Lou Dawg’s Southern BBQ

Good was good! prices were great! the service was even better! Will head back to this place.

With so many options on King West, it’s easy to give this one a miss 9 times out of 10. If you’re stuck with no options and need a place to eat/​drink a beer at though, walk into the basement of this fine dining establishment.
Usually pretty empty, you can almost certainly find a seat. Most of the times I find myself here on their wing nights, but apparently they have a Karaōke night too.
Wings are decent, with a number of different in house sauces to dip with. I usually go for dry rub, but tried their honey garlic as well. Wings come with the wing, and the drumstick attached — something I do like. The spices were overdone though, and often had to scrape some off to avoid the feeling of choking on grit.

I dropped in for dinner and was pleasantly surprised that the smoked wings are ½ price on Mondays and Wednesdays. I love smoked wings. They’re made with so much more love than deep fried wings.
We tried both the dry rub and bbq style of smoked wings. Both were a disapointment. The dry rub and bbq sauce were so heavy that you couldn’t taste any smokey flavour in the wings.
For sides, we had the garden salad and sweet potato mashed. The large portions are good enough to share for 3 – 4 people. The garden salad was good and had some tex mex powder on it too. The sweet potato mashed had so many additives that I couldn’t taste the sweet potato in it. It’s really a dish that’s best when it’s kept simple.

You need to be really really drunk to enjoy the food here. We were a group of 12 and went after work. The service was good in the beginning. They took our orders right away and got us drinks. However, it took forever for them to get all our food. It was almost as if we were wondering whether they went shopping for the ingredients first. After waiting what seemed like an eternity we finally get cold food. Even the cold soggy nachos and cold tacos weren’t appetizing even though we were starving. I think I have said enough and I will never come back here.

Be careful their bartender! !
When they think u r drunk they will increase your beer price !!
I ordered the same beer couple times, price got higher after.
Was the price whatever bartender said???

The pulled pork poutine is delicious!!! Their chicken gravy is so tasty and would be wonderful on a lot of things. The combination of the pulled pork, gravy and melted cheese curds, you can’t go wrong.

Probably my favorite ribs I’ve tried in Toronto so far. St. Louis style and very tasty

I was feeling nostalgic so I went back to ol’ lous for the pulled pork poutine. There were plenty of tables available and each one was drenched in some type of liquid. That’s gross Lou! Gotta get the staff to make cleaning a THING that happens once in a while.
The poutine was completely different from 2 yrs ago… I remember plentiful portions and big thick cut fries. Last night’s anorexic fries weren’t satieting and the meal was forgettable. The floor and tables were so so wet. It was like the aftermath of that scene from Deuce Bigelow Male Gigolo where he broke open fish tank. I think it was the scene before he pureed that expensive fish.
Nostalgia = ruined. I’ll come back but not without a poncho

I was very excited to try a new BBQ place in Toronto but I was left disappointed. I came on a Sunday afternoon and the place was very quiet. It had a classic american BBQ pit feel, which raised my expectations of the food. The staff were friendly and accommodating.
I had the big dawg pork sammie, came with no sides which was disappointing.(I mean I’m at a BBQ joint, i would have expected some coleslaw or fries at least). the pork was a little tough, but wasn’t too hard to chew. However, the pork did lack flavor. It really needed the extra sauce on the table to save the sandwich otherwise it would have been bland. The bun starts to break apart after the 3 bite which forced me to eat the rest of the sandwich with a fork and knife. I finished the sandwich but wanted more.
The house made lager was very light. Those who are fans of Coors light or Moosehead would enjoy it but for myself, I prefer strong bold flavors in my beers.
Overall, I was left disappointed, and it looks like my search for a good BBQ restaurant in Toronto continues.

Lou dawg’s is nestled in downtown Toronto. Upon entering we were greeted by the sounds of blues music, and seated ourselves near a window. We were seen by a friendly server very quickly, and we ordered our drinks and food.
The food came amazingly quickly. I would venture that it wasnt more than a 5 minute wait. I ordered a combo with pulled pork and cole slaw and fries on the side, and the rest of my party ordered the brisket combo and the Loutine. The combo meal came with a generous portion of pulled pork, a bun sliced in half so you can assemble your own sandwich without the bread getting soggy, just as much cole slaw and a ton of fries. Everything tasted hot and fresh. The fries were super crispy and delicious, the cole slaw was just as delicious (and included sunflower seeds and craisins which added a sweet touch) and the pulled pork was some of the best I’ve ever had. It was sweet and well textured, not overly shredded or mushy. The sauces at the table included housemad bbq sauce (smoky and regular), hot sauce and ketchup that I could swear was house made (the server insisted it wasnt, but it was definitely better than your standard heinz). My fellow diners also enjoyed their food very much. The server was friendly the whole time, and gave us tourists some suggestions of places to see before we headed out.
All in all it was an excellent meal and very decently priced.

The service was AMAZING. The bartender alone was running the entire thing and he did an amazing excellent job. The wings are the only reason I gave the place 4 stars, since the hot sauce was not hot but sweet and the mild dry rub was excessive. The meat quality and cook were outstanding. The pulled pork nachos beat sneaky dee’s by a million points. They also have an extensive choice of bourbons and southern beers. The place is clean and pleasant, the prices are reasonable.
Overall a nice relaxed place with 5-​star service, cheap beer and good food. Must see at King west.

I saw the rating and some of the reviews and was expecting to be disappointed.
I couldn’t have been more wrong. The server/​bartender (Ryan) was friendly and we were well attended. Ok, it was not busy but that can sometimes be worse.
The food was actually quite tasty and well prepared. I had the pulled pork Po Boy and it was delicious!
I highly recommend the place!

Food is mediocre. Only have two servers for entire restaurant and bar so service takes forever. As a result service is poor. Waitor brought water and take food order. Never asked for drinks. And this was all when the place was empty. It’s decent at best to get away from crowds. But that’s probably the only good thing I have to say about this place. They really need better management

There was a live band which was so loud I couldn’t hear my buddy next to me. My friend and I got the «BIG DAWG PLATTER» which was confusing because the menu said «Serves 2, $ 29.99 per person». We had a few to drink so we thought it was a great idea. Wrong we were! This is a crapload of mediocre food. Some of it was good, some was over seasoned, but definitely NOT worth the price. A couple of the guys who got individual sandwiches were happy with their dishes, though.

«Our Smoked Beef Brisket was loaded with meat — up to the point when it was a bit difficult to eat. Nonetheless, it was a very flavorful meal especially when coupled with their home-​made barbecue sauce.»
«The experience made for a very heavy lunch, maybe that was the reason for not having a lot more people visiting for lunch? Not every company will allow you to take an after-​meal nap at your desk — a very southern approach. Nachos might have been a better options for us.»
«As southern cuisine goes, the only veggies we had came in bottles of sauces on the table — to be expected though.»
These are just a few bites of our review.

Good southern bbq spot right downtown toronto!
This place is interesting. Was once listed on BlogTO as top BBQ joint in Toronto (though ¹²⁄₁₃), but seemed to have lost popularity/​cred. I walk by all the time, even went in a couple times, but never stayed because it’s always weirdly empty! Have heard some say that it only gets packed late night as bata near closing. But finally committed and it was worth it! Went saturday mid day and it had a decent crowd going!
Ribs, wings, sides, sandwiches/​wraps they have it all. Even a poutine list! House beer is a plus too!
Ribs– saucy saucy. Some may find too saucy!
Wings– Dry Rub was good, but dry enough to want sauce! Also ordered Hot, which were flavourful with a kick! Not spicy to the point of only tasting the hotness.
Sides/​Etc:
Fried Pickles: made well, more juicy and less deep fried than most places.
Cole Slaw: SO delicious! Creamy yet light, the right amount of sweet! My favourite cole slaw hands down. Was great for balancing out all the salt and spice on everything else!
They have so many other options for mains as well as sides, would go back for more! (Need…more…slaw…) Especially want to try the jalapeño cheddar corn muffins. Unfortunately they were out. They had also discounted their darker house beer. So the food was surprisingly good, but I’m still wondering if this place is over its peak…
Try it for yourself and let me know your thoughts!

Man do I love southern barbecue and to have a place in Toronto that serves it up in that style is awesome. I read up on this place from many online reviews and my friends and I decided to give it a shot. The place was completely empty for a Friday night, which was weird, but who cares we got a table quick time!
The décor isn’t anything too noteworthy here, in fact I felt like I was in high school again sitting in my buddy’s basement while his mom made us dinner! Not a bad thing I suppose! Service was top notch and our servers came by constantly to refill drinks and get us various sauces and sides.
We all shared sliders, pulled pork poutines, sweet potato fries, pulled pork sandwiches and beef brisket sandwiches. Wow the meat was tender and the food tasted great. Be sure to come with an appetite because the portions are nice and huge, just like the south would want it!

Had an ok dinner here tonight, but I wouldn’t be able to rate it more than that for a few reasons.
The poutine seemed to be really yummy for the first three bites, but the gravy like consistency of the cheese seemed a little strange when the menu specified that it was made with cheese curds.
The ribs had too much smoky BBQ sauce on them. While said sauce was very good, it was laid on too thickly. The ribs themselves were not fall off the bone tender or incredibly succulent.
The smoked wings in dry rub were ok, too. It’s hard to find another word to describe anything we had because none of it was very good and none of it was very bad. For 1 pound there were 4 whole wings, which would amount to 4 drummies and 4 flats with the tips attached. Dry rub had flavour but no heat. I would have liked to have seen some more zing for southern BBQ.
Service was friendly, but not the most efficient. I’m not sure this was completely her fault. We were a little more forgiving once we realized that our server was both tending bar and serving by herself. I understand that staffing a Tuesday night on King St can be difficult and that service staff need to make money and the less servers, the more money. However, it took us 20 minutes from the time we sat down until the time we got our drinks. The server explained that the bourbon lemonade was literally fresh squeezed so that was why it took so long. The drink was pretty much the only thing about the meal that was outstanding and we’re totally forgiving patrons if things are acknowledged.
The atmosphere was a bit much for me on a Tuesday night at 8 pm. The music was great, but blaring and in true King St. D-​bag style some guy was pacing right in front of our table yapping on his phone. I wish people like this would just die… not literally the people themselves, but the habit of being a d-​bag.

Ordered the wings both hot sauce and the dry rub and were huge and delicious .
Try their house beer it’s smooth and fantastic! !

3.5 stars.
The southern brunch here is pretty intimidating. For $ 11.95, you get a giant heaping plate of fries, cheese, pulled pork, and two poached eggs smothered in sauce. Can anyone eat this entire plate without passing out? Good luck. We also had the eggs Benny with pulled pork served alongside home fries and fruit.
The portions are quite large. You won’t leave hungry.
I wasn’t a fan of the big chunks of cubed potatoes nor the somewhat dry orange slices. The cheese curds in the poutine weren’t squeaky.
The pulled pork was my favourite and the eggs are cooked well too. This place is A-​OK in my books for brunch but I think dinner might be their specialty.
BTW: Service was very friendly and courteous.

So many mixed reviews here.
I came in with three friends on a cold winters day for poutine week #lapoutineweek. After spending a year in rural Quebec and only eating poutine in greasy spoons, I’m a purist. I almost never stray away fries, gravy («sauce» in Quebec) and squeaky cheese (cheese curds). In this circumstance our server, Matt highly recommended the Mighty Loutine, pulled pork poutine. I went for it.
Two of us had the small pulled pork poutines, one a small chili-​cheese poutine (for veggies) and other is lacto, so she went for a pulled pork sandwich and fries. First, fries were awesome. Fries are the base of any poutine. Cheese curds are fundamental to any poutine. Anyone that throws in any random cheese to poutine, is not poutine. A real poutine means squeaky cheese. The gravy was good, but the primary takeaway from this meal was the yummy pulled pork, stringy, and season perfectly. Poutines were $ 7.90. so you can’t really go wrong. For two bucks more you can go for a large poutine which is enormous. Hello, gluttony!
I’m also going to mention the service, because it was remarkable. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had such a great customer service anywhere. Matt was super friendly, attentive, and must have brought over a dozen re-​fills before we could even ask. I’m definitely coming back here for afterwork drinks.