Restaurants
Java House Serves Up Eclectic Cheap Eats Menu
Sitting on the corner of Queen West and Augusta, Java house is a ragged-yet-lovable little cafe/resto hang-out with a big patio, tiny kitchen and cheap eats menu that sees no borders.
The international mish mash line-up of entrees offers up favourites like pad thai, shanghai noodles, omelets, pierogies and more, including all-day breakfast specials like sausage & eggs and french toast. No meal is more than $10. Most barely scrape the $6 mark. If you're familiar with the Red Room on Spadina, this menu is going to look very familiar.
If that wasn't easy enough on your wallet, there are even greater deals to be had with daily specials every day of the week. I usually drop by on Saturdays when you can score a pitcher of sangria or imported beer + 2 entrees for $21.
The sangria is unreliable, sometimes strong, sometimes just sweet -- depending on who's pouring -- but always pretty tasty. It makes for a great patio drink, or in my case, an I-wish-it-was-warm-enough-for-the-patio kind of treat.
This evening, the order is one Chicken Pad Thai (pictured at the top) and a Veggie Stir-fry (with extra veggies in place of the standard chicken/shrimp/tofu option).
Both are huge portions, prepared quickly and just as we asked. I'm not about to hand out any fine-dining awards here, but most offerings are pretty good for the price.
Pad Thai is spicy and actually pretty fresh for something whipped up in a few minutes. The Veg Stir-Fry features lots of crisp fresh veggies (no freezer bag platefuls) aside steamed white rice. The whole dish is actually more steamed than fried, making it one of the healthier menu choices... something you might consider if planning on enjoying a pitcher or two.
Discussion
33 Comments
Sort By Oldest First / Newest First
Subscribe
Gross
I like their beer selection. I know it's not rare, but it's nice to have Creemore and Upper Canada on tap.
Would I eat there? Hell no!
Would I sit there for a couple of beers (not draft) or maybe a coffee? Sure. Despite all the negatives, it does have an appeal and neat atmosphere, especially on the patio but I have to be sure to launder everything I wore that day/night and resist the temptation to put my fingers anywhere near my mouth..lol.
I would recommend this place to anyone
The actual wash room (women's) is as clean as it can be given the age of the building. Yes, it could look better but only if it was pulled down and rebuilt. The stalls and seats are clean and I suppose that has more to do with who was in there previously.
It is cheap and cheerful - c'mon, enjoy and don't expect champagne on a beer budget.
Anyway, needless to say that I will not be going back.
This place is still my home away from home, and I can't think of a better place to get hangover brunch in the summer. Patio season doesn't officially begun until one is sitting at Java.
I like the place so much, I even wrote a comic that takes place almost entirely in the joint (though I don't think they know that): http://www.emptywords.ca .
I hope those who had bad experiences give it another shot.
but the food and cheap deals are amazing
a few summers ago i spent 2-3 days there a week
Love it...and everything about it
i reccomend the curry pad thai, or anything with fried tofu. they'll also let you sub in tofu for eggs or meat in the all day breakfast if you're real sweet.
i have had a few not-so-delicious meals but never gotten sick and never regretted forking over a max of $6.
Never had a problem with undercooked meat or seen any pests, but this is downtown Toronto. I've seen cockroaches at the the Best Western.
It's by no means the cleanest place, but that's part of the charm for me. I would definitely go back for the dim, laid back setting.
My friends and I went over once for a taste of their Tuesday special and it was anything but special. The "pound" of wings were alright, that is, once someone finally brought them out to our table.
We never once got served by the same person, which meant a whole lot of miscommunication with our order and a whole lot of waiting for practically everything--even a glass of water with a slice of lemon.(By the way, the lemon slice never came. But slices of lime did).
Take away thought: if you're in the Queen W & Augusta area and you happen to be stricken with pangs of hunger, keep walking. Any direction will do. Your wallet and your taste buds will thank you for it.
Love the spicy chicken and the avocado salad !!!!
It's one thing to be up front about serving 'fusion' cuisine, it's quite another to serve people something that tastes like a bunch of leftover crap a college student scraped out of their fridge and put together to make a 'meal'. I like crap food - I like fast food on occasion, I'm not too picky. This, was just nasty.
This place had been recommended to me by several people, and I now think they are just plain fools, or perhaps all they do there is drink. Will never go back, and will be sure to let anyone I know who is thinking of going there to just go to frickin' McDonald's, instead. I've had better food there than I did at Java House, paid a lot less, and didn't feel sick to my stomach after taking a few bites.
Great job!
http://www.dbookshelf.com/Download-Anne-Mccaffrey/m8172/
http://suprax.org/buy-revia-usa.html