The days of the bar lounge appear to be numbered, so it's nice when you happen upon one that is…read morequaint and is slightly upscale. The Portside Bar in the Prince Arthur Hotel (http://www.yelp.ca/biz/prince-arthur-waterfront-hotel-and-suites-thunder-bay) is a fantastic place to unwind from the day, relax and have a cocktail. This quiet secluded section of the restaurant though brightly lit, has the impression of intimacy, in that the small cocktail lounge tables and the 60s-style chairs bring you and your party close together. This is not a drinking hole, but a meeting place to start an evening. There's one beer on tap (Coors Light) so don't bother. Find something of a bottled variety or cozy in with a mixed drink. Though not nearly as elegant as the King Edward cocktail lounge (http://www.yelp.ca/biz/le-meridan-king-edward---cocktail-lounge-toronto), it still puts me in mind of the place. Connected to an old-style hotel in a landmark building, I guess it's got a bit in common with its Toronto cousin. Just don't tell it that. Toronto and Thunder Bay don't get on well.

Finally. A place that can make a proper martini!! 2 oz of good gin and crystal clear (stirred as…read moreit should be not shaken) always good service.

Continuing our motorhome trip to escape the Texas heat, we are in Kakabeka Falls at Happy Land RV…read morePark. We always ask locals and consult Yelp when looking for places to eat and have local/craft beer. We decided on Madhouse. It was a great experience. At first we weren't sure about eating there, so we sat at the bar to have a beer and look at the menu. The bartender was immediately cordial and welcoming. As we enjoyed a hazy IPA we struck up a conversation with her and looked at the menu. Another guy was at the bar and we struck up a conversation with him. The bartender and waitstaff seemed to know him well, so I asked if he worked there. He was the head chef. By the time we ate and left it was like we were old friends. Really enjoyed talking with them and getting some ideas for an early dinner. We decided to start with the beer cheese, nothing like I have ever experienced. It was very good and the pretzels were hot and fresh. An excellent appetizer. Then we split and order of tacos. Since the chicken tacos were a special of the day, we split an order of two and a side of fries. Does Canada celebrate Taco Tuesday? The tacos were excellent and a delicious twist on the ones we are accustomed to in Texas. We enjoyed the entire visit...food, beer, and conversation. I gave them each an American two dollar bill and they had never seen one. Win Win. I highly recommend this place. The bar became busy and cheerful, but not loud and boisterous. I'm glad we went there.

Our server was delightful and we loved the decor! Great pics on the walls! Dali, Heminway, Tom…read moreWaits, Hunter Thompson. The chicken tenders were the best I have ever eaten anywhere and i don't know what they cooked the wedge potatoes with but they were melt in your mouth. HH loved the sauted seafood pasta. A winner!

Big fan of FeastON® restaurants so was hoping to arrive in Thunder Bay from the west to be able to…read moregrab dinner here at Tomlin. Walked in around 7pm and were promptly greeted and asked if we wanted to sit at the bar or dining room. We chose the dining room so we walked down the narrow wooden floor hallway to a back area where their dining area was. The table already had drink menus on it which makes sense as reviews say this restaurant is great for cocktails and they have a huge selection of wines. Our server soon brought over water for us and food menus. She asked if either of us had any food allergies, which we didn't. Also explained which section was appetizers/shareable plates and which were mains. Also mentioned that the menu is seasonal and everything on it currently is so good. After giving us some time to choose, she took our order. We ordered one shareable, Tuna Crudo. It was well balanced being sweet, sour, creamy, fresh, and with a tiny little kick. It made it evident that the mains would be really tasty as well. Server came back to not only take away the empty plate, but also swapped out our small plates and cutlery for new ones. Both of our mains arrived at the same time, descriptions of what ingredients were in each. Portion size was definitely fair (not too little and not huge) so we left satisfied and full, but not stuffed. Only regret was that we were only a party of 2, otherwise would have loved to order their Family Style Tasting (the table next to us had it and everything looked delicious). In terms of ambience, seating is cozy, as there isn't a whole lot of space between tables, but it's workable. As well, the lighting is pretty dim for our preference, but can understand why others might enjoy it. We walked over from our hotel, but looks like there is street parking in the area. Overall, had a very pleasant dining experience and service and hospitality was top-notch.

If you ever find yourself in Thunder Bay -- Tomlin is absolutely a MUST. Arguably the most upscale…read morerestaurant in town, it doesn't have a pretentiousness that you encounter at some places. Rather, the friendly service, innovative cookery, and high quality, locally sourced ingredients speak for themselves. I was in town to celebrate my birthday and this place was so special. Also if you want something a little more casual, they have a pizza place a few blocks away tucked inside a brewery, which is also fantastic!

The Foundry was a nice spot we found unexpectedly while in town gathering some camping gear. They…read morehad a basic menu and a nice ambiance inside. There were a couple of tables and it wasn't too busy but the service was a little slow. The food was the highlight of the visit and we were pleasantly surprised. My friend had the buffalo poutine fries and it was good, and I had the daily fish special that was excellent. The fish came with potato chips instead of fries, but they were house made and very good. No refills on the drinks, however prices were also decent for the area. Overall this was a solid bar menu and it looks like it can be a good time when they have live music. My only recommendation would be to address the service and add a few more options to the menu and then we have a gem.

Food was late coming and was substantially overcooked. Will not come to this restaurant again.read more

Awesome restaurant - great vibe with fun indoor trees. Tasty food and Caesar's - casual but…read moreupscale. Lovely place to unwind on our road trip.

Great food. Great drinks. Great service. The ambiance is friendly and welcoming. My wife and I were…read moredressed casually, but would have been just as comfortable had we been dressed up a little. This place was a great surprise and a real find for us. For some reason it does not come up as a "restaurant" (for me, anyway) on the Yelp search. It did come up in a search for "pub". They definitely have a nice selection of beers, but a lot more. They have a full bar, with several specialty cocktails. The menu lists their House Caesar as being made with tequila, but our friendly server told us we could order it with gin, or vodka, which we prefer. The drinks came quickly. They were tasty and spicy, but not too spicy. The rimmer was a unique concoction created by the bar staff. The food menu offers way more than pub fare. In addition to the pizzas and burgers, they also have excellent pasta selections, soup, salads, chicken, steak, and more. My wife ordered the smoked salmon salad with veggies and blue cheese. I'm pretty sure she really liked it, because she did not offer me a taste, which she usually does. I ordered the fish and chips. I fully expected to get those over-battered, deep-fried frozen triangle fish things so many other places serve. What I received was a whole fresh filet, which was lightly breaded and pan-fried. It was accompanied by house-made tartar sauce, and crispy hot fries. My meal was delicious. I enjoyed it, but not so much that I did not offer some of the fries to my wife (she accepted them gladly. Maybe the best part of our dinner experience was the service. As I mentioned, our server was very friendly. She was patient and attentive, but not overly attentive. Just the right amount of attentive. She gleefully answered all our questions about the menu, and the restaurant. We got the impression she was very proud about what the place offers to its patrons, and was happy to be a part of the operation. I don't often write Yelp reviews, but feel compelled to share this outstanding experience.

Enjoyed a birthday dinner for 2 at Caribou. The table was on the smaller side as the restaurant…read moreitself is smaller and tends to be pretty packed. The blackened pork chop was cooked to perfection - moist and juicy. I really enjoyed the apple sauce and vegetables, which paired really nicely with the pork. The Malfadine pasta was also nice. It was my first time trying rabbit - if I didn't know better, I would have believed it was chicken. It wasn't gamey in the slightest. The truffle flavour was more subtle than I expected. Though it's hard to critique the cook on either dish, I wouldn't say it was outstandingly delicious or unique. I am not necessarily eager to come back to try other things on the menu. To our surprise, the restaurant also gave us 2 desserts on the house! The cheesecake and tart were both very good and not overly sweet. Though I wish I had ordered their signature raspberry dessert instead of the lemon tart as it seems more unique. Overall, very good food and service. Would recommend for a special occasion.

Saturday night heading into Caribou after a long day of hiking and exploring Thunder Bay…read more The restaurant was a bit of distance from all the hotspots downtown and we were a little concerned with the location. Once we stepped in, we were warmly greeted with a lively dining room, and were quite surprised with the diversity and uniqueness of the menu. We started with Canadian old-fashions, and crab cakes. For dinner had their bus 16 oz steak special which was very nicely done, and the rabbi pasta. We Wish we had more room to try the pizzas because they looked great. We Finished it off with the peanut butter cheesecake. The waitress was charming and very helpful with making our decisions, even though she was supporting a very busy room. A real gem for thunder Bay, great place and great value. It's well worth the five minute drive away from the touristy downtown choices.

We (party of 2) went to Bight recently to try the Novemburger. Reservation was for 6, but we…read morearrived early and were seated right away. Very friendly staff. Server was professional. We were there for a nice, relaxed meal and we were not rushed to order which was appreciated. We got cocktails to start - Amethyst Mine and Cucumber Basil Smash. I enjoyed the Amethyst Mine but my partner indicated he would not order the Cucumber Basil Smash again. My main course was the Novemburger with salad and my partner's was the rigatoni. The presentation was great; I really liked the dishes! I am not great at describing flavours, so I will just say this - the Novemburger was the BEST burger that I have ever had. It was SO flavourful. The beef patty was delicious. The rigatoni was good, but my partner said he wished he got the Novemburger, too. After our main courses, we got dessert and coffee. Cannot recall what exactly the dessert was called but it was some sort of matcha tart. It was creamy and delicious, but the best part was the pastry. So good!

Very disappointed with my visit on Friday August 28. The quality of the food has diminished…read more Ordered the Fritto Misto and the pancetta and fig pizza. I have had these items before and loved them. The Fritto Misto had more vegetables and shrimp than calamari and the Brussels sprouts in the dish were tough. The pizza seemed undercooked and the crust was not a thin pizza crust but seemed to be a tortilla. I know that restaurants are facing difficulty in this economy. But if the restaurant cannot maintain its reputation it is time to alter the menu.

Really nice looking bar with a cool atmosphere and good music. Tonight was Caesar night and they…read morewere great and only $4.50. Both bartenders that served me and my girlfriend were really personable and obviously knew what they were doing. The bar also offers a ton of interesting shots to try out, they're $5.25 each which I think is a little pricey as a lot of the fun sounding ones are only mixed with ~20% liquors. Only reason four instead of five stars is they kinda have a "I'm 19 and want to party" drinks menu, they don't really have anything you'd find on a top 20 drinks to get at a bar list. For example, no Moscow mule, martini, cosmopolitan, old fashioned, etc, almost anything you could get was either a mix with juice or one of the many cool shots they had made as a cocktail with 7up. Which is fine, however the overall atmosphere of the bar really gives the impression that they'd have most of those drinks. With that being said, if you have no issue with the menu, I would highly recommend this as a place to drink.