One of Toronto's appeal is that there are ethnic/cultural pockets scattered throughout the city.  There's Chinatown, Korean Town, Little Italy, Greek Town etc. that's just perfect for exploring and sampling ethnic fare.  What's interesting though, is to see how ethnic food creeps into different restaurants.  The pub visited had traditional pub food, but a twist of Indian and a touch of Thai can be found.

This beefy stew is from Scotland Yard.  The Guinness stew is tender chunks of sirloin steak braised in Guinness, carrots, potatoes served on a Yorkshire pudding (a bready pastry) and is a dish I'd probably expected to find here.  It was tasty but was too beefy for me.  What I did find particularly delicious probably shouldn't be in a Scottish pub...Butter chicken and naan!  So, a little bit of Indian food to go with the ales.

The butter chicken was moist and tender and the Tandoori tomato sauce was not  too spicy and also perfect for dipping the naan (which was more like sliced
pita). I much preferred this dish. There was a side of yogurt too which served as dipping sauce too...But the Tandoori sauce was much more flavourful.  At $13.00 for each of the two mains ordered, not bad for dinner.

Also had Torpedo Shrimps as a starter and came with sweet Thai chili sauce for dipping.  Crunchy!  Yummy! 

The pub itself had character...The low lighting really set the mood.  Booths to the side, lamps and stained glass artwork, recessed bookshelves with old-leathered tomes...An area for people playing darts...Quite a relaxed place to enjoy a beer or two with friends.  It's along a short street with other pubs and so the area is fun for those who wish to do a little pub/bar-hopping. 

Our host was friendly and was helpful in allowing some dish adjustment to suit my low-carb diet (substituting the chips from from fish & chips for some extra greens).  In the end I didn't go for it but I appreciated the help.

Brunches and good friends are a terrific combination and I suspect there will be many entries on this topic. 

The Bristol yard was recommended by a friend and it certainly lived up this it's name.  There's an eye-catching unionjack hanging above the front door.  The all-day break ranges from about $12 - $15 and the portions are generous.  The only draw-back is that it's TINY.  Seems like everyone was out this day for exactly the same thing...A big hearthy brunch meal.  We waited a good 30mins or more for our table.

Given my low-carb diet, I opted for what sounded like a vegetarian-option...The description did not mention anything about my portobellow mushrooms and heirloom tomatoes being served on a English muffin.  So I was a bit disappointed at not getting what was expected. 

However, to be fair, the food was great and the few little pieces of homefries I nibbled on guiltily were tasty. You cold get brunches a bit cheaper, but if you're a big eater, this is the place to go.