Foodaholic!

There is definitely an abundance of pubs to choose from if you're in the downtown core. I am a huge fan of chicken wings so I found the wings deal at Bishop and the Belcher to be very appealing, hence why I chose this specific pub to meet up with a friend. The only night where the wings deal is available though is every Wednesday.

Bishop and the Belcher is a traditional British pub which you can tell from its dark, cozy and comfortable atmosphere when entering the establishment. My friend and I arrived at around 5:30 pm, and seated by one of the hostesses. The menu isn't too exciting and just features regular pub fare, and alcohol. Unfortunately, I don't drink alcohol, so I cannot comment on the selection of the beer at Bishop and the Belcher.

The both of us decided to settle on the special of the evening which was $11.95 for 3 lbs of wings (you get two choices of flavors for each order). Just note that in order to get this deal; you must purchase a beverage, which is the norm these days for cheap wings.

They also have accompanied sides available for $2.50, and you can only order one of them. The choices are Irish nacho fries, half/half, poutine or jacket potato skins. My friend chose the jacket potato skins and I ordered a side order of french fries ($5.00).

The two flavors that we chose for the wings were Chipotle and sticky sesame garlic. Honestly, the plate of wings didn't look like 3 lbs of wings at all, and a few pieces were overcooked. However, the wings were pretty decent and the price for the amount of wings was really good. I didn't like the fries at all; they were overly salty and not crispy at all.

As for the service, I found it fairly inadequate. I know that the place was relatively busy but some of the waitresses were just talking amongst one another near the bar area. After we were seated, no one came by to take our order until 15 minutes later. Additionally, it took the food forever to arrive at our table. The table next to us (who arrived later) got their food before us. Perhaps, it was because they ordered a pitcher of beer along with wings which may have been the deciding factor as to why they were served first (who knows). Additionally, we were completely ignored by the waitresses who walked by our table despite us asking for water/bill several times.

RATINGS:

Quality of Food: 3/5

Service: 2.5/5

Overall Dining Experience: 3/5

Price: $$

Address: 175 Bloor St E, Toronto, ON M4W 3T5

Don Don Izakaya is located in the downtown core, and is steps away from St. Patrick subway station. The establishment is located upstairs, and whenever anyone arrives, they would be greeted with a loud drum roll. The atmosphere was relatively loud with chatter and overall just a lively one.

Additionally, the seating arrangements are typical like other tapas/izakaya establishments; bar-side or communal tables. My friends and I only ordered four dishes, as they were there to basically drink (and we were also going to KBBQ after so we were saving room in our stomachs for that).

We started out with the seafood udon ($7.60) which I really enjoyed. The texture of the udon was very chewy and the sauce wasn't bland at all. Additionally, there was a decent amount of seafood in the dish so that was good

I wasn't too keen on trying the black croquette ($7.00) out at first as it didn't look that appetizing. However, I did try a piece of it and thought that it was a very interesting dish. The outer layer was crispy and inside contained a soft mixture of potato and cod.

The smokey hay salmon ($11.90) was fresh sashmi that is seared with hay fire to provide a smoky flavor. It tasted okay with the a slice of garlic, and salt, but was definitely not worth the price.

Lastly, we got the tako wasabi ($3.50) which was basically raw octopus and wasabi. The portion was a lot smaller than we anticipated and it was nothing special.

One of the great things about Don Don Izakaya would be their extensive drink selection (alcoholic beverages/various sake choices). We ordered a lot more alcohol than food, that's for sure.

We only ordered four dishes so I can't really make a sound judgement on the quality of the food. I did like 2/4 of the dishes that we ordered, and thought that the service was friendly and quick. I'd probably come back here another time to try more dishes out.