Finding ourselves in Bloor West and really craving a quality homemade burger, we decided to try out the Yellow Griffin Pub (Bloor and Runnymede) and wow, were we ever disappointed. Maybe our perception of a phenomenal restaurant involves too many ideals for it to be truly possible, but this place really didn’t even make the mediocre list. Let’s start with the decor; which, of course, reflected the classic pub style with dark wood table tops, benched booths and dim lighting. The waitress greeting us was very friendly but was completely over her head with the six or seven tables she was responsible for. I believe it took us almost as long to get our bill as it did to get our food. Found it very funny that they could afford to turn people down due to the lack of tables, while we sat waiting at an empty one ready to pay and leave.
In order to keep this review very short (the place doesn’t deserve any more attention) I’ll move onto their menu. 35 interesting burger toppings including caramelized onions, grilled veggies, about 10 different BBQ sauce varieties, lots of cheeses, etc…. they even had peanut butter or apple options. And to make it an even greater variety you can choose the type of patty you want in between your buns (beef, pork, lamb, veggie, bison, turkey and salmon). Great! I think reading their funny names on the menu was way better than eating their overcooked (government regulations) and bland excuses for burgers that we were presented. Next time I’m looking to eat a very crappy burger, I’ll definitely choose the fast food restaurant with the two glowing golden arches just down the street cause I can always depend on their fast service.
Quite interesting thought. Governmental regulations oblige the Patty to be cooked at a temperature higher then 72 degrees celsius since in your patty, you can find: eggs, fats from various 4 legged animals, bread crumbs, seasoning… among other things.
In Europe, the steack / patty is 100 % pure beef frozen or raw (raw can be kept for 24h max) and with thousands of condiments, just like in shawarmas, you can have a decent juicy hamburger. If that is what you are looking for, might as well do it yourself at home.