much enjoyed. Since it was a Thursday night, I stuck to one as I needed to be coherent the next morning.
After perusing the menu, I settled on the beef shin ragu. The beef morsels were juicy but a tad salty. I wasn’t a huge fan if the dish itself — it reminded me of pot roast meat over a bed of pasta. Odd but not in a bad way — just not my thing. I managed to sample my friend’s shepherd’s pie which was interesting. It was the first time I’ve had a shepherd’s pie made with curry. I appreciate the risks they take to make it original but this one didn’t work for me. It was presented on a skillet with the meat on the bottom and 5 ice cream scoops of mashed potatoes ontop. Both the shepherd’s pie and my beef ragu were quite small portion-​wise. As a self-​proclaimed hungry man, it was more like a large appetizer.
Overall, I enjoyed the ambience here more than the food. However, I’d be willing to give it another shot and perhaps order something different.

I went here for brunch with a few girlfriends. I want to give them a four, actually a 3.5, but maybe next time I review.
I had ordered an ice tea to drink at first and was told they didn’t have any at the moment which I thought was weird. So I just stuck to my water. I ordered smoked ham on scrambled eggs and Yorkshire pudding, I was delighted to see that when it came the Yorkshire pudding was the bowl for the other contents.
The waitress was keen on refilling our glasses, but for some reason I felt like we were visited a lot, like A LOT — at the table.
Although the food was alright I was upset to find my smoked ham looked like thin slices of sandwich meat. My dish was 14 $+
the décor is beautiful on the main floor, and they have upper floor additional seating. The main floor has sports playing the Tvs and a big screen projector that splits it’s self into 4 showing all the sports channels on it’s other screens in one. A double glass wall that looks into the area where the beer is brewed and straight onto the outside of the building. High ceilings with large windows allows the place to be filled with natural light.
In the washroom a friend and I couldn’t figure why there was a right and left hand sensor for the washroom sink, where the faucet looked like some kind of mounted aircraft (or an arrow pointed at you) and it’s wings are the right and left hand sensors. Why so complicated? I should have taken a picture.