Bier Markt - Shops at Don Mills

Bier Markt - Don Mills

7 O'Neil Rd.

Toronto, ON M3C 0H2

Canada

Bier Markt Shops at Don Mills

Boxing day is meant for battling the crowds and lineups at malls and stores for great buys and doorcrasher deals. Fortunately, I don't care about that stuff. Why bother with the headaches, when you can meet up with your buds and budette for an early afternoon drinking session that will surely last into the night. We met at the new Bier Markt that just opened up a couple weeks ago at the Shops at Don Mills. No doubt, my co-foodie suggested this place (instead of Joeys.. ehem!).

The Review:

We were seated beside the window on the opposite side of the bar. The four of us quickly ordered doubles (vodka, whiskey, rum and scotch) to wet the appetite. I'm a big fan of places that pour drinks using some sort of measuring tool instead of eyeballing it. Sadly, my double scotch (asked for soda on the side) .... wasn't a double. Bartender totally eyeballed it and it was an epic failure. Now, onto the food! I had just come from lunch so I wasn't totally hungry - decided to pick at my friend's food and order a liquid lunch for myself.

Bier Market Euro trip beers

Tada! This was my second lunch, 6 mini pints of beer. From Germany all the way to the Czech Republic, each of these beers had a distinct flavor. The Czech beer was my least favourite - kind of tasted like errr... dry leaf with a hint of armpit.. or something to that effect. Why backpack to Europe when I can cheap out and go with the Euro Trip ($19) sampler. My co-foodie had the Monday special - Flanders Chicken Pie ($16). Free range chicken with veggies and Stella Artois cream in a puff pastry, with fries and and greens. I picked at her plate - the fries were fresh cut, thin - well done and semi soggy with just enough salt. Good stuff. The chicken pie was creamy and rich with large chunks of chicken. The puff pastry was crisp, light and buttery. Perfect texture combo with the huge fork full I was fortunate to have after she nearly demolished the pie like a soldier with C4.

Stella Artois Chicken Pie

My other friends shared a 1 kilo order of 'Espana' mussels ($21). Chorizo sausage, leeks and roasted red peppers in a sherry sauce. Not being a fan of mussels, I still tried them out on the insistence of my linebacker friend who threatened to pick me up and toss me across the room if I didn't eat some. I combined the mussel with the chorizo sausage and pepper with a dash of Tabasco into a single bite. The spicy/saltiness of the sausage and tang of the Tabasco along with sweetness of the sherry sauce was enough to completely mask the ocean taste of the mussel. Surprisingly, I liked it!

Mussels

The Verdict:

I've been to the other two Bier Market locations several (dozens?) of times before, but have only gone for drinks. Was glad I got to try the food this time. Their pub food is one step up from regular run of the mill English style pubs and I can't wait to try more of their menu. Not too impressed with the stiffness of their mixed drinks, but their huge selection of cold beer totally makes up for it. I'm really liking the Don Mills location since it's literally right beside one of my favourite watering holes - Joey's. Overall, I'll give this spot a 7 out of 10. Definitely going back soon on a Joey's night. 

Update:

I've been back to this location several times since my write-up. Vot is going on after verk? Beer. I also got to try the 'Turbo Boot' ($7). It's a glass boot filled with Rolling Rock beer and Smirnoff Ice. Now if only I could find one of these boots for my drinking glass collection...




Das Boot!

Update:

August 16 / 2012. Back again on a Thursday night. No band tonight - but the place is at capacity. My friends and I eagerly wait at the bar for a table while sipping on some drinks. Why the heck didn't I learn my lesson the first time around when it comes to high ball drinks here. My scotch and soda was at best a half an ounce - and the ice diluted it to the point of tasting purer than water that has run down excavated rock in Banff Alberta forest. I'm here for the food tonight, so we order some stomach expanding munchies.

My friend of mine had mentioned a couple days ago she went for lunch at the Beir Market and had the smoked poutine. She was very blunt when she said "NEVER TRY IT!". Being an ex-french fry and cheese curd junkie, I had to try this for myself. The smoked meat poutine ($9) gravy had a deep flavour and just a hint of salt which was perfect because the smoked meat and smoother than normal cheese curds added the saltiness factor to the poutine. It had pickles on top which I didn't quite understand, but overall it was pretty good.




Smoked Meat Poutine

Legs and I being on a diet of the stars, split the wurst board sausage trio ($20). It hit the spot like a drunkard downing his first beer of the day. All three wurst sausages had distinct flavors - two of them were on the mild side and the third (the darker one) had a bolder flavor. The three sauces added a nice touch. This board came with pickles, a thick slice of cheese that tasted like a smoke Gouda and two large soft pretzels. I'd order this again - the perfect size for snacking while slowly getting inebriated.





Wurst Board Sausage