Lunch Tuesday: Queen and Beaver

The Queen and Beaver Public House (35 Elm St.) is definitely a departure from the average Lunch Tuesday haunt.

Mains are more expensive, chairs are more comfortable and unlike the majority of the places we feature, it’s licensed.

I took my mother there when she was in town for a weekend. It’s just fancy enough that she’d feel special and Toronto-fied, like I do when I’m there, but it’s also priced so that I could at least offer to pick up the tab.

I had an Aviation (gin and cherry syrup, $9), she had a glass or two of white wine ($11), and we split the potted duck with wild cherries ($9). It comes with little cracker toasts and we were fighting for the last scrape of the pate.

After a quick discussion with our server – the staff is friendly, knowledgeable and never in the way – she had the mushroom pithivier ($16), a blend of several mushrooms in pastry crust.

I went with a bowl of mussels and chips ($12), listed as an appetizer but definitely large enough for lunch.  Everything was delicious and I have been back several times. Recent visits involved cask ale ($7); steak and onions ($19) twice, one of which was excellent and once which was less so; and the ploughman’s lunch ($15), a plate with apples, two kinds of pickled beets (golden and red), a hardboiled egg, ham knuckle terrine (pressed flat, no resemblance to a pig’s hoof), cheddar and host of other assorted treats.

The Queen and Beaver is barely a block from the Citytv/Omni building and it’s quickly become a favourite among staff.

“Excellent atmosphere and staff. Great selection of beer on tap and the best fish n’ chips I’ve ever tasted in the downtown core,” said Brian McKechnie, managing producer at CityNews.ca

“I love my fish and chips, and both times I’ve ordered it at Queen and Beaver it’s been outstanding,” agreed Suzanne Ellis, senior writer at CityLine.ca.

“Sometimes when you order fish and chips at a restaurant it’s all batter, no fish, but at the Queen and Beaver you get a tender, meaty piece of haddock in a golden, crisp beer batter. The chips measure up as well, and the house-made ketchup they serve alongside is a nice touch. Add a pint of ale and you have, in my mind, the perfect meal,” she continued.

“It’s not as laid back as the neighbourhood pubs we’re used to, but maybe that’s a good thing,” CityNews.ca writer Marcia Chen said.

“They try harder with the food, décor and cleanliness and still manage to be friendly and welcoming. I’ve been there two or three times and have enjoyed pretty much everything I’ve tried on the menu.”

Opening kinks were highlighted in a Globe and Mail article last year and a CityNews.ca reader has similar frustrations.

“First time there, I found broken shell in my oysters. Next three times, the food was fine. The beers are the main draw there,” RJ Moorhouse wrote.