Axis GastroPub
585 Bloor St. W (at Bathurst)
416-539-9009
Rating ****
Hours of Operation: Mon – Fri 11 a.m. to 1 or 2 a.m., Sat & Sun 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Price range: $5 – $19
Reservations: no
Lunch: with co-workers
Licensed: Yes
The Gastropub Cookbook defines a gastropub as “a place in which you can have a drink, but which also serves great food.”
It is not a pub. And neither is the newly opened Axis.
Which is maybe why it’s mostly women here for lunch today. Or, perhaps they’ve come for the simple, uncluttered decor and long, affordable menu, offering appetizers, soup, salads, sandwiches and entrees.
Vegetable Quesadillas ($7.50) are stuffed with fresh diced zucchini, red onions, tomatoes, cheese and one or teo slices of pickled jalapeno per slice, served alongside chipotle sour cream. They are great, except for the rubbery slabs of cheese.
Wings (1 lb. $8, 2 lb. $15) — your choice of mild, medium, hot, suicide or honey garlic — are served with carrot and celery sticks and a tangy blue cheese dip. They are smoky and vinegary with crisp skin and moist meat. Absolutely delicious.
Great food, indeed.
