Fried Chicken
Brined hard, fried harder. The dish the whole room is eating.
Gastropub · The Junction
Indie Alehouse
The brewery that made the Junction a destination, with a kitchen that keeps up
GastropubThe Junction, Toronto$$Details being confirmed
The review
Indie Alehouse opened when the Junction was still explaining to people where the Junction was, and it did more than any single room to fix that. The beer is brewed on site, the board turns over faster than most people can keep up with, and none of it is the reason to keep coming back.
The kitchen is. Fried chicken here is brined properly and fried to the point most places lose their nerve at, and the smoked brisket is cooked overnight and sold until it is gone — which happens earlier than you want it to. Beer-cheese and a pretzel is the correct thing to put in front of a table while you argue about what to drink.
Honest notes: it gets loud, and it gets loud early. The draught list moving quickly is a virtue until the thing you came back for has been replaced. Go before seven if you want to hear each other.
What to order
Smoked Brisket
Cooked overnight, sold until it runs out. It runs out.
Beer-Cheese & Pretzel
Exactly what it sounds like, and correct with anything on the board.
What works
- Beer is brewed on site and the board turns over constantly
- Kitchen is a real kitchen, not an afterthought
- One of the better rooms on Dundas West for a group
What doesn’t
- Loud once it fills, which is early on a weekend
- Brisket sells out well before close
- Draught list moves so fast a favourite may be gone next visit
Verdict
Fried chicken, whatever is freshest on the board, and go early enough to get brisket.