Good Eats at Home — Toby’s Goodeats Review
We’re back for another look at eating out at home, as last night we tried out a new location in Hamilton, called Toby’s Goodeats. Located in Jackson Square, Toby’s Goodeats opened in 1986 and has served food to the community ever since. This is a restaurant you could definitely do worse than eating at as it features a range of local foods, and generous portion sizes.
My mom was hankering for a Steak Sandwich, and feeling like going somewhere other than our usual place for ordering that, she searched for places with Steak Sandwiches on the menu that we hadn’t ordered from. She came upon Toby’s and sent me the link, and I went looking on the Skip the Dishes menu they had posted. I was impressed by the variety of the menu on looking at it, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, including several soup and salad options.
In the end, I ended up picking their Haddock Fish and Chips, as its a dish I generally love. My mom ordered a Steak Sandwich, and for my brother we ordered the ‘Sweet Dreams are Made of Cheese Burger’. Along with this, we also got a free piece of Apple pie, as they currently offer it free for orders over $35, and opted to get three chocolate milk shakes, as well as a beef gravy.
First thing to note is that the restaurant is relatively fast for a full restaurant. It was under 30 minutes from order to arrival, and that was with our driver appearing to get lost a couple times on the trip, making random squares according to the map we were watching driving progress on.
Described as a ‘fan favourite’, the Haddock Fish and Chips is fried in house, served with a side coleslaw, fresh tartar, chunky chips, and a lemon. The batter on the Haddock is interesting, as it isn’t the thick breading you see on some, or the airy beer batter you see on others, nor is it a thin tempura that I’ve seen some places do. Instead it is more like a… thick tempura or something like that with it being a modest but noticed thickness, especially around the sides. It is a nice take on the fried fish batter, and gives the dish a nice taste. The fish itself is well cooked, and tastes fresh and suitably bright with the lemon, although it lacks exceptional features. It is also larger than you often see for a single piece.
The ‘signature chunky chips’ are a nice take on the thicker fries. These fries are cooked with a bit of a crispy exterior, while a nice soft and tasty interior. The coleslaw is alright, but I admit to not often being a fan of the coleslaw’s served with these dishes.
Second is my mother’s Steak Sandwich, which she added on sauteed mushrooms, and onions to, because those almost always go well with steak. Described as a ‘flame-grilled sirloin on a garlic Italian baguette’, the dish comes with the chunky chips as well.
Tip: Order your steak one level less done then you would at the restaurant. Do this because due to transportation, the steak will have more time to sit, and will continue cooking on its own. So if, like my mom, you want your steak medium-rare order it rare!
The steak was lightly seasoned, focusing on the natural flavour of the steak and was well-cooked. The flame on the Steak was noticeable and helped give it a nice flavour. The fries, fit the same as above, but my mom used the gravy which was a tasty beef-based gravy. The bun was well done, and tasty to eat with flavour imparted by the mushrooms, onions, steak, and garlic.
My brother was asleep, so we ordered him the ‘Sweet Dreams are Made of Cheese Burger’, knowing his like of cheese and burgers. This burger comes with cheddar, mozzarella, and swiss cheese, on top of a beef patty, while also served with several toppings and condiments on the side. My brother isn’t a fan of pickles or tomatoes so he took those off (actually my mom stole the pickle before he came down, knowing his tastes).
My brother found the burger to be light on seasoning, and was alright with the three different cheeses melted over it. The lack of seasoning though stood out here more then elsewhere, and was a bit of an issue for the whole meal — a bit more salt would go a long way to help flavours pop more. He didn’t put on any of the condiments which probably helps explain why he found it on the blander side.
The Chudleigh’s Apple Pie was a nice, and light apple pie that we got from Toby’s as a free add-on. Normally sold for $5.49 on the delivery app it was a nice slice of pie that avoids overpowering the apple with other flavours, and lets it star with a light cook and pie crust. The vanilla ice cream went well with it, and was perfectly adequate.
As for the three chocolate milkshakes, they were… alright. They had a bit of foaminess to them, and weren’t particularly rich but they were smooth and nice to drink.
As a whole Toby’s Goodeats is a perfectly fine place to order, if you are looking for some general Canadian food at fine prices with generous portion sizes. The food can sometimes be a touch underseasoned, and the dishes don’t stand out as exceptional — but sometimes what you want is a little taste of familiar foods in a well cooked way and Toby’s Goodeats will deliver you that.
You can order Toby’s Goodeats from Skip The Dishes, DoorDash, and UberEats.
