Company: Group of 9 getting drinks and food before a night out.
When I saw that Ein-steins was in the area that I was looking for a restaurant for a get-together with friends, I instantly chose it this shady, but popular student bar. I prefer dives over classy restaurants and Ein-steins definitely has a reputation for a lack of cleanliness and extremely cheap prices for good food and drinks. I had walked by before while in the U of T area and my friend had recommended it to me if I was around again as it's a classic student hangout. Thus, when I had a chance to experience some nostalgia for my student days at Waterloo, I couldn't say no.
+Will and I were the first ones there, so we entered the basement restaurant to find a table for all of us. Walking around the place, they had many large tables for groups, couches for lounging and pool tables at the back. It's not very large but we found a few empty tables as it was 6PM on a Saturday night. 'Dingy' is the perfect word to describe this place, the tables were sticky, students who probably spend the whole day studying and hadn't showered in days populated the area, and very low-lighting all around.
When the whole group arrived, we all ordered food and drinks. We couldn't resist the $10 Einstein pitchers, where else could you get a deal like that? I also got a single order (10 pcs) of Hot & Honey Garlic Wings with Fries. Ein-steins is infamous for their wings, rated one of the top in Toronto, so I had to see what the hype was about. The service was really lacking the whole time we were there, we had to ask the bar for menus and always had to wave our waitress down to take orders for food and drinks. The hockey game was on a small screen near us so we entertained ourselves by taking bets with each other, for and against the Leafs. Just being in the environment, I couldn't blame anyone for being sketched out with having their food by judging the surroundings. There was a bit of nervousness on my part to see how the food would be. When our orders started coming not too shortly after, everything looked extremely delicious and appetizing. I also got an extra basket of fries because I didn't get very many on my plate. The wings were very savoury and delicious. They were a hefty size and drenched in sauce. The Honey Garlic was my favourite of the two. The Hot was very saucy as well (which is a little weird) and not as spicy as I thought. They didn't have Medium for some reason which is my preferred spice level. I also tried +Brian's Cajun wings and they were uniquely spiced, I really enjoyed the flavour. The veggies came with blue cheese dip which I usually hate but I actually enjoyed it this time, as it wasn't too pungent. The fries were so addicting, I could not stop eating them.
Overall, this is a great place if you don't have any expectations for the night except getting good food and cheap drinks. It probably wasn't the best place for a large group of friends as some people aren't comfortable with sketchy bars. It was definitely more dirty than I had expected but the substances made up for the appeal.
Food: 4/5 - Yummy cheap eats, wings were great but not the best I've had.
Service: .5/5 - Horrific, I'm surprised they even acknowledged us when we called them.
Decor: 1/5 - DINGY & student loungey.
Willingness to come back: 3.5/5 - Like I said, I love dives. So if I'm in the area, I'll definitely be back... as long as I'm with the right people.
Overall: 2.5/5
Website: http://www.ein-stein.ca/
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