Beer Bistro - Winterlicious Lunch

Been hearing some good things about Beer Bistro (18 King Street East, www.beerbistro.com) for awhile, so I decided to take Dad there for Winterlicious lunch, since they seemed to have a pretty good selection for $15 three course meal. These items are representative of their regular menu.

Service was excellent. We arrived after having walked through a snow storm looking like snowmen, and the hostess welcomed us with a smile and offered to hang up our coats and led us to a nice window seat. Being a beer bistro, they suggest a different beer for every item on their menu, but since I still had class after I didn't want to risk the alcohol.

We both started with the House Applewood Smoked Salmon, White Beer Cream Cheese, Porter Pancake for appetizer. The smoked salmon was very salty, so I paired it up with the greens to balance the flavours out. The beer taste in the cream cheese wasn't strong but paired well with the onion. The porter pancake was a little salty and mushy and I finished it only because I was starving.

The entres were much better. I could actually taste the beer in my Brown Ale Butter Chicken with tomatoes, eggplants, fried onions and basmati rice. The butter chicken wasn't too creamy, and the beer taste gave it an extra edge that made the dish unique. I'm a huge basmati rice fan so I was very happy with this flavourful dish. My dad ordered their signature Belgium Beer Burger with imported Guiness cheddar and buttermilk bun. We both agreed the patty was very salty but the bun and veggies balanced it out. The bun was toasted and crunchy on the outside and super soft on the inside, I could just eat it alone. The whole burger was juicy and mixed with a great variety of flavours enhanced by the underlying Guinness taste. The crunchy, refreshing coleslaw was the perfect supplement.

For dessert, I had Belgian Dark Mousse with strawberry fruli beer and Green Apple Butter Cookie Crumble since my Dad doesn't eat sweets. I loved the Dark Mousse initially, but after a couple more spoonful the mooshy texture became too much. I wish there was a different texture or flavour in there to switch things up a bit, otherwise it's a little too much chocolate goodness in one shot. The crumble lived up to its name, very buttery and scrumptious, with large pieces of sweet and sour apples to balance it out so it didn't get too overwhelmingly buttery.

Winterlicious/Summerlicious is a good time to try out this place, and you can always return afterwards to try out the regular menu items.