There were a few things that intrigued me about the new bar/restaurant taking over the place of The Cheer: the name, the fact that they were boasting 29 taps, and the fact that they just recently finished building a nice new patio. The historical implication behind Jekyll and Hyde’s name, is that a ‘Freehouse’ was a pub that could sell any beer it wanted, whereas ‘pubs’, or public houses, only sold beer from certain breweries.

The building that Jekyll and Hyde’s now inhabits was once home to a brew-pub back in the day, and what better way to pay tribute to that then to offer beer flights? For my beer geek boyfriend and I, this seemed like a no-brainer. We were a little disappointed that there wasn’t a bit more in terms of craft beer on the menu, but I managed to still put together a decent selection out of their premium and ultra draught picks, steering away from the domestic draughts that you could pretty much get anywhere (4oz. of any five draught for $7); my five picks were Blanche de Chambly, Big Rock Saaz, Strongbow Cider, New Castle, and Big Rock Foul Mouth.

It was a nice balmy evening so we opted to sit on the patio, and luckily for us it was $2 slider night, so we started off with one of those. They were probably the high point of the meal, as they were a good size with plentiful toppings (lettuce, tomato, onion, and chipotle mayo) and were very tasty. After only having one, I felt myself wanting more, but instead we ordered the fish tacos ($12) and the everything pizza ($14).

The fish tacos were cooked well, but they lacked any sort of fresh guacamole or lime flavour one might’ve wanted to accompany them. Funnily enough, the pizza was, quote “the greasiest pizza I’ve had in a long time” according to my dining partner, despite the fact that when he picked it up all the toppings slid off due to a high level of grease. I noticed that the menu has many of the same elements as it did when it was the Cheer (the rosemary fries were always a good mid-evening snack), so they may have changed the name, but they didn’t totally overhaul their approach to the food service.

Overall, I wouldn’t go here to sit inside and have dinner. The interior is dark, and meant to serve as a bar/event venue – which it does well - but not so much as a restaurant. Beer flights are a popular thing right now because they allow you to try something new without the risk of ordering a full pint, and if that allows people to expand their beer palettes, I think I can get onboard with it.

Published in Volume 68, Number 28 of The Uniter (July 2, 2014)