Smash Kitchen and Bar

16 Aug Smash Kitchen and Bar

Smash Kitchen & Bar is located near Unionville and is quite a hidden gem uptown in the Greater Toronto Area. Their menu selection is primarily comfort food, seafood, and traditional American dishes. Nevertheless, they always introduce some type of fusion appetizers or entrees every so often – which is what I love about Smash.

My first time going to Smash Kitchen, I was so excited to use my Yelp check-in offer (10% off the entire food bill) that I totally forgot about it when the check came. Turns out, you can only use it during week days anyway. I can’t speak on behalf of my friend, who went there multiple times and most likely tried everything on the menu, but it was an excellent dining experience from food quality to service.

ATMOSPHERE & DECOR

The restaurant entrance within its plaza is quite small. But when you get inside, it is fairly huge until you open your eyes and observe 360-degrees. I say that because there are several dividers including the bar, isolated room on the right side of restaurant entrance, and another semi-curtained area at the opposite end. Overall, Smash Kitchen gives off a good and classy atmosphere.

FOOD & DRINKS

We ordered the Louisiana Rice Croquettes, the famous Smash Burger, and Pride of Nova Scotia pizza – all were recommended by my friend.

Louisiana Rice Croquettes ($13): Shown above as the featured blog post image, the croquettes were really tasty. Just with a bite, its crispy deep-fried outer layer fell apart easily and the sauce spilled out within the rice ball. The rice ball was made mostly out of chorizo, peas, and chipotle aioli with cheese. This appetizer reminds me a lot of the sushi pizza serves at Japanese all-you-can-eat restaurants, but even more delicious!

Smash Burger ($15): This Smash burger was on special for only $10 that day. It always comes with double patty but with an option to upsize into triple patty. You can even add more toppings like a fried egg, blue cheese, mushrooms, BBQ brisket, bacon, and many more. The patty was cooked really well – meat was tender and juicy with cheddar cheese melted right in between. The juice was also pouring out when I bite into it, but my onion ring fell out 🙁 I still loved it the burger regardless and I really liked the mixed green salad on the side. The balance of sourness and sauce vs. greens were just right. The leaves were quite fresh too. If you don’t like green salad, you can also choose fries or their daily soup.

Pride of Nova Scotia Pizza ($19): This pizza was very authentic compared to the one I’ve even tried in New York (minus the lobster). In my preference, I wished their crust was slightly harder and put longer in their oven despite its sides being toasted and hard already. Contrarily, the pica gallo was really green and fresh, and the lobster came in big chunks – thumbs up on that! The pizza overall has your typical tomato sauce, mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, and roasted garlic to bring out it’s aroma.

Smash Kitchen is a pleasant place for some delicious food and cozy setting. I would definitely recommend it if you prefer western food, but more or less, l I still enjoyed more of their entrees than appetizers. They honestly make better full-blown meals than snacks. As for their service, I don’t have much to comment – no negative or super positive experiences in general.

Quick Note: Keep in mind that Smash Kitchen will add a gratuity of 18% for parties of 8 or more. Additionally, make sure you check out their “day of the week” special and dine-in promotions that ranges from drinks to appetizers and burgers! Some are pretty good bang for the buck!

OVERALL RATING: 4.5/5

Atmosphere: 4/5
Customer Service: 4/5
Food Quality: 4.5/5