The Oxley, Toronto

The Oxley is a pub located in the heart of the Yorkville area of the city. This is a clean, well lit, comfortable "pub". At the back is a lovely family style "French provincial" dining room table that comfortably seats 8 people.....perfect for a group of friends or a family style dinner with the kids. Jamieson Kerr, a partner in the very popular Queen and Beaver on Elm Street, known for good food, is also one of the owners and managers of The Oxley. A good start.

The very good jowl and bury black pudding with Indian pickle, is a rich hearty starter, nicely paired with pickled cauliflower and beans dressed with a curry/vinegar based sauce.

Dry aged beef burger and fries. Good, tasty fries, but they could be crispier. Good tasting burger, good texture, cooked correctly. I would have liked "yellow" mustard available rather than just being offered "hot" keens or Dijon (which I never like with a burger). Over all, a good burger experience. The garnishes were tomato, sliced pickled onion, a whole, pickled cippolini onion and gerkins.

Home made venison sausage with mashed potatoes. The sausage had a very nice texture, the venison made with a coarse grind and a lovely savoury flavour, accompanied by a very good onion gravy sauce. This was my favourite dish of the day and would definitely pull me back to this pub.

Sunday roast, a sirloin roast of beef with Yorkshire pudding, pan roasted potatoes, grean beans, carrot, beets, turnip and green beans. The yorkshire pudding had a perfect texture. It was crispy, but sadly lacking in flavour. The very good beef arrived perfectly cooked, tender and juicy. I gave it a “beef boys” ranking of 8\8\7 (out of 10 for taste, texture and juiciness). Overall this was a very satisfying dish.

Good, crispy, house made potato crisps

A very tasty smoked salmon sandwich, (the salmon from a good smoked salmon maker) which would have been more enjoyable on less commercial dark bread.

Nori wrapped halibut with green beans. The fish was perfectly cooked and the nori was a nice flavourful touch.

“Crunchy walnut and maple butter tart”. Good walnut flavour but def not a "butter tart". Crust could be lighter and flakier. I think that the kitchen must go back to the drawing boards on this dessert. It was a disappointment and not very satisfying.