Just Opened: My Place: A Canadian Pub

By Mary Luz Mejia | October 2, 2009

By Mary Luz Mejia | 10/02/2009

His place: Brad Long at the bar of his spanking new Canadian pub (Photo by Mary Luz Mejia )

Well before it served its first burger, Brad Long’s new restaurant was getting chatter. At 18,000 square feet, capacity for over 700, a big-name chef, four floors, a huge patio and a Bloor West Village location, the project was an odd confluence of factors, and Toronto foodies were hotly debating it. But Long, his right-hand man Dave Billington and co-owner Randy Metcalfe seemed deaf to it all, slowly converting the former Billy Bob’s Bistro and Saloon into My Place: A Canadian Pub. The restaurant has been opening in stages since September 2, with its final phase—a sports bar—unveiled last night.

“It was never meant to be a gastropub,” explains Long as he describes the restaurant’s transformation. Gone is the funhouse feel of Billy Bob’s, replaced by a soothing palette in the dining room and a more vibrant red-and-black scheme in the main floor pub. The decor is “logistics based,” he says, noting that he preferred to invest in a brand new kitchen than in design—in other words, he wants to attract diners for the food, not the beauty.

Using sustainable, local sources isn’t a fad for Long—“It’s always just made sense.” The Tilsonburger ($14) is the most popular item on the menu and is made with Y U Ranch wild longhorn beef, from southern Ontario. “These are cattle that bred in the wild for centuries after they escaped from cattle trains and ships. They’re a hardy breed that can withstand our winters and even calf by themselves,” explains Long. Vying for popularity is the half-pound banquet burger ($14) with bacon and cheese made using the same beef. Nods to the neighbourhood—Bloor West Village has long been home to Polish and Ukrainian immigrants—include caramelized onion pierogies and roasted pork cabbage rolls.

My Place is already gathering steam in an area hungry for more culinary destinations. A recent Saturday night netted a full house, starting with stroller-laden families in the early evening and couples later on. Though many are squabbling about My Place, locals appear to be responding to Long’s process of sourcing food that was produced ethically “and then making sure it’s damn tasty, makes you feel good and look good.”

My Place: A Canadian Pub, 2448 Bloor St. W., 647-348-4702, myplacepub.ca.

9 thoughts on “Just Opened: My Place: A Canadian Pub”

Not a place to visit with picky eaters – and I am not a picky eater.
Was I live close by and was seriously disappointed with the menu. Very little variety. I eat out in the area at least three times a week and was really looking forward to its opening. Looks like I’ll be over at Dr. Generosities twice a week as normal. It may be smaller but there is no end to the selection plus the food never fails to please.

Go and check out “My Place-A Canadian Pub” if you don’t believe me. Wonder how long the old Billy Bobs will serve without serving nacho’s and wings. The place is just too big to fill if they can’t please the bar crowd.

“Very little variety” at My Place? Seriously?!? Unless they’ve changed the menu radically since I was there a couple of weeks ago, that’s a ridiculous statement.

The menu on the website (http://www.myplacepub.ca/) matches the one when I was there, and it includes:

– 4 salads
– 4 soups
– 2 lamb dishes
– 3 chicken dishes
– 3 pork dishes
– 7 beef dishes
– 3 game dishes
– 3 fresh water seafood dishes
– 2 ocean seafood dishes
– 3 vegetarian dishes
– 6 desserts

+ a selection of 15 “Sandwiches, Singles, Sides & Stuff”, some of which overlap with the items above.

Based on that, it’s pretty fair to say that My Place has a more than ample range of dishes to choose from. Unless you’re comparing to one of those awful “something for everyone” chain restaurants with the 12 page menus and 100 dishes, of course – and if that’s what you prefer, then you’re beyond help.

Oh – and I think it’s pretty obvious that Long and partners are trying to elevate the quality of their pub above the usual “nacho’s [sic] and wings” garbage that too many pubs in this city serve. I give them kudos for having the courage to do so, and I think (or HOPE, at least) that there are enough people in this city to support such a venture.

Hell no. Any Canadian Pub, should…no…must have wings. While I stood and represented before, I take it back. All pubs must serve wings as a minimum staple.

Sorry Brad, screw you and your pub…though not a Canadian Pub.

Last week a group of us stopped by My Place for a casual dinner and some drinks. And I would have to say, My Place has elevated the food standard in Bloor West Village.
Everyone enjoyed their meal and no one had trouble finding something appealing to them. The casual fare (burgers, chicken drumsticks, sandwiches) is reasonably priced ($9-$14 sides included). No one tried the higher end items, but they certainly looked appealing.
I will agree they will have trouble filling the entire place, but I don’t think they need to. The patio will be the “go-to patio” in the area next summer and it clearly has the best sports bar set up (although being in the basement is tough). The hardest space to fill will be on the second floor, but I think it will be used for special events which means they only need staff when they can afford it.
Oh, and the pints of beer were only $5…so that makes it a great Canadian Pub in my eyes!

Always wanting to support restaurants in my “hood”, plus being a fan of Restaurant Makeover, I looked forward to enjoying a meal at “My Local”.
Sorry to say, but I was disappointed.
I had the Bison Ribs with baked beans. The ribs were delicious, however, the baked beans were crunchy, not thoroughly cooked. When I brought it to the attention of the waitress, she replied “our chef likes to cook the beans al dente”. No where have I ever, had baked beans served this way.