Donald McKenzie

Petes Place Family Restaurant


This is a review that is about twenty months in the making. Pete’s Place has been on a journey during that time, as have I in trying to review it. Normally, I make two visits to a restaurant to try and get a feel for the menu. With Pete’s Place, I’ve ended up making five. My first visit was in December of 2016, on a day that I attempted to visit Baraka Pita, and finding it closed ended up at Pete’s Place. I ordered the chicken noodle soup and the bacon cheeseburger, and really enjoyed both of them.

The original Petes Place was a rather non-descript white building up on Main Street. It had the whole diner vibe going on. It looked like the kind of place where you would go, for hearty, starch heavy types of meal. Yet, it served more than that.

Petes Place signature burger.
The beef and most of the bacon has been cleverly camouflaged by the arugula, but there is plenty of meat underneath.

Unfortunately, I didn’t remember what I had ordered. So, a couple of months later when I was talking about the restaurant with Rene Jamieson, a parishioner at St. John’s Cathedral, she told me that the cheeseburger was the one thing I needed to try. So, on my second visit, that is what I ordered. It was only when I went to write the review, that I realized I had ordered the same thing both times.

It took me a few months to get around to making a third visit. Eventually, though, on one Sunday afternoon, I trekked North Main for lunch. Only to discover when I arrived, that it was the last day of business for Pete’s Place at that location, and made a note to myself to keep track of the progress of the restaurant as they searched for a new home.

For my meal I ordered the sirloin steak. I ordered the steak medium. As I described the place above, I wasn’t sure that I would get an actual medium steak. However, as the picture below displays the cross-section, you can see they did a terrific job on delivering what I asked for.

Petes Place medium
This is the cross section of my sirloin. It was a great job on a medium steak.

After a few months I discovered that Pete’s Place had picked out a new location in the Polo Park area. However, that building ended up being a disaster, and so Pete’s Place was left searching again. Eventually, they found space in Osborne Village. Their new location was originally Basil’s, one of the iconic restaurants that in it’s first incarnation helped to define the vibe and image of Osborne Village, long before the national thought leaders discovered it.

Since Basil bowed out, the location has served as a revolving door for restaurants. Although they sounded interesting, I never visited any of them during their increasingly short life cycles. Now however, the location has a well established business, with a well established clientele, taking over the space.

Pete’s Place on Canada Day Weekend

I follow the Pete’s Place Facebook Page, linked above, and noticed that they would be doing a limited menu, soft opening over the Canada Day weekend. This seemed like a good idea, since Osborne Village is always crammed with people for their Canada Day celebrations.

Petes Place beer
The Seventh Stab beer from Barn Hammer Brewing. Celebrating Canada Day with a local Beer.

The new location is about as different from the old as you can kept. It’s large, wide open with high ceilings, lots of natural light and great lighting. As they are just starting out,  they haven’t put out all the potential tables and chairs, so as a diner there is a feeling of being on your own, even when other tables are occupied. There is also a fairly substantial patio, but I’m not sitting outside in this heat.

Petes Place Lighting
The new Pete’s Place comes with stylish ceiling lighting.

I figured, since the burgers were the signature dish of Pete’s I would go with a burger. I ordered the Maple Bacon burger. It was clear when it came that this was an elevated burger compared to what was served at the old location. I also noticed that the quality and style of the dishes had been upgraded along with the food itself.

I wondered for a bit if they would lose some of their original charm and style with higher end product, but when I went back for my second visit, I noticed they also had more basic burger choices on the menu as well. The burger, which is pictured at the top of this post was sensational. It was clear that the signature burgers would be an improvement, especially in the bacon department. The slicers were thicker and of the sort that crisps up really well with out being crumbly.

Petes Place fries
A good bowl of fries.

As they had just opened, there was lots of staff on duty. Couple with the fact that I had arrived fairly early, my service was more than attentive. I don’t remember if the old Pete’s Place was licensed, they may have been, but I never ordered a beer. However, this new location is licensed and features a good selection of local beers. I tried The Seventh Stab Red Ale from Barnhammer Brewing Company. This was a clean, refreshing beer, that really hit the spot on a warm Saturday.

Pete’s Place Pasta

I decided on my return, that, because I really enjoyed the burgers, but the beef was all I had tried, I’d go off the beaten track with my order today. There are a few main dish items on the menu, and I chose the Sausage Ragu. The menu doesn’t say what kind of pasta is in the dish, but it is a long ribbon style. I figured also that I would try something of a starter and ordered the soup. Even though it is incredibly hot out today, it’s cool enough in the restaurant to enjoy a bowl of soup.

Petes Place Cabbage Roll Soup.
Cabbage Roll Soup from Pete’s Place. All the flavour of cabbage rolls with none of the fuss.

The soup was called Cabbage Roll Soup. When it came, and I took my first spoonful, my immediate reaction was: “I’m eating a cabbage roll.” The soup contained bacon, rice, onion, and cabbage. One of the things I liked about it, was it was all the flavour of a cabbage roll, without having to cut through any tough bits of cabbage. This soup also marks a change of approach. At the old location, Chicken Noodle was the only soup, at the new one, there will be others rolled in and out.*

*I’ve since been informed by several Pete’s Place regulars that I just happened to hit Chicken Noodle soup day on my first two visits, but that there has always been a variety of daily soups on the menu. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

Petes Place pasta
The Sausage Ragu. A very tasty pasta dish.

Again, the service was excellent. For my beverage choice, I went with the bottomless Seven-Up, (I didn’t want to fall asleep trying to write this). Both the Seven-Up and the water I requested to go along with it (need to stay hydrated in this heat), were refilled with regularity.

I’ve heard some people talk about the lack of parking in the area, but there is street parking if you’re willing to look, along with a little out back. Also, buses do get you places if you take them. Feet and bikes will also get you there. The new Pete’s Place seems like an improved version of the old one. New things to try, but with many old favourites on the menu. Hopefully they will have a long run in Osborne Village.

Pete's Place Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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40 comments

  2. Regrettably, I’m unable to visit the restaurants you review due to distance but I enjoyed the food descriptions. I’ve made stuffed pepper soup (SO SO good) and one of these days I’ll make one of the many cabbage roll soup recipes I’ve saved. 🙂

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  6. When I want some real food indulgence photos I always come here. I enjoy your blog,where I live we don’t have anywhere near the amount of great eating establishments as you do. Keep up the good work.

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  9. I’ve eater at the old Pete’s but not the new one..Parking is my big deal but Pete has assured me I will find a spot very close by..Walking is hard for me..I know the food will be top notch there like it was on Main Street..The best soup I had on main was the Borscht which I know will be just as good..I think Thursdays were borscht days..Will be going to Pete’s very soon to say Welcome and enjoy another great meal..

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    • Thanks for commenting. The new location will not disappoint. I’ve learned since I’ve posted that I sort of lucked into being there on Chicken Noodle Soup day, and I look forward to trying other soups in the future.

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  10. As a long time patron of Pete’s Place I can safely say that you just had the bad luck to come the day they sold the same soup lol. Pete’s has always had a nice rotation of soups and since they are made from scratch each time it is hard to find any fault with them.

    I agree with the review overall however. They will make a nice cornerstone to the village and I expect them to do even better now that they are licensed, though personally I am sticking to the food side of the menus i am sure a good number of the old regulars will enjoy.

    Thanks for reviewing them they have been a strong favorable since i first found them.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Thanks for the comment. It appears that I indeed had the bad luck of coming on Chicken Noodle Soup day, although it was a delicious soup.

      The many is really good, and I’m glad that when they decided to become licensed they made a strong effort to include a lot of choices from the local breweries.

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  12. Thanks for the “like” at DailyBiblePrayer! Interesting after reading several of your deliciously described meals that you would like a prayer where Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast! I need to do more of that kind of praying – – but I do enjoy food 🙂
    May God bless you in your life journey, deliver you from the evil around you, and guide you as you walk with Him.
    Laura

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  20. Thanks for dropping by my site and taking a look see. I have several members of the cloth I follow and now I have another one. Much like your father I also was in and out of jail, retired Connecticut State Police. Now I’m in and out of the hospital, finishing a Pastoral Counseling course to be a Volunteer Chaplain. Food, worshiping the Lord and giving thanks, starts the digestive process. Peace Padre

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