LONDON: Food, Coffee, Dining, Etc
 

An official thread to talk about local dining and restaurants and stuff.

City ponders bar limits
 

City ponders bar limits

Thu, May 7, 2009

RICHMOND ROW: City staff will look into limiting new or expanding drinking spots after hearing a presentation from a downtown resident :shrug:


If you want a stiff drink or a beer in downtown London or along Richmond Row, there's no shortage of seats -- including the JLC and hotels, there are 48,847 in all.

But if you're a shopkeeper there who wants to insure a plate glass window, you're out of luck: So many have been broken in drunken acts of vandalism, insurance companies won't issue policies.

Those striking facts, the first gathered by Ontario's Alcohol and Gaming Commission, grabbed the attention yesterday of city hall politicians who asked staff to explore whether it makes sense to place some limits on new or expanding bars across the city.

The request came after a presentation by a resident who lives half a block off Richmond St. Michael Hannay has lived near the Row since 1993, his two kids often the only youthful voices on his block.

A professional planner who helped city hall prepare guidelines for more pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods, he warned the city's planning committee that too much of a good thing -- licensed establishments -- could prove Richmond Row's undoing.




The bars pose two threats, he said.

The first threat is immediate -- they tend to replace retail stores, depressing the attraction of the area during the day. The second is long-term: As the mix of uses changes, the neighbourhood becomes less attractive to residents and merchants,who start to leave.

"We're not talking about closing bars or saying that (bar owner) Mike Smith is wrong, but we're probably reaching a tipping point," Hannay said.

There are about 10,000 bar seats along Richmond from Oxford to York streets.

"That's a problem," he said.

It's not just the total number of bars that concerns Hannay and Coun. Judy Bryant, who represents the downtown ward. Some hold more than 1,000 patrons, creating a restless crowd at closing time at 2 a.m., with no transit buses to take them home.

Hannay and Bryant say their concern is reflected in police statistics that show a rise in the number of calls they get in the two hours after bars close.

That taxes the police and there are other costs too: more ambulances, social services and vandalism to repair.

Bars individually aren't bad, Hannay said, since each adds economic and cultural value to the neighbourhood. But allow too many, and it will come at a cost.

"If the bars are benefitting, it's at the expense of taxpayers," he said.

Not all politicians on the planning committee were convinced -- but they asked staff to prepare a report looking at whether action is needed.

I am inclined to agree. Disclaimer: I love bars (er, I did when I was a bachelor). But Richmond Row has more than enough, and I would like to see more of a mixture of retail.

Grand projects small surplus
 

Wed, June 24, 2009


London's Grand Theatre officials played to an appreciative audience today as they forecast a happy ending to their budget year.

An $8,000 surplus is expected when the fiscal year ends June 30, said the Grand's Deb Harvey.

That's on a budget of $5 million.

"However small it is, a surplus is a positive thing," said Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best during the board of control meeting.

The politicians were pleased enough that they suggested the group's quarterly updates to council be halved and that only a semi-annual update is necessary




Some other city-subsidized arts groups, notably Orchestra London, are struggling to make ends meet, especially as regional and global economies falter.

Harvey said the economic downturn really became noticeable with a decline in single-ticket sales in the first three months of 2009.

But the coming season looks good, as 80 per cent of subscribers have already signed up again.

Also under a campaign urging each subscriber draw in at least one other, 400 new subscribers have signed on.

The theatre has about 5,200 subscribers. "It isn't a hard sell," said Harvey. "In a city of 350,000 there's no reason we can't have 10,000 subscribers."

Has anyone here ever been to Angelo's? Any thoughts on the place?

Ozone Organics gone?
 

I was up in the Hyde Park area today and noticed Ozone Organics had been completely cleaned out, although the sign was still out front and their website is still up. Anybody know anything about what's going on there? There's no sign on their door explaining the situation.

I used to shop at the one on Wonderland North quite a bit but I never dined there. I've heard mixed reviews on the dining experience.

ML Health Unit Inspection Records
 

http://inspection.healthunit.com/

Very interesting stuff to read. Most of the chain restaurants including McDonalds, Starbucks, and Quizno's are in good compliance with little or no critical infractions while some of the local independent eateries have a litany of critical infractions. Most restaurants have good records but a few have 3 or more critical infractions including Schwarma House (Commissioners Road West), Bing's Chinese Buffet in Lambeth, Bernie's Bar & Grill on Adelaide, The Honest Lawyer, Hook's, and International Bakery on Hamilton Road.

They also have every single eatery at Western and Fanshawe listed.

^thanks for the link. I visit many ethnic establishments, and now I can know what my stomach can expect 4 hours after eating.

I've heard from credible sources that two of the four Angelo's locations are gone as of tomorrow. One of the locations closing is inside the lobby of One London Place, which was established in August 2006 after the previous cafe tenant left. The other location closing is the newest location on Wonderland Road South between Southdale and Exeter Roads, which has been open barely four years. I'm also told there have been layoffs at their store on Wonderland Road North.

This can't be good.

^shit. I go to the north wonderland location quite often and it is usually busy.

Food Network to Film at London Restaurant
 

Diners at Relishin Wortley Village may be making a cameo on one of the Food Network's up-coming shows.

The London restaurant will be one of 39 featured in the new show "You've Got to Eat Here"

Filming will take place tomorrow, and the show will air next September -- and despite the cameras, it will be business as usual for dinner.

"As associate producer happened to be at Relish in the first week we were open" said Adam Green, one of the restaurant's owners. "Sat there, ate there, watched the excitement and craziness and loved, loved the burgers and said 'This has got to be one of our places' so it was exciting to see."

Greens says the won't be divulging all of their secrets, but he says they'll be showcasing several delicious recipes from the menu.

The episode will not only feature Relish, but Wortley Village and London as well.

Filming will take 13 hours to complete.

Angelo's update
 

Wonderland North store: CLOSED

http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2010/11/03/15944776.html

AM980 is also reporting the future of the Thompson Road store is unclear, with employees being guaranteed that they will remain open through this Friday.

A shame, but it seems that the quality had been running downhill over the past 5 years. We used to visit about 2 times per month; now hardly ever (even though it is really close to home)...except for the Focaccia, which was heavenly.

ahhh...just had Massey's again. Is that good Indian food, or is that good Indian Food? Awesome stuff.

Went to the one remaining Angelos store on Thompson Road yesterday. They still had fresh bread, but the deli and shelves were mostly bare. They were supposed to be open for a few hours today. I picked up a loaf of bread and a cake. Admittedly their cakes were the best ones out there, and I will miss those.

Tomorrow (Monday) there is supposed to be an auction of non-perishable inventory at the Wonderland North store. They will likely be auctioning off jars of their propreitary pasta sauce, jars of olives, dry pasta, espresso beans, sauces, salad dressings, coffee filters, and much more. I might drop in and get some pasta sauce.

With the Wonderland Road south store closed, the bakery at nearby Loblaw Great Food (Loblaws) is doing crazy sales. Apparently the shelves are bare and they're rejecting cake orders and whatnot because there's just so many.

That seems to tell me that there was a steady stream of traffic at that Angelo's... not too sure if one thing in particular brought it down.

EDIT: do you know what time the auction is?

First, Angelo's Bakery & Deli closed down. Now, Oscar Taylor's and T.J. Baxter's, a Richmond Row institution for over 20 years, is closed.

I have been to T.J.'s a number of times, most recently about two weeks ago for a beer with an old co-worker. I was also there for the epic gold medal Olympic hockey game during Vancouver 2010.

I should have seen it coming though. When I was there two weeks ago my friend and I didn't end up ordering any food because their prices had gotten way too high compared to what it was just a couple years ago. The food there was good but it wasn't great, not enough to justify the prices they were charging. Also, the service was poor that last time I was there.

^sad to see it go (mostly due to the gaping hole that will be there instead), but I too found the service/quality less than adequate at TJ's. OT's...haven't been. I miss Angelos only for the Foccacia.

I was shocked to hear about TJ's they always seem busy when I am there, especially in the summer with roof top patio.

I really hope the rumor of Jack Astor's buying the building is true as that would fit in nicely downtown. Regardless someone will buy it quickly as it's a prime spot.

Yes it is true!! Jack Astor's is buying the building is true. It will be the 3rd location in the city!!!! It will open in about 6 to 8 months see it on the A- channel today!!!!:yes: :yes:

good to see the gap-tooth of richmond will be quite temporary.

Red-Door Cafe has closed. Only open for perhaps a year. In Hyde Park.

Also, Bailey Street Furniture has closed (also in Hyde Park). Open for maybe 5 months.

Funny how Hyde Park is growing gangbusters, but shops/restaurants close practically every other week (e.g., Ozone, Leather outlet, Furniture Direct, half a dozen furniture/rug stores along Fanshawe park rd west)

I remember Ozone. Excellent concept, but the worst possible location short of locating on Manning Drive. It would have done much better on Richmond Row rather than on the urban fringe.

A disturbing trend I've noticed with Central London bars over the past couple years is the abuse of power of bouncers. I have now either witnessed or been the victim of being removed from a bar without being intoxicated four times. In cases where I've witnessed friends being removed from bars, it is the result of them being falsely accused of doing something bad, and further investigation by management revealing bouncers using their power to remove patrons they have a personal agenda against. The first time I was removed from a bar I was later told the bouncer only removed me so he could flirt with the girl I had gone there with.

Last night, it happened again, this time at Molly Bloom's. I should have seen the warning signs when an obviously drunken female patron was yelling at me to go away (even though I wasn't talking to her and was ignoring her when she was yelling at me). I don't know who she was, maybe she knew me from my undergrad at Western. I don't know. I tried to explain my situation to the staff but they didn't even try to listen to me or tell me why I was being removed, and they even wouldn't let me go get my coat back - and as we all know it was extremely cold last night. I was stuck standing outside in -20 weather until a friend of mine who knows the manager there could show up and intervene.

I am thoroughly disappointed in the poor service at Molly Bloom's, and not only will I not be returning there ever again, but Richmond Row has got to go on notice. This trend of bouncers abusing their power is disturbing and is a real turn-off for patrons like me. There are many other choices in London for going out.

This also raises the question - are there any regulations for bouncers in Ontario, aside from the requirement to have a Smart Serve card (which you can get with minimal training for $35)?

^I Think that bouncers need to have an IQ of no greater than 75, and a propensity towards thuggishness.

Been a few years, but I encountered a huge amount of the same bouncer bullshitmanship and assholism in my wild oats years in Montreal/Vancouver.

That sucks. I've never had a problem with bouncers but I agree that some of them can be intimidating. That's the nature of the job I guess...

Molly Bloom's also has disgusting bathrooms, compared to other London bars/restaurants. Saw an overflowing urinal on Saturday night, the staff member I mentioned it to didn't seem to care. It was still like that two hours later.

^why would they clean up coors light? It's a bar, afterall. :D

Finally, someone who agrees with me that Coors Light (and most light beer in general) tastes like piss.


A friend of mine came back to London after being away for more than a month. He wanted to meet up at T.J. Baxter's. I had to explain to him that it was closed, and he couldn't believe it. :(

I just told someone at Fanshawe today they were closed. She wasn't aware either.

I just had the same thing happen this weekend, close friend of mine was talking about going there this summer....was sad to inform him it wont be happening

Angelo's is coming back
 

It's official...

http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/07/13/18414926.html

going to revive this old thread :poke:

Updates on new dining downtown:

1. Wich is Wich - sandwich place on King across from the market - served the best sandwiches I've ever had. 10/10! Anyone else been here yet? It's owned by past Q97.5 radio host and executive chef who cooked for billionaires while on a private yacht - Buffett, Di Caprio, Gates, etc.

2. Saddle up - new country bar on King across from JLC - great patio, owner also owns a rib stand so supposedly good ribs and other southern food here

3. Toboggan - revamped the old JBR's on Richmond into a restaurant/bar, and moved Pizza Pie from across the street into Toboggan. Apparently London has a toboggan heritage, hence the name. Also a brewery, and they serve a bunch of their own brews - did not disappoint!

4. Union Burger - date TBD - being constructed on Richmond right beside JBRs. Per their website, that location is for sale as a franchise...

Archie's is now closed - the bathing suit store on Richmond between Mongolian and Barney's. Good location.. wonder if anything will creep up here?

I can confirm that Saddle Up is a great country bar. Went there for the fight two weeks ago and they had some good, inventive twists off standard pub fare, and good music before the main event. Haven't been to the others (except Toboggan just to peek in -- looking forward to giving it a try soon).

I was in London this weekend to visit relatives and take advantage of free babysitting, and took my wife out for dinner for our anniversary. I couldn't think of a really nice and fairly affordable place, so we wound up going to Michael's, which was excellent but not exactly on the inexpensive side.

I'm glad we went because we've avoided it in the past for the price, but I was a bit disappointed in myself as a Londoner because we went there simply because that was one of the only places I could remember. My relations are on the west end and I had hoped for J.J.'s Bistro in Byron, but apparently it closed a decade or so ago (!). I always remembered it being an excellent meal for a more-or-less reasonable price.

What are the new fine dining or casual fine dining stalwarts in London? I remember places like David's Bistro, Church Key, Garlic's, and Bertoldi's. Is there anything new that has to be tried by someone who comes to London a couple of times a year looking for a nice dinner? Any restaurants that instantly became classics?

On a related note, when did City View become a location of Under the Volcano? Man, that place was the best; that was a sad thing to see. Maybe I hadn't been past that intersection in a while, or maybe I willed myself to unsee that.

What are the new fine dining or casual fine dining stalwarts in London? My understanding is there are a few places on Richmond near the Grand. I usually do burger joints with the misses, so can't attest to that.


Is there anything new that has to be tried by someone who comes to London a couple of times a year looking for a nice dinner? Any restaurants that instantly became classics? Classics = Mexicactus. I say it based on the quality of the food. It's kinda run down, not near anything special, and well, cheap looking. But hot damn is the food great!!!

On a related note, when did City View become a location of Under the Volcano? Maybe 2 years ago? The closed City View, then renovated. UtV's lease was up as my understanding goes, so they had to move.

Thanks a lot for the Mexicactus recommendation! I checked out the menu, and it seems like pretty standard Mexican- if you say it's good food, I'll check it out. We have friends who live Trafalgar and Clarke, so I'll suggest that next time we see them.

Cryin' shame about City View. What a great diner that was. Under the Volcano's a good restaurant as I remember it, though.

We love under the volcano, certainly nothing special but decent food at a fair price.

Check out Waldo's (either in Byron or downtown) again I find great food at reasonable prices, all fresh.

The Moxie's on Wellington near my work closed a few weeks ago (didn't see that one coming :rolleyes:). A new restaurant is taking its place though, called Crave. At least I think thats what it's called.

Its called Chopped Steak House and is under the same umbrella as Moxie's. I was never a fan of Moxie's to be honest, and that location with Earl's/Keg/etc it was a matter of time. Not sure how well the Chopped Steak House will do as it will cater to a similar client and will have to attempt to take business from Earl's and Keg which might not be easy.

Gambling: OLG's new operatorin London and region promises $200-million improvement
 

Gateway Casinos and Entertainment Ltd., a private operator based in British Columbia, says it will spend more than $200 million when it takes over the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) gaming operations in Southwestern Ontario.

In a statement with the placeline of London, Gateway’s executive chairman Gabriel de Alba says his company plans an “investment of over $200 million to revitalize and enhance the gaming and entertainment landscape."

Gateway has purchased the rights to operate what’s called “the southwest gaming bundle.” It includes the casino in Point Edward and slots at Western Fair District in London, Woodstock Raceway, Clinton Raceway, Dresden Raceway and Hanover Raceway.

OLG has been working to modernize its operations and announced a year ago it was seeking bidders to lease facilities in London and at the raceways in Clinton, Dresden, Hanover and Woodstock. The owners of those properties will continue ownership.

More to come at lfpress.com.

[email protected]

Twitter.com/DanatLFPress

There's a craps 'machine' at the slots now. I enjoy playing the game but its way less fun automated.

I once talked to a manager about it and he said that it will be a when, not if London will get real table games.

It's somewhat depressing there as the clientele is mostly elderly spending their monthly cheques. Expanding it to more of a real casino will help. There are a ton of people that go outside of this city to gamble in cities like Brantford, Point Edward, Windsor and Niagara Falls. Keeping them here means their losses will help go to the city they live in.

Absolutely agree, it is seen more as a night out for people when there are real tables and people to interact with not a bunch of regulars sitting then for hours pumping in money into machines.

If this group is spending anywhere near $200 million in London then I am wondering if they will be building something downtown. They are talking casino and entertainment component. Could we see a casino and hotel downtown?

It's $200 million for all of southern / southwest Ontario if I recall correctly.

I'd doubt it would be anything downtown, just at the Western Fair, or...

I've also heard rumors to build a hotel / casino near Wellington / 401 area. Would make it easier for out-of-towners to access and leave their money here. :P

remember the OLG's wretched advertisement?

"Happiness is playing Bingo!"

Really?

New Vegan Drive-thru
 

http://www.lfpress.com/2017/05/23/couple...u-is-slated-to-open-in-london-next-month

I'm not so sure a drive-thru is going to reach vegan consumers. The vegans I know are a lot more environmentally-minded than the rest of the population, and tend to shun car culture.

You're talking about true vegans. This spot will likely appeal to optical vegans (aka trend followers, the ones who drink Starbucks and then wince) and people who would like to eat a little healthier (that Vegan Big Mac is still all kinds of fatty but they have other options).

couldn't agree more
 

there are plenty already