Love this place more every time. It is very lively, especially for a weekday, and of course, it makes for a great place to watch sporting events while eating bar food andshooting pool with friends. The size makes it a great place for reunions with larger groups of old friends, and I'm not really much of a beer guy, so their decently priced liquor makes for great drinks before sharing a social pint with friends. read more

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they have a billiard side bar side good neighbourhood type bar and smartly they have happy hour specials read more

Shoxs Billiard Lounge - Pool Halls Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Love this place! The owner and all the staff are so lovely!! My go to spot for pool :)

Gord and I had a late supper here tonight. We hadn't been there before. We shared an order of garlic bread and cheese and mozzarella sticks. They were good. Gord ordered haddock fish and chips. He said it was good, not great. I ordered medium wings. There were ten to a pound and they were good. The medium sauce wasn't too hot. Caitlyn was our server and she took care of us. She was friendly and fun. read more

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Sat on the patio here and ordered beer and food. The beer list is basic - nothing memorable. The food was just okay. I wouldn't eat there again, to be honest, when there is so much better food elsewhere. The service was, again, just okay. This is a neighbourhood local for a casual beer and is not a destination unto itself. read more

I don't have much to say about this place. The food is okay, nothing great... just the regular pub grub. The service was terrible. My friend and I walked into this place, had to ask to be seated. The waiter said choose a table then sat down at a table himself and started doing stuff on his home. The waitress was drying down utensils. They knew we were there... waiting... for menus... but they didn't seem to care. We were about to leave when a waitress finally came over... after 15 minutes of not being acknowledge. We ordered, ate a sandwich, paid and left. Oh! Also, our Chicken Chipotle sandwich was suppose to come with guacamole and green peppers but we got none of that. The chicken had no chipotle marinade. This place is more pretty lights and walls than anything else. McDonald's would have been better. Gaby read more

Shoxs Billiard Lounge - Chicken Chipotle on a baguette. - Pool Halls Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Fantastic staff and management, and a great atmosphere to kick back and relax on the weekends - great food & drink, foosball, pool, the whole 9 yards read more

Shoxs is a great local restaurant. I've gone with a couple of friends and have also been able to effortlessly book their party room for a large group (work outing). In the Junction, it's been a struggle to find places that can accommodate more than like .... a group of 6 people. Gus made making our reso really easy, and his team was very accommodating when we showed up and saw availability by the patio and wanted to be seated there rather than in the party room. Their food is not "upscale dining" by any means but it is well done classic pub food, their summer cocktails are great, and the service was friendly and speedy despite our group of 11 people ordering at random. In the past, when have gone to eat at Boo Radley's who were very unfriendly and unhelpful service-wise, so this was a refreshing change. read more

Not the best quality in food but service was great. Hockey and baseball were on and the TVs were all lit up. A great place for groups that are larger and specials are not too bad: Burger/Pint was $10; Wings was $7. Love that they had all day breakfast and smoothies on the menu! Casual and friendly. read more

Shoxs Billiard Lounge - Farmers Burger with Sweet Potato Fries and Slaw - Pool Halls Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Decent and compared to many places in the Junction, unpretentious place. Claims to be the first bar to open in the Junction since it stopped being a dry ward in the 1990s. Judging by the decor and the style this seems to be true. Standard beer selection along with one craft beer from the junction. Decent pub food as well. There are 4 pool tables and the price goes up depending on how many people you have in your group. read more

The owner, Gus, lead the charge to make the Junction "Wet" after local temperance crusader William "Temperance Willie" Temple died in the late 1980s. Temple's ghost "haunted" the area, because he won two-more temperance related plebiscites posthumously, before Gus's pro-drinking side finally won the right to make the Junction-area, east of Keele Street, wet in the year 2000 municipal elections. I mention this, because it is kind of important to the history of the area: Shoxs was the first drinking establishment in the eastern part of the Junction neighbourhood since 1903! This is a sports bar, and also a pool hall. It is also an NTN/Buzztime trivia facility, which is how I first heard of it. There is a regular crowd of locals, but this place really comes to life during Maple Leafs games, or other marquee sports events (plenty of TVs to choose from at the bar, including a few in true-HD Quality). Like many of my other reviews of bars in the area with pool-tables, I don't play, but apparently the people that do, like it. If you don't like a sports-centric pool hall bar, than more than likely, you are not going to like this place. I happen to like this kind of venue, but in moderation of course. I have only had good experiences with the service here. When Gus isn't out politicking, he sometimes fills in as a late-night cook, once the evening chef leaves for the night. I have seen him specially fry something up for me, after midnight, when the kitchen was "officially" closed. The wait-staff have always been friendly to me, but I'm hardly the type of customer that puts much, if any, demands on the wait-staff. Another thing going for it is its downstairs section. There is a comedy night every month, usually on the last Friday. Other events happen down there, but I do occasionally attend the comedy night, which is pretty good, and filled with local West Toronto Junction talent. The beer selection is mostly Molson products, so don't expect Black Oak's 10 Bitter Years beer here, but if you want to play trivia, play a round of pool, or be surrounded by fellow Leafs fans during a game, Shoxs is hard to top. read more

Shox is a sports bar trapped in a hipster 'hood. Sure, there are a hundred tvs playing all kinds of sports, but the area is much more indie music scene and oiled beards than die-hard Maple Leafs exurbia. They have cold draught beers that you have heard of before, along with really average service. The space is great for large groups or for those who want to Watch sports. On slow nights the place feels a bit cavernous. read more

Nah. The waitresses were outstanding and the beer was well priced but the food just sucked. It's basically no attempt at delivering good food and just settling for being a bar to watch sports. My burger tasted like the ones the cafeteria in middle school used to serve. Nice to see that the lunch ladies are still in business lol :) read more

Pretty average bar in terms of food and drinks, but it's a large space with lots of TVs and pool tables across the two floors. Not too crowded either, so it's good for playing some games with friends or enjoying a beer while watching the game (I believe there were at least 3 different sports games being broadcast across the TVs so you get to take your pick!). read more

#SHOXS #YELPTO Probably the grungiest eatery in this area, and the cheapest. There's a decent selection of cocktails and beers. And decent bar fare. Oh, and don't let the outside fool you - it's actually pretty spacious. The guy had 5 beers and a shot of tequila. I had a margarita. Can't even remember how it was because this was one of the worst dates I've been on. And I paid for all of it. I'd like to go back and experience the place sometime. read more

The Toronto Lover system: 5 stars = Must visit! 4 stars = Really good. I take my friends here. 3 stars = Somewhat worth it... if you have nowhere better to go. 2 stars = Below average. Attend only when necessary. 1 star = Do not visit! The place has "Billiard Lounge" in its name, but it's really just a great sports bar. The food is decent, the prices are what you expect, and there is much seating to watch whatever game it is you want to watch. For big games, I recommend calling ahead and reserving a spot downstairs, which has large leather couches and feels a bit like your friend's dad's basement. Service here is very good, and they offer enough beers on tap to please anyone's interests. I don't know if I would go out of my way to visit Shoxs, but it's a really good place, and this city is lacking in excellent sports bars. 3 stars read more

I liked it!!! It has very cheap green p parking near by. Waiters were nice. Has a nice eating section. 5 pool tables. And food and drinks are all reasonably priced. Washrooms are clean and drinks come fairly quickly. It was good. read more

I went there with some friends of mine. Most of us were dressed very casual nothing oblique. Fall jackets, well groomed, perfectly ironed pants, but yet one of us wore sneakers. And so after looking for a place to sit by the billiard tables they quickly came by to let us know that we could not be there. I freaked out and asked why? The employee told us there was a dress code. Yet there was no sign, no way of knowing this anywhere on a window, or chart. So we got upset and told them this was absurd. Now mind you the all of us there were of color/foreign origins, the young/college type. I don't mean to play the race card but I had a bad feeling walking in there. As soon as we walked in there we were "looked" at by someone behind the counter. The "These guys are trouble, don't belong here" type of look. That same person didn't look us up/down to totally observe are entire wardrobes as a group. It was a pretty instant obvious glance, walk over to another employee, & a whisper in the ear to come tell to us what I mentioned before. We couldn't believe this! It was an early mid week afternoon, and there were probably only 3 patrons in there whom were all at the bar stools watching tv. This is absurd! Never in my life as a resident of Toronto have I encountered such a situation. There was no reason to tell us to leave. I could tell they felt uncomfortable with us. Maybe they felt we were too urban, and would ruin their billiard tables/cues. I just don't know! I was looking forward to playing there as it looked like a warm place. Boy was I ever wrong! They actually put us in the wrong stereotype if they were even thinking of one. Because we had all actually just left work at TD towers in the financial district after helping to close a good deal which entitled us to some very generous bonuses. Which we would have spent at this establishment had they been welcome enough for us. Our money was good elsewhere down the street! I don't expect to go back, it was an insult to a Torontonian. read more

I visited the Junction area since I am buying a property there and decided to give this watering hole a try. The decor is much like your run of the mill sports bar. I was surprised by the size of the establishment. Some key features included: booths, pool tables, CLEAN WASHROOMS! Our waitress was very friendly and gave us some pointers about visiting places in the area. We ordered a Chicken and Rib combo (~$18) which was cooked to perfection for bar standards. The atmosphere was slightly lacking but I think it was because of the long weekend so there weren't too many people in the area. Overall, this is definitely the place to be if you want to grab good food at a reasonable price and shoot some pool while you're at it. read more

Worse place ever!!! Ordered calamari that comes with garlic bread. Couldn't chew it and the bartender came over and I said you can't chew it and it didn't come with garlic bread. She walked away with it and I figured I'd just order something else. She came back and said we won't charge you for it and walked away. So I sat and watched my friend eat and I guess I was lucky I didn't have to pay for the food I didn't get. Horrible bartender and service!! Will never be back. read more

one of the worst bars i've ever been to shit food, horrible service, badly priced drinks read more

We just moved into the neighborhood a few months ago, and Shoxs is our closest watering hole. We've been there a couple of times to play pinball and pool, and always found it fit the bill for a nice, basic sports bar with decent (if not slightly overpriced) pub food. A solid 3-star kind of place. On our most recent visit, we noticed that the (already overpriced) menu had been completely overhauled. Half of the menu items we enjoyed were gone, and the remaining menu items had gone up in price...even more? We tried to order nachos with pulled pork, which was our Shoxs standard. Our waitress informed us that they are no longer serving pulled pork. We asked if there was anything the kitchen could do (like add ground beef, or something?) Our waitress came back after a long spell looking a bit embarrassed, said something to the effect of "my boss is a bit of a stickler on this front, we're not supposed to add anything to the nachos now." Okay, whatever. It's not her fault. At this point we'll just order them and see what we get. The price of the nachos had gone up, so maybe there was more to them? When they arrived, we realized that we were paying $15 for a plate of nacho chips covered in cheese and a few black olives. That's it. Shoxs was in the running to become our no-frills local pub. But ever since this menu-revamp, we're pretty sure that we'll never go back. They get one star for having a pinball machine, and that's it. read more

To paint the picture we arrive at Shoxs around 10:17pm on a Friday. It's a sports bar and the leafs are playing. Now, this is when the rating stars start to fall. We're awkwardly greeted and I felt as though the hostess could sense we weren't sports fans. There was a brief stand off between us and the hostess when we entered, because there was no defined waiting section at the entrance. We advanced and then withdrew and then she advanced and withdrew, and so the awkward dance commenced. Finally, WE say we'd like to be seated. We're brought to a large booth. The table next to us, some passionate leafs loving bros and beside them, to be blunt a homeless man. He nursed a single beer our entire stay while periodically nodding off. The down-and-out man was clearly using Shoxs to escape the cold winters grasp on the city. In my books, Shoxs gains half a star point for being a place for the vagrants to warm up. We order a pitcher of beer and there is an awkward back and forth between ourselves and her. Is she confused? Probably, I know I am. She disembarks to bring us the beverage and we begin to consult the menu, little did we know what the future would bring. It's the future, the club wrap and sandwich we end up ordering are delivered. To go into detail, the turkey is cold, the bacon is lukewarm, and the fries aren't crispy (subtract two star points). I get up to use the washroom and my path collides with our waitress. No problem, right? Nope, I go one way she goes that way. I go the other way and she goes the same way. Finally, I stand still and let her pass first. We both apologize (minus half a star point). We have finished most of the food, or all that we have cared to. One of us spills coleslaw on the others food. We request a container to take home some of the remaining wrap in hopes of salvaging it in the near future. The waitress circles our table like a vulture in human form as she waits for us to leave. The bill is paid and we leave amongst the cheers of sports fans. read more

Best chicken fingers on Dundas. Service was speedy. Server was very nice. Beers were cold.

I'm a fan of sports bar food, and this place serves a below-average example of it. Will not return. Fries B Burger B- read more

I like it here. I order food to go. Always great. Nice charred burgers. BIG, good salads. Yum. read more

This place is awesome! I'm from Cleveland, OH (where Lebron is) and was in Toronto for work. After a quick Google search for "Browns Backer Bar", I found Shoxs was the largest Cleveland Browns bar in the Toronto area. Drinks were cheap and the food (buffalo wings) was excellent! The owner was the first to greet us and kindly showed us to the back room of the bar, which was filled with all the Browns propaganda and memorabilia a true Cleveland fan could hope for. The crowd was great and it felt like I was back at home cheering on the Browns to the first of many victories (even if only preseason). Will happily send all of my Cleveland friends who visit Toronto to Shoxs! read more

Love the junction, and this is a good place to go with friends. this Pool bar has decent selection of food in their menu. We had some vegetable chips, they fried them in not so hot oil, so they were a little damped, not crispy. We were bar hopping and will definitely go back and try other items. read more

The closest bar to me so I've been here many times by default. Large comfy booths are a draw, and there's usually one available. Many, MANY tv's showing sports but the excellent staff is very accommodating and will switch the tv closest to you (and there is one very close, rest assured) to whatever you want. Beer is just the usual low-level brands but recently they got a good local beer (Hops and Robbers or some such) so kudos to them for coming around at last. Food is the low point, though I have had and enjoyed the weekly lasagna special several times. The rest seems to be average (i.e. not very good) bar food. Wine is low-end, a short pour, over-priced and not chilled (in the case of red, that is, which should a little cool, imo). read more

Lots of big screens, so it's a great place to watch a game or two and have a few drinks. Very courteous service (they even asked what we wanted to watch next when the game we came to see was over). Highly recommend the beef burger, which was juicy and delicious. Mozzarella sticks were also a fan fave at our table. On my first visit, I lost something of great sentimental value. Not only did they find it, but, seeing that it probably meant a lot to someone, someone carried it around with them until it was claimed to keep it safe! Definitely went above and beyond the standard lost and found box! read more

Going there for my birthday with my friends. The service was really bad. Rude waitress. Altough the bar was nice but the service ruin positive thing in there. read more

This place is made for big groups, and locals. We've been coming on and off for years with our sports teams after whatever beer league we've just finished playing in the area because they always have room for a big group and the servers do a good job of keeping your pitchers full of beer. The food is pretty standard pub food at a pretty standard price. Wings, burgers, sandwiches, a few salads made with cheap lettuce and lots of deep fried apps. They have a few pool tables, lots of televisions playing sports and a bar that is always lined with 40+ year old men. read more

Finally got the chance to visit and shoot some pool. Tables are a little on the pricey side (I guess I can kinda admit that the place does maintain upkeep so its no biggey, really...) But, at 12$/hour I had an awesome time all the same! Ordered some bar food, and was quite impressed with the coconut shrimp and Calamari rings. Suicide wings were awesome, even though I've had spicier. Worth visiting again, no doubt. read more

My go-to bar because it's located so close to home. Love their large, roomy booths and pool tables, very unpretentious and welcoming environment, standard bar fare that can easily accommodate a veg person. Always great service. read more

No complaints about this place. I will go back next time I am in the mood for a round of pool.

Went here on a Tuesday night to play pool. Place was empty which was nice and got our pick of tables and tvs!

I've stopped going to Shoxs about 2 years ago even though I live very close by. On a couple occasions, myself and my friends have felt that we were being treated differently for being non-white. We ignored the sign that says "no baggy jeans" (although many white men in the bar wore baggy jeans). The service made us feel a little uneasy but again, we ignored it. The second time I went back, the waitress didn't bring back all of our change. I guess she figured we weren't going to tip so she'd just take her share. Ironically, what we would have left, would have been more than what she kept. We were so shocked and disgusted we didn't even bother to complain, just decided to never come back. I didn't leave a review before because it was based on a feeling and not any overt acts of racism but after reading this review (http://www.yelp.ca/user_details?userid=lbP3i2cQhohl0WwJ6Fjviw), which was unfortunately filtered, I decided to add my experience. It's too bad because it's very handy to have a pub so close to me for those late night cravings. read more

Affordable, average pub grub. Poor greeting service. Over all a decent place for a beer and some pool.

food was frankly, kinda gross and the service was...meh. but they show the NFL homes!!!!

Great food and atmosphere. Typical bar food. What made this a great place was our waitress that took very good care of us.