Kegging The Question

I don't often go to chain restaurants but I had a gift card for The Keg Steakhouse and Bar. Saturday evening, I headed off to the St. Lawrence Market area after some Jazz music at The Distillery. Wow, this popular neighbourhood is quite empty at night. After being led astray a few times by the inferior Bing Maps, I finally found the restaurant at 26 Esplanade.

It exuded a different vibe than the restaurants I usually frequent. These tend to be chaotic with either trendy or cheerfully mismatched furniture. Both the Keg's patio where I sat and the main restaurant strove for the "classy but welcoming" feel with attentive waitstaff in uniform, big padded booths, dim lighting, and dark wooden paneling. I ordered the Garlic Cheese Toast ($5.95) and an 8 oz grilled sirloin ($22.95) with roasted veggies. The toast was unevenly sliced so that one side was extra thick, which actually made it soft and tasty, but the thinner side was too crunchy. Being a steak-house, they offered up to "blue rare". My medium rare was soft enough and reasonably flavourful, but it seemed insufficiently pink given the selection.

It was an OK meal, though a bit over-salted. On the quality side, The Keg would not be listed in any top 50 restaurant in Toronto list. And with prices pushing $30 and beyond for mains and $10 or more for appetizers, it doesn't offer a cheaper option for dining out, like the Eastside Mario and Olive Garden of my youth. So I'm not sure why you would eat here, because people obviously do.