Food was delicious and the burger I got was cooked perfectly Staff are very friendly and professional The place has a nice proper look and feel to it There's plenty of room and drinks were well poured read more

This review is based on my visit to the establishment for a private event, and not a regular visit to the restaurant. I would recommend this place for hosting private events since the food, atmosphere, and service were all good. This is a cozy Irish pub located downtown Toronto, not too far from Yonge & Wellington. It's an excellent place for holding private corporate, or social events since they have a separate space upstairs from the main restaurant area, with a different entrance off to the side to keep your event private from the general public at the restaurant. This private space also has a mini bar, with your own private bartender, enough seating space for at least 20 people, and a fire place to add to the cozy atmosphere. For private events, the restaurant offers different course menus for you to choose from. The menu at this event was a 3 course menu, with at least 3 options under each course for guests to choose from. I ordered the green salad, steak, and chocolate torte. Considering the number of people they needed to prepare dishes for, and being able time it right so that they could bring out all the food at approximately the same time, I wound say the food here was pretty good. The dishes also all arrived within a reasonable amount of time after we placed our order, and the servers were consistently checking to see if we had finished eating before bringing out the next dish. The staff here were friendly, and our bartender was willing to make cocktails not on the menu as long as they had the ingredients for it. read more

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I had supper last evening at P.J. O'Brien Irish Pub. I had chicken curry and it was good. It had a bit of a bite and the chunky veggies were fun. The green peppers were a bit of a surprise, though. The staff were efficient, though not overly friendly or welcoming. read more

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What a disappointment. Such rude service. We walked into a lively fun pub environment. We told the hostess we were there for dinner, not just a drink. She walked us into the back of the pub but did not see any seats. She took us closer to the front and seated the 2 of us at a 4 top and gave us menus. We settled in and picked out our orders from the menu. After being there for 5-10 mins the hostess came up and said she had to move us. They were busy and needed 4 people to sit there. She moved us to a different area of the pub at a 2 top. She was so rude like it was our fault. We decided to leave. read more

Service - Pretty slow but if it's normal for the pub then that's understandable. Food - Loaded nachos , the nachos tasted a bit stale, way overpriced for the taste, added bacon was just sprinkled on the top and was not worth the added price. Guacamole didn't taste fresh either. Wings were very mediocre and I had to remind them of the order as it took a long time. They did bring complimentary French fries for the wait, but it wasn't seasoned well. Nothing memorable. read more

Amazing food and drinks. Great Irish staff too. Best Irish pub in Canada and probably better than an Irish pub in Ireland.

This is another in the long line of mediocre pubs that line the downtown core. The beer selection caters to the mainstream so don't be looking for anything off beat. I ordered the fish and chip (sub of sweet potatoes fries instead). The service is ok and the interior is forgettable. The food was middling. My dining companions somehow enjoyed their vegetable burger and beef stew. Wine list is what you expect at a pub. 2.5 stars. read more

P.J. O'Brien Irish Pub and Restaurant - Pubs Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Went there for the first time and I was disappointed. I like dingy bars but this just felt gross. It smelled bad and staff was not friendly and they were frantic. read more

Very very Irish pub in the middle of the finacial district. I'm surprised I haven't rated it before, I've most assuredly been. The place was rammed to the gills when I came here for lunch with a friend on Tuesday. Despite this they still took the time to pour me a proper Guinness. For food I had the Irish sausage with veggies and gravy. Really nice, not complied but nice simple cooking. read more

P.J. O'Brien is an old fashioned Irish pub. It is nice and friendly. The bar is welcoming and offers a nice selection of single malt Scotch. It has a nice and neighbourly feel right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the financial district. read more

Very cool Irish Pub nestled into side streets close to St. Lawrence market. Great food, good service, basically everything you hope for in a pub. This was our first restaurant when visiting Toronto because my parents loved it so much from a previous trip. Well worth the walk and located near lots of other Toronto sites. read more

My alma mater had an alumni event here. Yay Queen's ! Never heard about this place so I was excited to check it out tonight. Tucked in, it's in a very unassuming location. I parked close to King Station and I'm not going to lie... I did get lost finding the place. Servers were awesome here. The bar area was hella busy, but I didn't have to wait that long for the bartender to take my order. Food is your typical pub grub ... the calamari was delish; the spicy mayo that accompanied the calamari was a nice addition to the dish. A good place to unwind after a long day at work. A solid five stars. read more

This is a rustic and traditional pub. I came on a Saturday morning- it was pretty empty but it did start to fill up after 12pm. I tried the Royale breakfast and finished it completely. The salad had the perfect amount of dressing that wasn't too heavy and accompanied the greens very well. The potatos were a bit more salty than my friends and I would've liked but still yummy. The poached eggs (cooked perfectly) were served fresh on top of the smoked salmon. By the time I ate the salmon, the egg cooked it which was a bit disappoing but it was still delicious. The Irish Bailey Coffee was alright. I probably wouldn't choose to get it again (they originally charged me $7.95 since that is the regular price so make sure you check your bill since it is supposed to be cheaper on Saturday). read more

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A nice Irish Pub, after knowing the history behind this place from a tour, this is definitely a restaurant worth to visit. The people are so friendly. They explain any details on the menu. The duck confit I got is so delicious, everything is well prepared. read more

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This was the perfect place to hang out and have a great lunch after hours of walking and exploring the city. The Irish atmosphere made me feel like I was in Ireland again. My favorite two beers are Guinness and Carlsberg. I can get Guinness where I live but I can't get Carlsberg in Tennessee so I was thrilled beyond words that they had my favorite beer here. My weakness is Shepherd's Pie and each restaurant does their version of it. I prefer the "real" version which is ground beef with vegetables in a gravy topped with mashed potatoes. Some restaurants put cheese on top of the potatoes and some do a very dry version. The one here was so delicious. What a great lunch and a great dish! The beef and vegetables were moist and the mashed potatoes were great. The dish was cooked perfectly. Great beer and great food! You don't need anything more. This will be a must on any future visits to Toronto. read more

P.J. O'Brien Irish Pub and Restaurant - My favorite beer! - Pubs Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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In the heart of downtown Toronto for dinner after attending Toronto's Festival of Beer. This pub has a distinct character and live music starts at 10:00 p.m. I selected off the vast menu the Kilkenny Ale Fish & Chips $18 with two pieces of Kilkenny battered fish with Yukon fries. There are lots beers on tap so I chose a Keith's Pale Ale $7.30. The meal and service was great! Now it's time to enjoy the Irish live music. read more

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As far as pubs go this might be a favourite for me. Really laid back unpretentious spot that you can come to and grab a cheap eat and drink. I went today for a lunch and drinks with friends and we all thoroughly enjoyed 9ur meals. We had the sausage and mash, curry chicken, bbq wrap and steak sandwich. We had ourselves some Guinness and jameson...because luck o the Irish! Really enjoyed ourselves and the service is just top notch without any frills and thevserbers are super attentive. It gets super busy with the agtercwork folks but great lunch, after work or dinner spot. read more

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For the older than 30 crowd looking for reasonably priced drinks , some "throw back to their 20s" atmosphere and good service , you can't go wrong with PJ's. A great girls/guys night out, don't let the yellow exterior dissuade you. read more

Yuck! Ok, to be fair the two stars are for the absolutely excellent service and the fact that although the tiniest order of nachos ever served, they were actually good. Aren't nachos supposed to be for sharing? Like, for a table of 5? What came out was nachos for 1? Wtf? Nachos are about everyone having a feed. Fish and chips were an utter embarrassment. We asked for them extra crispy. They were soaked in grease! The fryer was obviously not up to temperature. The menu was pretty lacklustre. Sandwiches that arrived at other tables were small and bland looking. Pub food is about big portions of hearty food. Why do people pay for food like this? I did eat here several years back and the food was great. I think PJ's has fallen victim to the Compass vortex. If you don't know what I mean. Look up the Compass company. They do same menu boxed food for chains across the country. Prefixed food costs and no one needs to pay for a chef or their creativity. Profitable? Yes. Shameful! Also yes. The servers were very sweet and super prompt with everything. Some of the most attentive service I've had anywhere. Atmosphere is good. Drink here. For God's sake don't eat here! read more

Great place! Off the beaten path we were in from CT and were looking for drinks and a quick bite. Host and wait staff. We're pleasant, place was clean and comfortable. Waitress made a recommendation of Fish and Chips and it was delicious. Batter was light and crispy, fish cook and moist, fries crispy and cold slaw was yummy. We also god a steak sandwich with a side salad. Salad was nice greens mixed with vinegarette dressing. The steak was cooked to our liking medium - rare with the mushrooms and onions and the bread was very fresh. Drinks were average size and very tasty. When in Toronto we will definitely be back! read more

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Nice little pub, this was first stop I had two beers here and they were both good Smithwick was good but combo beers were really good I had foundry and harp which was cider and lager respectively. Definitely a good spot to drink, didn't try the food thou This maybe a good thing for some and not for others but mixed drink and regular draft beer was same price. Then again you are paying for the same amount of alcohol read more

P.J. O'Brien Irish Pub and Restaurant - Pubs Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Food is good. I host an open mic stand up comedy night there. We support new talent from around the country. It happens every Monday night at 9:00 PM. An Open Mic stand up comedy show. No cover charge! Free Admission. book a spot via email to standupcomic@sympatico.ca if you wanna try out some jokes from the stage. #comedyto read more

P.J. O'Brien Irish Pub and Restaurant - Open Mic Stand Up Comedy every Monday night - doors at 9 PM - showtime = 9:30 - Pubs Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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THIS REVIEW IS SOLELY FOR THEIR BRUNCH The Bad: I got the Eggs Aran which came with bacon and eggs on English muffin. The hollandaise sauce was quite sour (too much vinegar?) and looked / tasted overdone. The eggs were still very watery even though it was poached very well like some yolk. The English muffin was all soggy because they put the tomato right on top of it so go figure. You think they would put the tomato on top of the meat or eggs instead. I really only ate 1/3 of the plate because everything else was a soggy mess so I definitely didn't think it was worth $10. Maybe I'll mention it to the wait staff next time. The Good: Filtered coffee was strong, bacon and potatoes were crisp, and the eggs if not watery was actually poached very well with a slight yolk inside. The side salad was probably my favorite part of the meal. The citrus dressing was delicious and very refreshing. Atmosphere: Brunch crowd was kind of eclectic. Some folks had too many drinks by 1pm and were being loud and boisterous. Service can be slow sometimes. I think P.J's should really stick to its pub fare so I'd come here for dinner and skip the brunch. read more

I am a big fan of PJ O'Briens and have been coming here regularly over the last six years. The atmosphere is always friendly and the server prompt. Although it's quite expensive to have dinner here, the food is excellent, especially the lamb chops and the steak frites. The Guinness here is the main attraction - poured properly and served at the perfect temperature. If like me you find Guinness a bit on the bitter side, ask for it with a side of 'Ribena' which is a raspberry flavoured fruit concentrate and gives it a bit of a sweet taste. Evening entertainment is always top notch and the live music on a Saturday night can't be beaten. I find the hours a bit weird so make sure you call ahead or check their website if you travel a long way to get here. read more

P.J. O'Brien Irish Pub and Restaurant - Lamb chops. Wow, absolutely delicious! - Pubs Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Traditional pub feel? Maybe... It feels a little dated to me but if that's what that means! I was really hoping to be more wowed by the food. Their menu is really extensive so I'm going to hope that there is better than I haven't tried. Was not impressed by the crab cakes. Very little crab meat and mostly chick pea. I was disappointed! The only other thing I tried was the sliders which was delicious, tender and flavourful. My friend ordered the veggie burger which she hated. Another friend had a shepherds pie and loved it. All in all we ordered a variety of dishes and had mixed reviews. I'm giving an optimistic 4-star, hoping my next return will be a more tasty experience. read more

P.J. O'Brien Irish Pub and Restaurant - Delicious sliders - Pubs Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Do you like beer? Do you like good food? Do you like daily specials? If you answered no, then you're a heartless troll. For the rest of you, swing by and give this place a try. They even have sticky toffee pudding for dessert! read more

80s music on the PA on the Saturday night we were there, hoping to catch some live Irish folk music so a little disappointing in that respect. All that dark wood and sitting at the long bar near the stage was cozy in spite of the high ceiling. All that space seemed to be used up by the giant projector screen that could be used for corporate functions. A few tables looked to have full meals happening which looked very appetizing, and our curry fries for snacking were tasty and were gobbled up quickly. Nice bar to duck into for a pint and escape the concrete jungle in that area and the free parking nearby right on the street was very welcome. read more

P.J. O'Brien Irish Pub and Restaurant - Curry chips - Pubs Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

We were staying around the corner at hotel Victoria and wanted to find a cozy relaxing pub to get a nice snack after 9pm on a Monday. My boyfriend and I both had the Manhattan clam chowder soup and it was amazing. I had the beet salad with added sirloin which was very tender and cooked perfectly and my boyfriend had the shepherds pie and he ate every last morsel. Even though we were extremely satisfied with our meals we still had room to share the warm baked apple pie with 2 extra scoops of vanilla ice cream...yum... For knowing nothing about Toronto and only choosing this pub due to reviews and proximity to our hotel I am so glad we did and definitely were not disappointed!!!!!! A must try and if we move here it would be my local spot. read more

Decemburger Dark Horse! A five-star burger experience is about more than just a slab of meat and a bun. These are non-negotiable elements, but constitute only a starting point, a necessary but not necessarily sufficient condition, if you will. My dear readers, a five-star burger experience is about the sides, the drinks, the service and the atmosphere. And PJ O'Brien delivered on all fronts. This Irish pub (could you guess by the name) sits unassumingly on a quiet corner just off Toronto's rat-track and you'd probably never know it was there unless you'd had occasion to cruise the backstreets near Yonge and King or had been invited to a Sinn Fein meeting (kidding). I've been in for drinks before, but had been itching for a taste of what Joe "Honorary Irish" B. has called the best burger he ever had. We had been thwarted on a past attempt after finding out the hard way that this place is closed on Sundays. Once inside, you're exposed to worn, strip-hardwood floors, cozy little side-rooms (good luck getting one after five or during lunch on a weekday) and a dining area that somehow manages a warm feel despite its sprawl across three rooms and two buildings. Décor is classic Irish pub with nothing specific to write home about but overall is very homey. Indeed, Joe can pick a burger. Angus-certified beef, grilled to order, served on a bun that's covered head-to-toe with sesame seeds, and paired with some of the best fries in the city. I had water, but Guinness is on tap along with a host of other good beers. The patty was thick and juicy, and you could tell it was made in-house. I had mine grilled medium-rare, which left it pink in the middle (just the way I like it) but I didn't have to deal with dripping blood as the ground beef kept all the juices in the patty, instead of on my plate. I asked for mine topped with blue cheese, and while visually I thought I had been shorted on the fromage, it turned out to be the perfect amount and lent a beautiful bite along with the hint of mustard I applied myself. The fries were some of the best I've had this month. Perfectly salted, and served with au jus instead of gravy (on request, and for a nominal charge). One of the best au jus I've ever had too; well-seasoned with strong hints of red wine. Service was prompt, charming and comfortable. Fresh bread was served with lunch, which was a big win with me. I went for medium-rare on my server's advice, paired with her knowledge that she was serving me Angus-certified beef. It's always nice to deal with someone who knows their menu. read more

I have only been here twice, both times for drinks and no food. Both times I have found the service to be good. The prices are what you would expect (on the higher end but not out of line). The bartenders wear lab coats, I suppose because they are "mixologists" not bartenders. The bar side is quite nice and not like every other pub in Toronto, which is a nice change. I noticed in another review there was criticism of the beer selection. I admit that the selection is somewhat limited but I didn't find it to be offensively so. It's a good place to go if you are looking for a pub that does not have Firkin or Duke in the name for a change. My rating might change if I try the food sometime. read more

In the pub category it definitely gets the 5 star. The food is too good for a pub, so it breaks my heart that a lot of people might not actually go there thinking its a pub and the food is ....well pub food. I tried the calamari salad once and another time the mussels, yes not a typical pub food, right? And they were both delicious. I've been told the shepherd's pie here is amazing too. Staff are sooooooo nice, the owner actually makes the effort to talk to the customers and make them feel welcome. The servers are mostly Irish which makes the whole Irish pub experience even more exciting. read more

My husband and I visited 3/20/2010 and expected far better. We were not greeted when we entered - had to ask if it was open seating (which was met with, "Just sit where ever" by a waiter who continued to walk away from us as he spoke). The same waiter took our order and didn't not tell us the specials (we realized they had specials when the waitress serving the table beside us informed them). We both ordered Spinach Fettuccine and Chicken. Which was served quickly and hot -- the only reason I'm giving this place a two and not a one. The food was nothing special, not excellent quality -- not poor quality - acceptable but bland. Portion size were also about adequate for the price - you won't be starving when you leave, but you'll likely be hungry 2-3 hours later. The restaurant smelled strongly of flowers (but there were none in sight), not unpleasant - but not at all appetizing. After our food arrived (which was very quick), nobody came to refill drinks (making the 3.25 they charge for Diet Coke even more ridiculous) or check to make sure the meals were ok. Our plates were cleared by the person who brought our food, he didn't offer to refill our empty glasses. At this point we thought we'd maybe order a beer anyway when the waiter brought our check, so we weren't too put off. 25 minutes later, the waitress who was waiting on the table next to us asked if we'd like anything else. We said our check and explained that we'd been sitting there a while. Overall, there are much better places to eat. PLEASE NOTE: The bartender of this restaurant contacted me after reading this review and offered my husband and I a complimentary meal for our negative experience. Sadly, we were on vacation at the time and probably won't be back in Toronto for sometime. It seems entirely possible that our experience was a random lapse. read more

I thoroughly enjoy this place. It's secret, tucked away and I almost dont' want to write a review about it because I want to keep it my little secret. Great neighbourhoody bar in the midst of random expensive restaurants on the east end of the financial district. Come here with a small group of people just for a chat and good drinks read more