Went today after over a year to see if they had gotten any better (I had written a previous not-so-good review). Seated at the patio, it was a perfect sunny day to sit outside and give them another try. It was lunch time so we ordered the lunch special (burger and fries 7.95) and a beer. We asked to substitute a salad for the fries and we were told no problem. Food was quite good, but when our bill came, there was a $5 fee for substituting the salad. We would never have done this if were were told we we would be charged 80% more for our lunch for such a tiny serving of bagged salad with no fries. They charge the full cost for another salad. Simply not honest or good business practice. I was giving them a second chance and walked away with yet another bad taste in my mouth. read more

Went to this place for a late lunch with my gf. I knew the food was mediocre and overpriced because I've had the displeasure of eating here before-- but we figured it would be quick and easy. We were wrong-- the service was the absolute worst. I don't know who they have working in the kitchen, but they must not have a clue what they're doing. We waited 15 minutes before being greeted by a server and offered drinks and our menus. We waited another 20 mins before getting our drinks and had to stop the server from rushing away so we could order food. My gf ordered chicken fingers w/fries and I ordered a burger-- couldn't get any easier, right? Lol, apparently deep frying some shitty frozen chicken fingers and heating up a frozen burger was too much for their incompetent kitchen staff to handle. After another 30 minutes sitting with empty glasses our server finally came back...but still no food. We got another drink and asked how long the food would take as we had other things to do-- the server said she'd get it rushed out to us and it would be about 10 minutes. After waiting 20 more minutes without food or an update, we decided to say fuck it and go elsewhere. As we were paying at the bar, because we couldn't even flag our server *again*, she comes out with the food. I told her we were out of time and we didn't want it. She took it back to the kitchen and I see the angry joke of a "cook" making a fuss. It's like, bro, if you could cook the fucking food in 10 mins on the fly, why the fuck did it take you over an hour to make it?! The place was HALF full! You're not fucking busy! Paid, didn't tip. Won't come back. The owners should have a hard look at how the place operates--I would fire half of the staff. The only guy that was sympathetic and apologetic was the bartender. Oh, the local drunk sitting at the bar even made a stab at the incompetent kitchen staff and how long food takes to get! What a joke! read more

Service was extremely slow and inattentive. Waited over 15 min for drinks after we ordered.

Sigh. Why is it so hard to find a decent place to eat in the Beach? Here's yet another pub. They all seem to be owned by the same company, they all serve the same food. Calamari! Really! Just like the place next door and the one across the street and the one just down from that. Hey, with chipotle aioli -- just like everywhere else in Toronto. Etc. The battered fish was disgusting -- thick, soggy, inedible batter around dried-out tasteless fish. So-called creamy slaw was chewy and flavorless and far, from from creamy. Accompanying fries were soggy. Thank goodness for ketchup! Korean short ribs were overly sweet and gristly. For some strange reason, I expect to see some meat when I order ribs. With the hard furniture and bare wood floors and echoey walls, it isn't exactly a comfortable place to sit back and relax -- feels like a glorified fast-food joint. But they have some decent beers, which is about all they have that's worth returning for. Eat at home first, go and enjoy the beer. read more

Absolutely horrible food, what's worse, I told the waitress about it and got no apology for the over cooked, and yet cold food, instead I was told that they'd tell the cook. I ordered the chicken burger, it was $12, no salad, no fries, at that price I would expect something half decent, no such luck. My son ordered a burger which was also over cooked, but at least it was served warm. I hadn't been here in 4 years, the last time it was under different management (or at least a different name) and the food wasn't great then either. I'm not sure why it's hard to get good food in this area, there are certainly people willing to spend good money. There are a few good take out spots , and a couple of good sushi spots, but beyond that, it's hard to find good food in this area. I suppose I'll have to keep heading over to Leslieville to get some quality cuisine. read more

Walked in with a soft, walked out with a Dwayne Johnson. Unbelievable night. Don't come with a family come with the boys! Love you stone!

My salad was good - my friend's salad had a hair in it. Upon noticing this, we waited for our server to come by so we could tell her. Our server, Kailey (same name as me... ironic), had a rather rude response to our discovery: "Okay, what do you want me to do? You've already eaten most of it, right?" .... My friend and I are both servers, so we understand these things happen. But we also know how to deal with customer situations like this in an appropriate manner. Kailey's response baffled us! We looked blankly at each other, surprised at her blatant disrespect. She then offered to take the food away, which she did. When she returned after 5 minutes later, she had told us the manager gave my friend a 10% discount on her bill, which was less than a dollar off. Insulting. The manager did not even drop by our table to do damage control like responsible establishments do. Update: this friend of mine emailed the establishment over 2 weeks ago, having received no reply back. Safe to say, we are NEVER returning back here. read more

Glowing review for this place! Atmosphere is warm and welcoming. I wondered in for lunch and had the fish tacos and a big glass of the house Chardonnay. It was so good I came back for dinner! Had the ravioli- it was great! Servers were nice and I felt very relaxed. Also, prices are reasonable. Would go back anytime I'm in the area. Thank u! read more

Great appetizers, main entrees not so great! Nice patio area. Poor service, waitress got our order all wrong!

Swing and a miss. They could really have made this place amazing but somehow its just not quite there. The staff aren't friendly and I suspect that I was given a dirty glass with my beer, the burger was quite lame and my friends coffee was "lukewarm and burned". To top if off they totally failed at rebuilding the actual bar. The top of the bar isn't deep enough for you to sit comfortable at it. Your legs get somewhat squished or you have to sit with them to the side. Not comfortable at all. read more

If I could give this place zero stars I would. Our server took 2 hours to bring us our food and failed to bring us what we asked for multiple times including cutlery and water. At the end of the night we decided not to give her a big tip (and rightly so, she was rude and just overall unpleasant). Upon seeing the bills with minimal tips on them she proceeded to start arguing with us about how we're rude people and that she deserves a tip. When we asked for the manager she said she is one and she stood there arguing with us for an additional couple of minutes. Needless to say we took this up with her manager but I've never been so shocked in my life. We are definitely never going back there again. And the food was crap. Save your money this place is definitely not recommended. read more

We tried the new Stone Lion. As noted previously, the old place was a bit dingy but good for a beer on the patio. However, we were not impressed at all on our first visit. Firstly, the menu is extremely limited. There is nothing good here for a vegetarian (1/2 our family). It has one of the smallest menus for a pub i've ever seen. the burger was OK but you pay extra for fries, so overall it is overpriced. The patio furniture is the cheapest crappy plastic chair (unbelievably, more cheap than the old Lion's home depot patio furniture. The inside reno is at least clean, but pretty boring, blah and nothing to make you want to come back. Pretty cheap looking reno overall. Service was OK. Our server tried hard, but they couldn't get our order to the table at the same time. One of the dishes was late coming and they forgot one of the sides. Not even sure why I don't give it one star. I'll save the for Bikkuri Sushi (worst service in the beach BY FAR). Big disapointment. read more

Soooo bad. I went with my kids a couple days ago for dinner. I ordered a beer and the kids ordered a Pad Thai and some chicken wings. Both were inedible. Worst Pad Thai I've ever eaten. It was like Chef Boyardee Pad Thai, like it came out of a can. The waitress asked me "be specific, what exactly could the chef do to improve it?" I said, "for starters, the chef could go to a restaurant that serves Pad Thai and eat it." And the wings were slimy and tasted of corn starch. However, the beer was good. They poured a good beer. Highly recommend the beer. read more

We had dinner there tonight, fish and chips, among the best we ever had. The service was fast and friendly. The portion size huge. The taste superb. The fish was crispy, and the French fries were home chipped and fried to perfection. The patio is very nice, away from street noise, and quaint. Overall a great eatery. read more

I Come for dinner and lunch here all the time. If you are looking for a large patio, with t.v's playing the Blue jays this is a place for you. Exceptional servers and very high quality food. Why would you not want to be here ! read more

The sign out front got us. "Local, fresh and friendly." By definition, yes, if you are standing there it's local because you are physically nearby, but fried frozen chicken tenders doesn't exactly jive with local flavors or fresh. The outdoor seating area was nice and the staff was fine. It was really the food (and the prices for said food) that was a complete disappointment. My boyfriend got crab cakes and onion rings. The crab in the crab cakes was LITERALLY artificial crab. We couldn't believe it. Wtf? The onion rings were way greasy (translucent and dripping in oil). My kale salad had almost an entire bottle of poppyseed dressing on it. More like poppyseed dressing soup than a salad. Give it a shot if you must, but I'd steer clear if you're actually after any version of a decent meal. read more

The Stone Lion - Don't be fooled!! Local by proximity not by the fare! - Pubs Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

It is no longer Lion On The Beach, it's a new restaurant in the same spot now called Stone Lion. Completely renovated and brand new. I live the area and pretty much stayed away from the old place as it was pretty dingy and unkempt. I got the feeling the old establishment was satisfied to do the minimum and just coast. The new place is very clean and inviting and it's obvious that ownership and the staff want the place to be a big success. You can feel the entrepreneurial energy of everyone wanting things to be perfect - pretty nice to see. I guess you would classify the Stone Lion as a gastro-pub because there appears to be a real focus on chef style food. The beer prices are OK at $6 and change for a craft pint and the food is very reasonable based upon what you get. One note is that they don't take Amex at this time, which is unfortunate. So far I am very pleased and I hope Stone Lion is successful. Nice to see independent new businesses in the beach who are working hard to add to our community experience. Maybe there is hope for Queen East yet as it is turning into a non-stop row of McCondo's and franchise restaurants. read more

The Stone Lion is a corner stone of the Beach Community. No pun intended. What makes it a nice place to hang out is the layout; a patio on the east and west side with the bar in the Middle. The staff are friendly and very polite. The selection of draught beer is extensive with over 20 to select from, so it's safe to say they can cover you taste in beer. However, the best think about the Lion is by far those that regularly hangout there. If you want to get a good feel of the Beach Community then the folk that frequent the Lion are a great indicator. If you can't make a friend here at the Stone Lion then you were not meant to have any. The Stone Lion is a place to chill, laugh at life and meet new friends. read more

Update: Refer the the recent rating vs the ones from early 2015 when ownership had just changed. Everything about this place has improved dramatically since the initial reviews. read more

This place keeps my brand of beer on stock. Just for me. Don't believe me? Ask them. EOS...

The patio is great in the summer, and they have decent drink specials. Food is average pub-style food, however I'm giving this place a high rating because the service has been great every time I've been there. The servers are always friendly, they're quick to seat you and bring your drinks, and always say hello and goodbye. Many restaurants in the beach area have crap service - this place is a shining star in comparison. read more

The staff is very friendly and welcoming. Since the revovations, I can honestly say this place has stepped up its game. Not to mention; the food is considerly better than most of the pubs that you'll find on Queen Street East. read more

Great service, lovely atmosphere. They need to make their own burgers and crisp up the fries to improve the experience.

Since turning into the stone lion the service here has been great. Very large patios.

Had the nachos here which were average. The patio is very small (only seats 4-6 people) which overlooks Queen St. E. The inside is dark (it is a bar) and has seating both at the bar and tables. The beer selection is decent. read more

Honestly the food sucks and the service was meh. The only thing remotely enjoyable about this place was the nice patio. The burger and onion rings were of the frozen variety and had absolutely no flavour. I ordered the baked chicken sandwich with a side of salad. The salad was wilted and lacked any depth / flavour. The chicken was dry. I cannot believe we dropped 70$ on this crappy meal. This was your 2nd chance Stone Lion. We're done! read more

My friends and I went here for some appetizers and a few drinks last Thursday night. We had a great time! The calamari is fantastic, it was fried without the breading, exactly how i like it! I believe that server said it was tossed in rice flour. It was awesome and we'll definitely be back! read more

Great patio, and it pretty much stops there. Was Greeted promptly and orders taken by very friendly staff. Received our food, and it goes downhill from there. My burger's bun disintegrated after the first bite, Didn't see the server for 20+ minutes so ended up picking away at this mess until it was almost gone. Small bowl of fries that cost extra were undercooked. Finally the server comes over to see if everything is ok and I tell her about my experience. Very apologetic, I ask her to mention it to someone, she apologizes again, says she is new, was called in last minute, comes back with our bill. I asked again for her to mention it to someone and she says she told the Chef, so I feel that it fell on deaf ears. So they pretty much throw the staff under the bus to deal with issues. Noticed no bartender or manager in restaurant, only 2 wait staff to cover the restaurant and 2 patios? On a sunny Monday in the Toronto beach at 1pm. Lots of choices in the area, I won't be going back to The Stone Lion. read more

This place is amazing to hang at during the summer on the patio. Drinks flow. Good pub food. Get the fajitas

This is fractionally above a tourist trap. It's fine for drinks though the service is a little lame with waitstaff foregoing eye contact to spend our brief interaction glued to their iPad ordering system. The patio is what keeps this place going - that and how few competitors there are In the area. The food Is pretty terrible. The 'baked chicken and feta' sandwich had to be microwaved and was the possibly the most dried out chicken I've had in a pub. French fries are extra with sandwich entrees and were mostly stuck together but they were warm and tasted fine. The fish tacos were pretty weak and soggy. It really wouldn't take much to turn around the kitchen but I don't think they really care. Gosh darn My Place In The Beach not being open before 4pm on a Sunday. read more

Loved the cauliflower bites with Kalbi sauce. Delicious beef dip sandwich. One of the best Ceasar I've drank at the restaurant. Great patio ! Highly recommend. read more

Can I give it Zero stars? Or better yet, minus stars? Without doubt the very worst fish and chips I have ever had in my long life. All bread crumb batter, that when cut open I was able to scrape half a fork full of fish out of! To be fair this happened a year ago and maybe they've improved, maybe, but it's a review that I've been meaning to write ever since that visit and only now just stumbled across this restaurant again. read more

Went in today to get lunch and watch the start of the NCAA tournament the bar was almost empty except for the bar which was full of people watching the basketball. I asked the bartender if she could turn the volume on she told me it would interfere with here music and walked away. My fish and chips had mushy raw batter and my girlfriends fajitas came cold bartender never asked how our food was and pretty much ignored us after asking about the tv. It's a shame because I actually really like this bar and go all the time but this was a bit much for me. read more

I live in the neighbourhood and have been a few times. Ive had pretty good service, the last time I went our waitress was ready with menus right away. We arrived about an hour before the kitchen closed and she warned us most of the food was not available (which is absolutely fine) she was pretty nice about it, instead of being annoyed that we came in so late for dinner. The food came pretty quickly and it was really good. She checked on us once or twice and refilled our drinks. If you're in the beaches looking for a place to grab dinner, or just some drinks, go to the Stone Lion, way better than Murphys. read more

the patio is really great in the summer. I don't have a reason for going here in winter though. I ordered some jerk chicken thing, and pieces of rubber were in it. the server apologized and took it off the menu. other than the pieces of nasty plastic, the chicken was meh. then I saw a drunk man stumble out of the restaurant and get in his car and whip down queen street. what a delightful meal. read more

Disgusting! My first day of vacation, missed dinner last night and breakfast this morning and was craving a burger so I was happy to see their signature Stone Lion burger with tomatoe and onion bruschetta and build from there. I ordered pickles and cheddar as it came with onions and tomatoe. No! it was a slice of tomatoe and 2 slivers of onion, not slices just 2 little slivers. To start I went to slice the pickle that came on top into my burger, it wasn't a Strubs, don't know what it was, it was rubbery and watery - asked for any other pickles that they may have but they didn't have any other types of pickles So after already complaining about the pickles, I wasn't about to start on the complete lack of onions - there was no tomatoe/onion bruschetta. Don't know what the meat was as it was so overdone - totally disgusting! A waste of money. read more

Four of us were there for dinner on a Tuesday night. Nachos: mediocre. Wings: for me, inedible (not cooked enough, gamey tasting), french fries: delicious!!, fish tacos: average. Ambience is very noisy. The restaurant is laid out in a way that there's nothing to buffer the noise so a comfortable conversation cannot be had. Only great thing: $20 bottles of wine on Tuesday night. I would never go back for the food but may consider going on a Tuesday evening to share a bottle of inexpensive wine with a friend (but would only go if the weather was good and could sit on the patio outside). read more

Went for Trivia Night with some friends while visiting Toronto. Fun and friendly host, the quesadillas were yummy, the beer was good, plus we won a $25 gift certificate. I wish they had a longer craft beer list, but other than that, I really enjoyed this pub and would happily go back. read more

First time eating here. June 10, beautiful day. Checked in to inquire the wait time for a table on the patio. Told about 30 minutes. Almost decided to go elsewhere. Hostess said we could wait there or walk the street and she'd phone when a table was ready. Thought that sounded good. After about 20 minutes she called and said our table was ready! Ordered chicken and waffles which was top notch! Savoured every bite! Also had the bacon mac & cheese. Also excellent. Looked at the dessert menu. Carrot cake was said to be voted the best in the city by the Toronto Star. Skeptical of this title. They were right! Delicious! Our server Rebecca was friendly and attentive. We will definitely be going back next time we're on Queen East!!! Everything was awesome! read more

Poor management service and awful chicken wings. Was drawn in by the patio on a nice summer evening. Waitress did not know the day special which happened to be wings ($10). We each ordered wings with a beer and a 6 oz glass of wine which was to cost $6.10. The wings looked great on appearance they accompanied fries and carrot sticks. Fries were good, however first bite of the wing was not so good. All I could taste was mold! WTF... tried again with a different wing and yep definitely mold. I pushed the plate away and informed the waitress, she was apologetic and I acknowledged she was not the cook. Asked if I wanted something else - my response was absolutely not however they could comp my glass of wine. She said yes absolutely and proceeded to tell us [while my friend continued to eat his wings which he said were fine] that most people complain the following day of an illness after eating their wings - I cannot believe she shared that with us. About 10mins later the manager made his way over and asked questions and apologized asking if he could do anything, again I just said it would be nice if they comp'd my glass of wine as I would not be eating anything else. When the bill came both my wings and glass of wine were on it... we brought it to the attention of the waitress who apologized and returned with another bill having removed the wings (it also noted on the bottom of the bill that guest complained the wings taste like mold). Unfortunately, we didn't notice until after settling the bill that my wine was still there and it was for $10 for a 10oz which I did not order. She went to find the manager but we had already settled the bill, neither returned for some time so we just sucked it up and left. NEVER AGAIN...... read more