Going out on the Town – The Butcher and Banker
on March 15, 2009 at 9:56 pmThe 20′s/30′s crew at Beamsville has made a habit of going out for dinner after service on Sunday nights. Usually some of us take it in turns to host everybody else but about one week of the month we go out to a local restaurant. This week we went to The Butcher and Banker on Ontario Street.The Butcher & Banker opened at the beginning of March. It’s the most recent in a long line of restaurants in a particular unit in the Ontario Street strip mall. We tried the second-last incarnation and weren’t at all impressed. It would be really nice if this one hung on, though. It was great.
It’s working very hard at being an Irish pub and succeeds, by and large. The decor is very cozy and the waitstaff are very friendly. Jas Mogford (one of the members at Beamsville) is a server there. He had gone off duty by the time we got there. We were served by a lady who we thought might be the owner or manager. She was doing double duty tonight as waiter and barkeep. We got the impression that they were a good deal busier than they expected to be tonight.
We got there at about 7:40 and came as a crew of 12 (in dribs and drabs, but 12 in the end). We were fortunate in that a couple of other groups were just about to leave so they moved a whack of tables together for us. The food is extremely similar to our other favourite pub, the Judge & Jester in Grimsby. This is not too surprising as we’ve heard they’re owned by the same people. (Edit: Thanks to Jodi for the update.) Amy and I split a chicken & peameal bacon sandwich with fries. It was $10.99 and the portion size was pretty reasonable. We also tried their sweet potato fries (a $1.50 upsell and probably worth it if you really like sweet potatoes) and I had some of Brandon’s poutine. The service was a bit slow (and kind of forgetful, Amy asked for more iced tea several times and was forgotten. On the plus side, they didn’t charge us for her iced tea!) but very, very funny. They brought back our favourite Judge & Jester dessert. The Jam Butty (called the “Banker’s Delight”).
A Jam Butty (deserving of capital letters) is essentially a raspberry jam sandwich that is battered, deep fried and served with ice cream and whipped cream. It is a heart-stoppingly delicious piece of dessert. It’s a bit like a funnel cake apparently. I have never had funnel cake but I have it on pretty good authority. If you get a chance to try one of these things, take it. We walked to and from the restaurant to counter-balance its effects. It probably took about 10 minutes off of our lives (best that we split it).
We’re likely to make the B&B a pretty regular stop. It’s quite reasonably priced and very good quality. It’s also quite a bit more convenient for most of our peer group to get to after service.
The Judge and Jester is not and never will be apart of this place. They are not the same owners!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for the update, Jodi. I have made an appropriate edit.
My only complaint about the B&B is that there was only one really “local” wine. That was from Peninsula Ridge. The others were from Niagara-on-the-Lake and one from Australia. They should be supporting the wineries that are within blocks of the pub.
I really like the ambiance of the B&B and also the fact that when I was there at least, it was a baby boomer crowd. The only thing I didn’t like was the presentation of the bangers and mash. They arrived in a dish (similar to what a sheppards pie would be in) with the sausages at the bottom and the onions and mash potato on top. I spent about 5 minutes lifting it all onto my plate and seperating it. It sure was good though but I think next time I’ll ask for the bangers and mash to be seperated.
Jan, I found it a little odd as well. The one good thing about the presentation of the B&M is that it keeps the sausage piping hot. Turns out that the fluffiness of mashed potatoes makes excellent insulation.
You’ll be pleased to know that the presentation of the bangers and mashed has changed! We took your advise and now plate it differently! enjoy!
Oddly enough, I was at B&B last night for ribs night and considered the bangers & mash. Perhaps next time I’ll see the new presentation.