The Twisted Kilt (Yonge & Davisville)

The Twisted Kilt is a rather welcoming-looking pub just north of Yonge & Davisville. Inside, we found a fairly standard and slightly dated, although quite warm pub set-up. We entered the pub at about 3 in the afternoon on Saturday, finding it fairly quiet. The pub boasts a fairly solid selection of 22 beers on tap, which include some interesting cask ales as well as a good mix of Canadian and European b%ers. Mo3t importantly, they have Guinness. Unfortunately, there's no Kilkenny or Boddington's on tap, but no matter. There is Old Speckled Hen, which seems to be becoming rarer as a draught beer these days.

Another minus, beer-wise, was the fairly average Guinness. Not terrible, but not great either. Service was friendly, although understandably slowed down a bit when a large group of pub-hoppers popped in. Overall, not a bad pub, but also not a great one.

Score:

Guinness (/10): 6
Atmosphere (/5): 3
Service (/5): 4
Base Score: 13



Bonus:
Ale selection: 1
Bonus Score: 0

Final Score: 13/20 + 1 Bonus

Bier Markt, Shops at Don Mills

We frequent this venue quite often. I must admit, this is a love-dislove relationship here. At times, getting a quick pint or two here is great. At others, not so much. I guess it's our neighbourhood default place, but sometimes we wish it was a bit more accommodating.

I cannot count how many pints of Guinness we have enjoyed at the Bier Markt at the Shops at Don Mills. Overall, the Guinness lands a solid average 6. If you come at a time when the crowd is smaller and the place is quieter, you get the benefits of decent service. Although we've had some pretty horrible service here as well. So if you're looking for a quick pint off-peak times, and are in the area, do come by. And besides, there's no real competition (arguable, but I would say honest).

Score:

Guinness (/10): 6
Atmosphere (/5): 4
Service (/5): 3 
Base Score: 13

Bonus Score: 0

Final Score: 13/20 + 0 Bonus

Sir John's Public House, Kingston

Located in the heart of downtown Kingston, Sir John's has gotten some pretty positive reviews on the web. Walking in, it's not hard to see why. The pub is on the small side, but makes the most of itself with a cozy atmosphere, clean pillows and nice benches and tables. Named after Canada's first Prime Minister, the pub has a Scottish theme and serves a selection of Scottish, Canadian, and Scottish-Canadian cuisine.

The Guinness was fairly mediocre. Not bad at  the start, but very bitter at the end. A solid 5, really. This is a Scottish pub, though, not an Irish one, so perhaps slightly sub-par Guinness is to be expected. The pub does boast Kingston's "finest selection of Scotch whisky", but the list itself is pretty uninspired. It does deviate from purely standard pub fare by offering some 15 year-old expressions from Macallan and Glenlivet, but the selection of distilleries is pretty bland. Not having tried the food, I won't comment on the kitchen, but, despite the atmosphere and friendly staff, there wasn't much to recommend this pub, beverage-wise.

Score:

Guinness (/10): 5
Atmosphere (/5): 4
Service (/5): 4

Base Score: 13

Bonus: 0 

Final Score: 13/20