Pennies

This place gets better & better every time I return. So many things to love about this bar. The drinks are the most affordable you are going to find in this part of downtown, and they are actually really good drinks too! The poached pear punch was a delight. Sliders & tater tots - simple & great bar foods that are overlooked by most places. The variety of the sliders is fantastic and they are as affordable as the drinks. They kindly offer free self-serve popcorn as well. The service was great also. There is a spacious patio for the warmer months. The inside has a fun atmosphere, decorated in a unique way that doesn't feel like every other bar trying to be trendy.
Penny's is a bar that actually has personality - something lacking in bars throughout Toronto.

I really liked the vibe in here - super chill and relaxed. The food was amazing and drinks were strong and good! I will definitely be back. A hidden gem and cool place to bring friends.

Absolutely loved it! Food and drinks were delicious. The staff is super friendly and the atmosphere is great. Service was a little slow the restaurant was crowded but we've been warned in advance by the waitress and they have free pop-corn while you wait. Their outdoor patio is definitely a plus. Prices seem fair for the quality of the food. Oh and also, you can play darts!

Really inexpensive spot to eat, amazing sliders but service is very slow in the summer. On average you’ll wait about 40-60 minutes for food from when you sit down.

Few items were good like El Paso melt. Fried stuff was ok like Nashville chicken. There's free popcorn. Prices are quite good.

One of the best cheese burgers I’ve had lately! My Rosé Spritz was great too. I’m used to great-attentive service and I didn’t find it here. The guy who got me the menu and tap water (he had an Australian-British accent) got me the impression he didn’t like his job and maybe he was just having a bad day.

Atmosphere was great! What a lovely patio!

We went to Pennies for a friends birthday over the weekend and were pleasantly surprised. We are very used to how over priced going into Toronto can be and Pennie’s surprised us with fair pricing, good food, good beer and cocktail selection as well as free popcorn. The atmosphere is very vintage movie theatre feels and we had a fantastic server who helped with suggestions and was very kind. We would definitely return next time we are seeing friends in Toronto.

The atmosphere was great, this is a great place to come with friends for a few drinks and some great mini burgers. They have loads of mini burgers to choose from. Only downfall is that the service was super slow.

A decent patio experience, but a little overrated for how much people rave about it.

I’ll start by saying this, Pennies a great spot to come and spend with friends, grab some drinks, and eat some finger food. But, I do believe that people who call this the best patio in Toronto are stretching it.

Pennies has become a very popular patio option to the point there is almost always a line to be seated. We had waited approximately 30 minutes for a seat for two, but with how the patio is layer out, you’ll have to share a table with other people or sit on high chair facing the street. I’m not too big a fan of the patio itself as the surrounding area isn’t anything special. The ambience does get nice when the sunsets and the lights come on, but I think during sunset is when the vibe feels best.

The service her is decent, host/hostesses are friendly but sometimes struggle to take care of the line up. The servers are decently quick, but there was two instances of our order being brought incorrectly or needed us to re-ask the same request again.

As for the food, I think the best part is the tater tots. Especially the supreme tots, if I came here and wasn’t in the mood for sliders, I would definitely order the tots by themselves with a drink, as for the sliders, I feel this is where people exaggerate how good they are. After having one or two, they all start to taste underwhelming/ tasting the same as others. The bacon cheeseburger slider was very boring and did not taste too good. I think the chicken options were the best we had.

Overall I cannot deny Pennies is a great experience, but I personally wouldn’t do a date here again but instead come with 4+ friends because due to everybody else talking, it’s hard to have 1-on-1 conversations.

Friendly staff, great food, fair prices and solid practices to keep people safe during COVID-19

And free popcorn!

A simple sliders menu with a plethora of intriguing options that vegetarians can fully enjoy, too! The service is a bit dry, which may strike some patrons the wrong way. Also, I see the intention with the wrappers, but it's a bit wasteful. Through and through, it's a barebones bar that puts an entirely fresh spin on the basics with prices that won't reduce your wallet down to Pennies. Definitely worth a return for Happy Hour!

Had a great time. Food was quick to the table and so tasty. Apparently I'm getting too old because the music was a little loud to be able to catch up with friends. But seriously a great spot!

Good pricing and tasty food, interesting menu items too, but oh man, they pack this place too tightly and the service takes way way too long

Excellent service and cute bar. Usually packed so be early. Thank you for your kindness and attention.

I have to admit that I had doubts about the portions, but the sliders were not only tasty, but also filling. Great overall experience.

Perfect place for drinks and tots. We tried the Cali Valley tots and Pickleback shots, loved it. The vibe is great and a must visit pocket friendly bar.

The staff and atmosphere is the best. Amy is simply the best - she goes above and beyond (some of the best service I've ever received). Recommend this place to anyone.

Super fun sliders! Took the family for takeout sliders. Lots to choose from, all tasted great. Honey chicken was a star! We walked in to order and had a 15 min wait for food. Staff was friendly and very nice

Love the vibe, food and the drinks. The prices are really good too and would definitely go back with more friends.

Love this cute little place. Cheese burgers and tater tots are very delicious, so was the corn dog. Will go again.

In my birthday, staff made us wait for a hour in the rain, and they were "sorry but there were nothing they could do. "

If a place doesn't accept reservations, the minimum expected is that they manage efficiently customers and seats, not having a 4 seats tables empty, and the bigger tables with 2 people. Also, if a group of 8 people is outside, won't you do your best to get they in and consume and have fun? Not at Pennies.

Terrible disorganization, terrible staff training, terrible customer experience.

Their sliders are fantastic! The Korean Fried Chicken one is my absolute favourite I always do the combo box and half is those LOL

Always enjoy my time here. Simple and affordable food, love the Arnold Palmer cocktail, and the service is always quick! Also I love how I don't have to yell over the music to have a conversation with my friends

Fantastic prices and sick music, the sliders are so good. Sometimes the line is long but thats because everyone knows it's a great place.

We had an incredible time at Pennies! They have such affordable food and drinks that are absolutely so cute & delicious! We got the combo 666 and ordered the veggie El Paso melt, the creamy garlic fried chicken-ish, mac n’ cheese slider, baja fish tacos, and Buffalo tots! We highly recommend checking this spot out - such good vibes!

Good priced drinks and selection but the sliders were lacking in creativity. The toppings were minimal compared to what I expected. The tots carry the whole meal. Expected a better vegetarian patty.

First time at this spot because usually there’s a line and now I see why! El Paso slider was recommended to me this afternoon and it did not disappoint. That BBQ sauce was killer and everything came out fast. Brook served us and was very funny and charming and definitely made us feel at home and gave us the basil gin drink recommendation too which was awesome. The host was also very nice. For sure coming back to try more sliders and cocktails next time. Great experience and not too pricey.

5 Stars for a nice patio and atmosphere, and good simple drinks. 3 Because the sliders are pretty underwhelming for the price. Seems like they used pre made chicken fingers rather than breading them in house and all of the sliders I had were overly light on the flavors + sauces.

Good hang out spot for students.
I'm sorry but I wasn't very delighted with the food size and price ratio. Pretty small even for sliders. Tried all the sliders.

Pennies Bar has a nice patio but more importantly, it has cheap good drinks and food (by downtown Toronto standards, it's relatively good price).

As we went to the patio, there were plenty of table options where people are maintaining physical distancing. There were big tables against the walls, there were high stool section perfect for 1 or 2 people to sit on.

As I glanced on the drinks and food menu, Carla is right! The drinks and food are relatively cheap here. You can get a nice mixed cocktails starting at $6 and if you want double shot of the spirit, it's like $10-$12. If you ordered mixed drinks in the downtown core, you are looking at a minimum of $12-$15 a single shot drink.

As for food, Pennies Bar specializes in snacks size slider bites. There are so many variety, from beef sliders to fried chicken sliders to even fish sliders. There are so many choices. They even have combos that allow you to mix n match. And did I mention the staff here are all hardworking, courteous and friendly? They never upsell or being pushy. They let you take your time and enjoy your food and drinks.

MoVernie TIP: If you are somewhat hungry, I recommend you to order the Combo No. 5 that allows you to mix n match 3 sliders and it includes a good chunks of its crispy tater tots. The tater tots are super tasty and addictive at the same time. All for $17.99 CDN + tax. I think it's a great deal. If you don't feel like eating that many sliders (although they are more like bite size), you can get a buddy or two to share the combo.

Highly recommend this place if you are looking for a casual cheap drinks and eats visit. I would definitely come back!

I was referred to here by my favourite server ever, and he said to order the Tots. He works down the street at Lavelle, the nice rooftop and his name is Issak if you go there. Make sure he is your server. He is an amazing person.

Great atmosphere out in the patio. The Southern fried chicken sliders were delicious - have at least 3. The Texas Tea was dangerously tasty.

Love their sliders, especially the smash burgers. Also found out you can have most of the menu with lettuce cups, that way I can put more sliders in me. Their patio is pretty nice. I’m a regular now during the summer and even rainy days.

I can’t give a zero. So a 1 is the next best thing I can give this place.

Koodo’s to the owner for setting up a classic looking 90’s bar. Great vibe. Amazing atmosphere.

However, the service provided by the staff is not at par. I had reserved a party for 20 individuals and they weren’t able to provide professional and quick service for one of those twenty individuals.

The service provided by the wait staff was not nice at all. I asked if they can cut a garnish in half, before placing it in the drink. The reply I got was that this isn’t a five star restaurant. We don’t provide five star service.

This was also backed by the manager, as she was the one heckling them in the back not to even follow through with the service.

I really want the owner to address this situation. The owner wasn’t present today, but I hope they read this and at least address some of these issues.

Thank you.

I hope it’s not too much of hassle to inquire what happened on June 15,2019.with the party for Theresa and KJ.

TLDR: Subpar food (dry burgers basically McCains tots). Not the most qualified staff. Rude manager. Will not be going back.

Attended Pennies around 7: 30 pm Sunday. Couple sharing our table ordered and we ordered roughly 10 min after them. Their food came within 15 min. We were content with our drinks thinking maybe our order was more complicated but when it started to go on almost an hour we asked our server. She claimed a 20 person table was sat before us and that’s why it was taking so long. This was a blatant lie as we could see the entire patio and inside was completely empty. As well people who were sat after us were being served food. Having worked as a server I would have appreciated just owning up to the mistake as we were clearly forgotten about. And she was seen by my friend frantically putting the order in after we spoke with her.

Originally we asked not to bother to speak to the manager because we were late for a concert. But as we walked out the bar wasn’t busy so we walked up to tell the manager what had happened.

She was extremely rude and stated, “Oh the server said you didn’t want to see a manager. ” We explained we had changed our minds as the service was less than adequate. She said “Well you got your food didn’t you and you enjoyed it? ” We explained we did get the food after waiting about 3x as long and that it wasn’t amazing. We had paid our bills before the food came out as we ended up pressed for time so could not get a discount on our bills. She said she would have to talk to our server before being able to do anything for us. She left and when she came back had 2 shots poured basically slammed them in front of us not saying anything. We were a group of 3 and I said that and she said, “That’s the best I can do. ”

Food portions are extremely small especially the fish taco and small portions even for sliders. Burger meat was dry and not flavoured well. Tater tots are basically the Mccain's ones you can make at home.

Oh and attached is a pic of 1 of the toilets in the women’s washroom lol

Top 3 favourite bars in the city! The slider selection is top notch and they always have different craft beers available. Service is super quick and they have plenty of space, inside and out, for groups to drop in. The family style tables are also a great aspect of Pennies as it only adds to the atmosphere and friendly environment.

Delicious amazing superb fantastical sliders. Great for sharing, great mini sliders. Great drink menu to boot

Pennies is fantastic! A great place to get some snacks after a day at Trinity-Bellwoods. I love their cheap (price, not quality) sliders and dogs.

Wonderful sliders. A whole veggie section for their sliders made me really happy.

Otherwise a pretty busy and cute hangout

My go-to for everything sliders and hot dogs! Love it here in the summer time as they have a nice patio.

I’m only here because I noticed the birch trees were cut down in front of this place! Why!? So sad they are gone; they used to look so nice there.

Update: thanks very much for letting me/everyone know the reason for the trees being removed! I would have deleted my review (without a request) based on your response being the city’s decision. I don’t appreciate an assumption on my preferred pronouns/being called ‘dude’ so I didnt add the full amount of stars. Thanks again.

Best Patio on the west end. It has a great neighborhood feel tucked nicely away off the main street, with big tables and communal seating. When the suns shining there are a lot of people here, so service can be a little on the slow side, so not a great idea if you're in a hurry.

A great little bar in the side of a residential complex. It's got a quaint and quiet feel to it but it's full of character. They've got a great selection of whiskys and vodkas, and a variety of beers both craft and big brewery. I wasn't a le to try a lot of their food, but their late night sliders, both burger and chicken, were amazing. As if that wasn't enough, they have freshly made popcorn free for the taking! It looks to be popped in an old cinema style popper. Almost forgot, the tatertots were freaking amazing. They were regularly seasoned, according to the menu, but man were they some of the perfectly cooked tatertots that I've ever tried.

Anyway, this was a great little bar. The bartender we had was great despite some of the other patrons not being too kind due to the wait times for food. She took it in good stride. They had almost shut down the kitchen, and started it back up for the few of us that were there. Not many places would have done that. Thanks Pennies!

Hello, is there an email I can contact yourself to describe the experience? I can give you more details.

The food is solid, the beer selection is great and rotates pretty regularly. Cheap food, great quality, killer music. Can't recommend enough.

Throwing in the towel on this place. All over the place with consistency to the point you don't know if they will even be open when you show up.

I’m usually not the type to complain, but the service here was just awful. The servers ordered our food for us practically, not allowing me to mention that I have an allergy to mustard. When I corrected it they were rude and unhelpful, and the new order took over 20 minutes to arrive. Overall a terrible experience

Great service, cheap beer prices, amazing sliders, best tater tots, and the most underrated patio in the city with the longest sun exposure! You’re probably wondering why I’m reviewing the patio in March with all of this snow, but it’s that good!

Such a great little spot! All 4 of the sliders I tasted were fantastic (dat Philly cheese tho) so can't wait to come back and try more flavours! Hit this place up for sure. Not to be missed.

This place is the absolute worst. Terrible location, incredibly noisey way past the sound curfew, awful patrons with no respect for the neighbourhood.

Pennies is a Toronto treasure. Mostly because of the increíble service. The lead server Megan was an absolute delight. Efficient but not invasive and incredibly charming and extremely helpful in choosing cocktails and beers. 5/5 would recommend visiting this slightly hidden paradise.

It gets crowded really quickly. I've gone twice before with no luck getting a table with my friends. On our third time back, we got a table. Food items are bite-size so if you're looking for a meal, probably better at another place. Pretty good, but the price is a bit high for small hamburgers. Drinks were at a good price! Overall, pretty chill place.

Fun place for locals. Usually here with friends who want to watch a game and drink for very reasonable prices. Food is decent, too.

Love this place - great beer list & burgers (and veggie corn dogs). SUPER HAPPY about the new, extensive veggie options! They are delicious & such a great idea:)

Very nice place to have a few drinks with you friend, nice quite area for chit chat. Excellent service with great attitude.

5 star food and drinks, 1 star service. I live nearby and been here many times with friends since everything is cheap and delicious. However, every server I’ve ever had (except one) was incredibly rude. Suggested tip on the debit machine is 20%, way too much. After getting a couple drinks at the bar and tipping less than that (but still tipping every drink) the next drink the server automatically added 20% tip without my knowledge. Fantastic spot and patio, but management needs to train more respectful staff.