New Management means New Beginnings!
When my boyfriend recommended for us to go to Amsterdam BrewHouse, I was hesitant as the reviews on Urbanspoon weren’t that great. The rating was 55% with most complaints being about the food and service.
So with an open mind and trust in my boyfriend, I decided to give it a shot and use as material for a Food Friday post 😉
[custom_box width=”60%” bgcolor=”#D5F2B6″ border_color=”#3F9F29″ text_color=”#3F9F29″ icon_url=”https://www.fionaman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/knife-fork.jpg”]RESTAURANT: Amsterdam Brewhouse
ADDRESS: 245 Queens Quay West Toronto, ON M5J 2K9
CUISINE: Canadian, Bar
PHONE: (416) 504-1020
WEBSITE: http://www.amsterdambrewhouse.com/[/custom_box]
When we walked in, we were immediately greeted by the staff. Since we arrived right after work on a Friday, there wasn’t too many people, so we got to choose where we wanted to sit. We decided to sit inside right next to the patio where you can see the Harbourfront, people kayaking, and Pokémon X and Y being premiered at the Westjet Stage. It was a stunning view and with the ambiance, it allowed for a very relaxing and chic atmosphere.
Overall the service was impeccable as our waitress was super attentive. She was knowledgeable about the beers and able to guide us through the menu. We even got to meet Executive Chef, Avaughn Wells! He was super friendly and mentioned to us that all the items on the menu are sourced locally and they were in the works of developing a new menu!
To start off the Friday night, we decided to try one of four samplers. Each sampler contains four beers that have a similar theme. With the guidance of our waitress, we ordered the Richmond & John which is the lightest and crispest beer from the selection. (I really just wanted it because I prefer wheat beers and was intrigued by the Raspberry Wheat).
– Natural Blonde – Canadian Lager brewed with 2-row malts & Hallertau hopes. Clean malt flavours with a crisp lager finish
– (416) – Filtered lager brewed with toasted wheat & 2-row malts with Cascade & Sorachi hops. citrus aromas with a light body & full finish
– Adventure Brew – As the name suggests, Amsterdam BrewHouse has their own brewery and offers their own selection of beer. I actually forgot what the name of our particular beer was.
– Raspberry Wheat – Wheat beer brewed with toasted wheat malts & Nugget hops & finished with Raspberry flavour. crisp with a unique raspberry aroma & a satisfying wheat finish
All four beers followed the light and crisp theme Natural Blonde being the lightest. They were all delicious and complimented our meal well. My favourite was definitely the Raspberry Wheat. As I was tipping my glass, I could already smell the aroma of raspberry. Upon first sip, you immediately taste the raspberry then the you end off with that “wheaty” beer taste. Don’t get this beer confused with Fruli as that one is more fruity.
RICHMOND & JOHN SAMPLER
Natural Blonde, (416), Adventure Wheat, Raspberry Wheat
We started off the meal with their famous Amsterdam Pretzel. If you recall my Food Friday post on Bier Market, you will know that their pretzel contained too much salt. This pretzel was the opposite of that. It was very soft, warm, and had just the right amount of salt. I never had mustard with pretzel before, but it was an amazing combination. The red currant mustard had just the right amount of tang whereas the spicy big wheel dijon packed a punch. What was novel about these mustards was that it contained wort reduction. Wort is extracted during the beer brewing process and sometimes known as unfermented beer. It was nice to see their sauces incorporating an element of the brewhouse.
AMSTERDAM PRETZEL
Flaked sea salt, sweet Natural Blonde red currant mustard, spicy big Wheel dijon, wort reduction
I LOVE POUTINE! It’s such a Canadian dish. When we saw the Ontario King Cole Duck Confit Poutine, we just had to order it as it contained duck AND chicken gravy! The gravy was perfectly seasoned and wasn’t as heavy as traditional beef gravy. The duck was succulent and tender. Good quality cheese curds don’t melt completely like cheddar cheese. It melts a bit while still retaining it’s original form. These cheese curds were just that…great quality! This dish was divine and satisfied my poutine craving! Even though this dish is under the appetizer section, it can act as a full meal. The size was ridiculous (#thatswhatshesaid)!
ONTARIO KING COLE DUCK CONFIT POUTINE
Thornloe Ontario cheese curds, big Wheel chicken gravy
It was exactly a year ago when we decided to do our East Coast trip in Canada. To commemorate that trip, we ordered the Brown Butter Lobster Rolls. The buns were nice and soft, it was jammed pack with lobster, and the brown butter aioli contained garlic which packed just the right amount of punch. When you see these rolls, I dare you not to be stunned by their cuteness.
BROWN BUTTER LOBSTER ROLLS
3 lobster rolls with apple fennel slaw, brown butter aioli, snap peas, fresh tarragon
All the desserts sounded interesting on the menu but we geared towards the Brulée Cheesecake as it sounded like an interesting combination. The cheesecake was light and airy, definitely not as dense as a New York style cheesecake. Their choice of sugar to caramelize the top of the cake and to line the sides of it was very interesting. They used sugarcane sugar which tastes natural and doesn’t have that fabricated sweetness. As you break through the thick layer of caramelized sugar, you start cutting through this soft cheesecake. Each time I took a bite, I just had to close my eyes and go “mmmm”. We found out later that this dessert is actually made in-house. That news made me appreciate the dish even more because most restaurants usually buy their desserts.
BRULÉE CHEESECAKE
As we were finishing the meal, General Manager, David G., came by to see how we were doing. After chatting with him, we found out he was recently hired to revamp the restaurant. Based on the level of service and calibre of food we experienced, he’s doing an amazing job! He even told us some Fun Facts about the restaurant:
– Since the restaurant houses a brewery, they used to offer tours only to large groups who booked in advance. To make the tours more feasible to their customers, they have revamped their policy and offer scheduled tours every week to anyone interested.
– If you like any of the cups, mugs, or steins at Amsterdam Brewhouse, there’s a retail store right beside it
– The menu got re-vamped this week! This means my review was for the “vintage” menu.
– Their website will soon be updated to make it more responsive and easily to use
My lessons learned about this entire meal was that you shouldn’t judge a restaurant by just seeing the percentage of likes. Rather you should read the reviews and see if there might be any factors that would change the restaurant.
David G. definitely proved that and really turned this place around. As the night progressed, more and more people walked in but yet we received the same level of service from our waitress. Also, we really appreciated that a General Manager would engage with their customers for honest feedback.
I would totally go here again and would be intrigued by the re-vamped menu. My boyfriend and I are already in the talks about potentially hosting a party there as they rent out rooms and have an upstairs area!
