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Restaurants

Czehoski

Rating: 2.5/5 (54 votes)

Posted by Tim / Reviewed on July 21, 2007

23 Comments

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Former community butcher and deli shop retains charm as chic restaurant, bar and lounge. Great outdoor patio on the second floor.

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23 Comments

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chephy / February 4, 2008 at 01:25 pm
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These days it's considered good taste to diss this place for being overpretentious and too expensive... but I can't help but like it. One of my most memorable days from last summer involved a lunch at Czehoski, which consisted of a half pint of lager and brains with absinthe (don't know if that was the real stuff, or whether the real stuff is even legal in Canada - but I don't care). And then I rode my bike east along the sun-kissed Queen Street. It was a euphoric experience. Partly due to my good mood in general, no doubt - but bad restaurants tend to turn off my good mood pretty quickly.
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Stephanie Czehoski / February 9, 2008 at 06:47 pm
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I am the daughter of the orginal owners of the Czehoski Butcher store. Just a little history for any one that is interested. The store was owned and operated by my grandfather and grandmother they had 6 children. The oldest was my father Stanley. The family grew up in the store there were bedrooms upstairs and a basement to the store. My Grandparents passed away when I was very young. My parents divorced and my father went to live back at the store with his brother and sister who never married. My father worked his whole life at the store and the family were very famous for the Polish sausage they made called Kalbasa. They would make the sausage twice a week and people would line up around the block. At the time there were no Loblaws or big Grocery stores. If you were Polish you knew the name Czehoski. The store opertaed for over 60 years up until my father passed in 1984. It closed shortly after but his sister and brother continued living there. The building it shelf is well over 80 years old. I was able to visit the resturant before it opened, it brought back alot of memories the smell I know as little girl visiting or working at the store was still there to me. The walk in freezer, the butcher block, and the display case that used to show case the meat. Shortly after the resturant opened a girlfriend and I went for dinner. I have course made reservations under the name Czehoski and the waitress seemed quite impress that a was a Czehoski. I was not too impressed by the food, found it quite pricy. Over dinner I mentioned to my girlfriend that my father would find it silly how the food was layer on top of each other it would not be his style of choice. My father was a very simple man with simple tastes. He would be thrilled that a business continued to operate uder the Czehoski name and how they were able to preseve many of the pieces that he was so familuar with. It is great to drive by and see the Czehoski sign knowing it is the orginal sign and in no way has been changed that sign has had alot of famous people walk under it. With that sign my father still lives on.
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Paul / February 9, 2008 at 09:13 pm
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wow, that's amazing Stephanie. thanks so much for the comment and the tidbits of family history :)

even during the years when i couldn't quite afford to go in, i was always captivated by the sign. i knew their had to be an interesting story behind it, so thanks for filling in the blanks.

cheers.
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Nigel / March 16, 2009 at 06:04 pm
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the sign is beautifully done. And I agree that the food has never been impressive. And now what?? What an infamy done by the chef "at that time". Now the shameful chef moved to other place.
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Justyna / May 30, 2009 at 10:38 am
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we went last night, and while the atmosphere was fantastic the food was not. Completely overpriced, and subpar. The pierogies were said to have contained sweet potato, smoked gouda and garlic. All you could taste was potato. Totally flavorless, and fried! (I know its the western way to do pierogi, but it was just disappointing). We started with the charcouterie, and while some of the cured meats were great, and the walnut loaf was fantastic, there was no grainy mustard, no flavored butter, nothing to go with the dry bread and meat... weird, no?

I wouldn't go back, it seems like the kind of place yuppie hipsters go to be seen....
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david / April 6, 2010 at 08:59 am
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Went the other night with friends, and sadly, the food was TERRIBLE and the service was incredibly SLOW. The meat, in particular, was gross. Not only that, but the staff was rude to our table when we (politely) asked if they could try to speed things up because some of us had to leave (we'd been there for hours). Needless to say, that just made matters worse. All and all an awful place.
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tyler / April 6, 2010 at 11:25 am
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I had an experience similar to the one that David mentioned. My wife and myself and our friends waited for hours for food which was mediocre at best -- and definitely not as good as the hype. My wife had the burger and the meat was dry, almost stale-tasting. I had the beet salad, which was just meh -- could've made it better at home. But the service was really terrible even though it wasn't busy at all. Someone told me that this place used to be quite good and then changed ownership and has since gone downhill. Either way, I won't be returning -- especially when there's plenty of great restaurants in that 'hood that are much more creative and interesting. ie. most of the places on Ossington. Sorry to say it, but Czehoski was a huge disappointment!
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Mary / June 23, 2010 at 11:54 am
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I've been to Czehoski twice. The first time was in the Fall and the meal was great. My halibut was cooked to perfection, even if the food is pricey.

However, when I went again a couple months later the servers were complaining about the new cooks in front of us, which was awkward. And at 6pm none of the prep work was completed and the only thing available off the menu was the cheese plate. Extremely disappointing! We left and I haven't been back since and don't plan to return anytime soon.
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Tee-Bone / September 16, 2010 at 12:13 pm
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YOU HAD ME UNTIL YOU MENTIONED THE "FLOWER PEDDLES" ON THE CHOC GANACHE.

Ugh.
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Rob / December 9, 2010 at 11:11 am
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Last time I visited, the waitress brought me and my visibly pregnant wife shots of liquor to apologize for the atrocious service we received. I guess it is cool to be ironic these days, but really??...

Food was mediocre at best.
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CGB / February 11, 2011 at 06:26 pm
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Tee-Bone,

Do you realize the irony of correcting someone's spelling when you don't recognize the bad etiquette of using all-caps to type a post on the internet? Or were actually well aware of this, and just decided to be rude and shout anyway?
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Matt O'Brien / March 31, 2011 at 06:24 pm
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Hey guys if you want to experience some of the amazing food and a show, I run a monthly stand-up comedy show at Czehsoki the next show being April 12-9pm-Pay What You Can-$4 beers-it's always a great time come check it out, follow me on Facebook for updates


facebook.com/mattobriencomedy
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Dan / May 29, 2011 at 02:15 pm
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Just got back from brunch at Czehoski, maybe one of the most disappointing meals I've had in TO..

My girlfriend got a latte, which took about 10 minutes to arrive...

Then we ordered, it took 30 minutes for the food to arrive (at brunch mind you)...my girlfriend's order came with the wrong side (bacon instead of sausage), so the waitress took it back and brought the plate back with basically non-cooked inedible sausage..I had a cheeseburger, it was nothing to write home about, pretty plain and way too big a bun for such a small piece of meat..

Overall, I felt the wait staff was aware of how poor the kitchen was; there was a defeatist attitude to the whole operation...they took my girlfriend's order off the bill but there's no way we'll be coming back...

It's too bad too, because the place has a good vibe and could be great...
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Nathalie / November 15, 2011 at 01:53 pm
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I love that place. good burger, good cocktails. love their beef ribs and Mac n cheese! I recommend it to everyone.
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Gloria / November 29, 2011 at 07:51 pm
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Horrible place. I went there last Summer to try their Summerlicious menu and my tomato soup tasted exactly like Campbell's. I could not finish my plate of Mac n' cheese .. the cheese tasted anything but cheese. It is clearly a place to go just to drink a beer with your wannabe friends.
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David / January 4, 2012 at 10:47 am
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Warm atmosphere. Sour, cold service.

Ever since the new management the place lacks that jenesequa.

The general manager uses the place as his personal social network, he will ask you to leave arbitrarily.
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mayor dodge / January 4, 2012 at 12:13 pm
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Maybe a plate of his lousy food or a drink thrown in the general managers face will wise him up, ya think?
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John replying to a comment from Stephanie Czehoski / January 16, 2012 at 11:03 am
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Hello Stephanie Czehoski...our family from about 1964 to the closing were steady customers, and i know for a fact that Czehoski kielbasa was the best on the planet,ohhh the aroma and memories from childhood..Thank you.
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Stephanie Mariani replying to a comment from John / February 21, 2012 at 03:41 pm
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Replying to comment from John/Jan.16

Thank you for the kind words, you are right best kalbasa in town can't get anything close now a days. Too bad all the poor comments, on the food and service. What a way to ruin a family name, my dad would be disappointed.
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North of 50 / February 29, 2012 at 09:48 am
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Very interesting comments. In contrast, my friend and I recently had an excellent experience. We dropped in on Monday night, no reservation. We are, frankly, a bit high maintenance - one hearing impaired, the other vegan. We asked for the music upstairs to be turned down - no problem - we asked to be seated downstairs instead - no problem - there was little on the menu that my vegan friend could eat - no problem. The server, then the chef, got involved and they settled on doing her a lovely plate of veggies. Service was terrific all round actually and I was impressed that the chef got involved personally, it's pretty much a meat and cheese kinda place, a one-off veggie plate was probably a nuisance. Meanwhile, my seared tuna dish was perfect - just the right amount of food and interesting contrasting / complimentary ingredients. My guess is that complaints about the prices and food have been posted by younger diners with different expectations. Issues with service though I can't explain, that certainly wasn't our experience, and we were two 50+ women, not the usual Queen St West hipster clientele, they could have assumed we'd never be back and so weren't worth catering to -- but they didn't, and we will :-)
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penny replying to a comment from Stephanie Czehoski / March 5, 2012 at 10:20 am
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How very nice that your family's name and some of it's heritage lives on in the restaurant. Such an honour.
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penny replying to a comment from Paul / March 5, 2012 at 10:21 am
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Food Network did a show on the making of this restaurant. Well worth the watch.
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Vivienne / April 3, 2012 at 03:09 pm
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Thanks for sharing your story Stephanie! The 'new' Czehoski is very special for my fiance and I as this is where we went on our first date 3 years ago on April 1st. We have now made it a tradition to have every anniversary dinner at Czechoski. Last year we almost had to break the tradition because the restaurant was way too busy, when we told the hostess our situation, she very kindly proceeded to make a very small space for us at the bar for us to enjoy our dinner. I am very surprised to read all the negative comments, we love coming here for dinner, the ambiance and staff have always been spot on!
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678 Queen Street West (Get Directions)
416.366.6787
West Queen West
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Eclectic
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