hastings snack bar

Toronto restaurant posts the most honest Instagram captions and people love it

Social media is all about looking your best and putting on this mask of perfection... So when people, or a business in this case, posts some hilarious honesty it's always a refreshing change of pace.

Followers of Leslieville's Hastings Snack Bar across social media have noticed the hilarious and very real captions accompanying their posts.

Mentions of being sad, meta comments, and references to the social media person slacking off while all the other employees work are just a sample of the kind of comments people have grown to expect from Hastings Snack Bar. 

A recent post from the restaurant went something like this:

Good morning all. What a relaxing break that was. Not only did I sit on the bench outside and openly weep for three days, but I also followed that up openly weeping on the TTC. That's what we call in Hastingsland a double play.

Many of the social media posts are meant to announce the day's specials, but often there's a lot for the reader to get through before getting to those details. Here's an example:

Good morning all. Sorry about the late start today. Truthfully, Queen Asia and I were gossiping about the new Dexter season that is coming. I trust everyone has seen the previews? No? Please explain why below.

More on topic with what this Instagram is (and clearly, I mean the ego enhancer it is for me), I should mention that I am here for the next four days. If you've been meaning to come in (and there's a few of you that are getting tardy on your bi-weekly visits), now you have four chances to be woo'ed by my indifference.

Now, if you're one of the rare few that are here for the food (I guess....), I will let you know that we have a list of specials that would make your mother blush. I'm not sure what that means.

The account is being run by Dan Thomson, a long time customer turned employee of Hastings Snack Bar who says he was given control of the company's social media by just one day asking if he could do it.

"Truthfully, it started as mostly a joke. I was trying to make Queen Asia laugh, and it's always fun to be a little weird when you can. But it kind of spiraled into something bigger," Thomson told blogTO, referring to co-owner Asia Slawinska.

"It's almost like the more we went with it, the more people were in on the joke, which is all you can really hope for. At its core , though, it's really just Asia, Ania and I trying to laugh and get a good vibe going for the day."

The response has been mostly positive with plenty of people joining in on the fun, though Thomson says once in a while someone will not understand the joke leading to some interesting replies.

And the restaurant? It's a small place serving Eastern European classics like cabbage rolls, kielbasa and schnitzel. Recent specials have included favourites like beef goulash, vegan bigos and pickle soup.

Lead photo by

Hector Vasquez


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