Triple A Bar

Great friendly staff. Good prices and a cool place ... did I mention the ribs and brisket! Beer on tap. Daily specials .. good for happy hour and late night.

Good spot for a drink with great food coming out of the kitchen too. The chicken and waffles was small but delicious while the drinks and atmosphere were great.

We visited Toronto and this little gem was near our hotel. We ended up hanging out here every night!! A great atmosphere with delicious eats. Must haves are the chicken and waffles as well as the wings. Can't wait to go back to Toronto just to visit this place.

I like it, but it's no Barque. Good grungy bar, great service, small menu, and good quality food. Good drinks. Slightly over priced for the portion size.

Amazing brisket, great ambience, what a fantastic new restaurant. We had a large group of around 20 people looking for drinks and food this past Friday before heading to the ACC for a Dave Matthews Band show. Familiar with the previous incarnation "Laide" I was looking forward to seeing the new concept that owners Racquel Youtzy and Tiz Pivetta had opened as I haven't been to this corner in several months, Toronto is a little bit of a drive these days.

Wow, the bar has really opened up and feels much bigger than before, the decor is very ranch-like and feels like you just walked into a Texas saloon. Great tequila menu, very nice lighting, not the enveloping darkness of Laide, and a decent selection of draught beers as well. I was informed that Mill Street Organic is coming on tap soon, in the interim I had a few draughts of Creemore Springs who are certified Non-GMO by Greenpeace Canada.

Our group pretty much all ordered food. The menu is short and to the point and concentrates on Texas-style barbecue, offering Brisket, Pulled Pork Sarneys, Chicken and Waffles, Ribs when available and Texas-style Chili which has no beans and no vegetables, just a meat fest. On special this evening was Sea Bass & Chips. I got to try a little bit of everything. The brisket is served traditionally on wax paper with a couple pieces of white bread. Sauce is served on the side, but you won't need any. The rub is absolutely delicious and the meat was super tender. The chicken & waffles was also good, but to be honest I'd rather have had the brisket all to myself!! We had a side of spicy slaw as well which was tasty and was red cabbage-based. Friends had the chili and the fish & chips so I got to try a little bit of both of those, I was very impressed with the chili and would even consider splitting one as an appetizer with someone else, but the fish and chips was awesome. I don't think I've ever had sea bass served as a fish and chips, the batter was light and delicious and held its consistency without breaking up everywhere, the fish was moist and tender, couldn't fault any part of the meal to be honest.

I tried the Hornitos tequila as well, YUM! You could either have a shot or enjoy sipping on it, it's so good.

The meat for Triple A is purchased from St. Lawrence market, great source for quality meats, and smoked off site by the owners at their commercial kitchen. As someone who eats bbq a lot I can say quite safely that this was the best brisket I've had this side of the Dinosaur BBQ down in Rochester, NY. If you've been there, you'll know that's a serious endorsement. I think you'll agree with me once you've tried it.

Congrats to the Triple A Bar team on this successful re-invention of 138 Adelaide St. East, I hope my taste buds will be thrilled again soon.

As a texpat.... I've been on a hunt for decent Texas style bbq since moving up here. This is the closest I've come.

The atmosphere is comfortable and reminds me of home. (I'm so glad they don't go over the top and try to stereotype Texas by giving their servers ridiculous names like Bulls Eye or Whiplash.)

Between my wife and I, we tried the brisket, the pulled pork and opted for beans and sweet potato fries as our sides.

The brisket had a decent smoke ring to it. I appreciate that they let the meat stand on its own and they don't slather it in bbq sauce (that's a sin, y'all). It was a bit dry but still tender. Decent smokey flavor with just the requisite amount of fat. By Toronto standards, pretty dang good barbecue. By real standards, a 6/10.

The pulled pork was a bit heavy on the bbq sauce. It carried a real spicy kick that was a nice surprise. The smoke flavor was lost as a result. I'd like to see them treat their pulled pork the same way they do their brisket. Let the smoke do the bragging, y'all.

The sweet potato fries were crisp and seasoned well. The beans were a disappointment. Any place that touts "Texas" style should serve bbqed red beans instead of baked beans and I think they used maple syrup. *Sigh* I guess I'm still in Canada after all.

There were a few things missing from the menu that I would like to see to feel like this was a genuine home away from home - BBQ sausage, ham & turkey, peach cobbler, bbq beans and baked potatoes. And if they could somehow work out a distro deal with Shiner... I'd be there every day.

Overall, it is the closest thing I've found so far to genuine Texas style bbq and I'll be back.