FRANKIE’S BAR AND CAFE

Two weeks ago, The Fiance and I were near Ossington and Queen, taking a workshop to make our own wedding bands. The workshop ended at 8pm, but we had made reservations at a restaurant nearby for 9pm, just in case. I tried moving our reservation up earlier with no luck. Since we were both starving but still wanted to keep our reservation, we decided to pop into Frankie’s for a pre-dinner beer. We ended up being tempted by their burgers.

Atmosphere: Frankie’s is well known for being featured on the reality TV show, Restaurant Makeover. I’m not acquainted with their previous digs, but the current set up is like a diner. The majority of customers sat at the bar, in front of the TV and few booths/tables were occupied. Most of the diners also seemed like regulars stopping by for a few pints. While the restaurant’s name includes the “cafe”, Frankie’s felt closer to a bar.

Service: Walking into the restaurant, we were welcomed by one of two bartenders and told to grab a seat anywhere. We chose to sit at the bar along with everyone else. Service was friendly and almost too efficient. Our plate was cleared as I was chewing my last bite. There were no settings on the bar and cutlery was brought over along with our burger, adding to the more bar than cafe feel.

Food: Since we still had dinner to come, the Fiance and I shared one of Frankie’s speciality burgers, which was still a lot of food. We chose the burger that was their play on a Big Mac. The burger was double stacked and topped with cheese, lettuce, pickle and a special sauce. I thought the burger was good, the buns were soft and fresh and the sauce was reminiscent of Big Mac sauce. Where Frankie’s fell short was the patty. The beef was packed tight and the meat was lean. Each bite was kind of chewy and I prefer my patties less dense.

We loved the hand cut fries. These were cooked perfectly, crispy outside with lots of potato skin. Overall Frankie’s served up a decent burger, but there’s a lot of burger competition in Toronto these days and the bar has been raised.