Reviews of The Friendly Butcher (Butcher Shop)

Niomi Davis

This place has me hooked! Out door bbq and patio in the summer is such a great touch! I recommend this place to all my coworkers and they all come back happy with the food and service.

Barbara Carmona

Delicious Burger!

Becca C.

Found the freshest ox tail in town. The owner is very friendly and knowledgeable. Great local business. Will come back for beefs, pork and others on frequent basis. Highly recommend.

Mike Thomson

Excellent quality

Geoff Owen

Fantastic meat. Fresh. Great variety. High quality. Local. Best customer service anywhere, for anything.

Rolston Miller

I love them! I feel like I am buying from family for my family. I enjoy going there as much as I love eating their food!

Alex Herceg

Staff don’t wear masks nor understand social distancing.

Sumanthan Selvarajah

The food is amazing and the people there are even better. They make something new and fun for lunch every day. The menu changes daily so it's worth checking out their Facebook page prior to heading out. Fresh and delicious sandwich. They also do amazing meat for cooking and grilling the folks that work their a very knowledgeable so ask away your cooking questions and they will always have the answer.

J P

The service is horrible? Whaaaaat? I've been in many times and the service has always been prompt, polite and fun. Their meat pies are excellent, and they sell a ton of fresh holiday turkeys but order ahead.

Tonya Stewart

The name doesn’t lie. The Friendly Butcher is the nicest shop around. The staff are kind and knowledgeable, they take the time to get to know you and your family and to help with your shopping. The food is exceptional from the fresh meats to the prepared foods. And they carry a variety of brands you can’t get elsewhere. The catering is also great when you don’t have time to do it yourself. And it’s a great place for lunch. Honestly, it’s the only place I go to buy meat. It’s an exceptional family owned business who make their customers feel like family!

Christine Moore

I went in looking for a roast...the staff were helpful on choosing the cut aaannnd with cooking instructions, that was awesome! Super friendly (true to there name), great vibe!

Adam Morke

We've been ordering online for pickup during the COVID crisis from the Friendly Butcher's website. The meat we've ordered including sausage, beef, and turkey has been delicious. Significantly better than what we were used to from a large supermarket. We plan to keep ordering from here once the COVID crisis is over. I would recommend them to anyone.

Josh Rooney

Friendly staff and a great place to grab lunch off the BBQ!

Hazem Abu Lughod

I was driving by this place so i decided to give it a shot…and i’m glad i did. I tried some fillet mignon and grilled it on the grill and the griddle (stove top). The meat was very tender and juicy. Loved it. Will definitely try it again to try other items.

Shannon FitzPatrick

Recently discovered this place after moving to the area within the last year and had only great experiences with quality and service until we ordered catering. We ordered beef sliders and chicken tacos. I asked if the tacos were hard or soft shells on the phone when placing the order. I was told they were hard shells. Perfect. My husband went to pick up the catering the morning of the party we were hosting and returned home with the sliders, filling for the chicken tacos and two bags of Tostitos (Restaurant and Scoops). These are not hard taco shells (obviously) and at $3 a piece, I expected 40 mini taco shells. On my way to the grocery store to pick up tortillas for 30 people 5 minutes before our party was going to start, I gave them a call to see if maybe we could work something out (maybe a discount or a reimbursement for the additional money I was about to spend to have a real taco or even a sincere, sympathetic apology). When I explained the situation, I was told there must have been a miscommunication because that’s how they’ve been doing it for years and there was nothing they could do. If that’s truly the case, please update your catering menu or at the very least, disclose this to your customer when they are placing the order. Tostitos are not tacos and it’s sad to me that a customer would be happy with this. While the sliders and makeshift tacos were delicious and our guests raved about it, we can no longer support this business because of the lack of tact involved in the predicament we were faced with. We won’t be back for our weekly butcher buys.

Moritz Schmidt

New go-to lunch spot in North Toronto! Walk up to Mark who runs the barbeque on the patio, order up a special, and watch it being made in front of you. Flank steak sandwich last Saturday was amazing. One of those gems that you almost don't want to share... The butcher shop itself is as good as it gets, but really, I come here for the lunch.

LUX Cleaning

We've shopped at many butcher shops over the last 30 years. Many of them many would consider "high end" and pricey butcher shops. In our opinion, nothing beats the value at Friendly. Remarkable consistency of quality, service and "reasonable" prices ranks this family run business #1 in our books.

Peter D

The service at the friendly butcher is horrible to say the least. The food is mediocre but the rude service, especially from ken (the owner of the meat shop) trumps the decent meat. He is the man with white hair who provides the sandwiches. When i walked in one day after months of providing the company with plenty of money by purchasing their sandwiches on a daily basis, they changed the price of their sandwiches. So being a common customer i asked why they changed it, then he get very defensive and began to criticize me. Telling me i was wrong and "you shouldn't challenge yourself to often" trying to say that i was stupid. If your are looking for a good sandwich i recommend Chicco Sandwichio or any of the great burger joints along the yonge strip.

Steffi Black

Love the friendly customer service and knowledgeable tips for roasts or barbecues. Always helpful and it's a fun place to stop in too!

Max R

Excellent service and products.

tyler seif

chicken burger was really good

Amanda N

I actually did have very friendly service here! Good cuts of meat and prepackaged meals.

Noel Spencer

Fantastic neighbourhood butcher shop. Ken & Donna are great. I get a lot of my meat for the smoker here, as well, they have a great selection of pies and frozen meals. The Honey Dijon chicken off a charcoal grill is crazy good.

Rebecca Polatsek

Great food and great service. Goos the extra mile to make sure his customers are happy! TRUELY THE FRIENDLY BUTCHER!

ketchupgun

The quality is truly unmatched and SUPER nice folks. Worth going out of the way for. And Local!!

Vanda Orsini

Organized a Robbie Burns event for 20 people and ordered the Haggis. It was very good and not a bit was left over. It was a bit peppery (one person), but no complaints. Thank you, Friendly Butcher

Ryan Hux

This shop has the highest quality meat and produce every time I stop in. The BBQ sandwiches they often offer during warmer months are fantastic too.

Matthew Lavers

This is my favourite butcher shop in Toronto, hands down. The quality is superb, the staff have excellent experience and knowledge of their craft and product. If I lived closer, I would shop here every day.

Luna G

I’ve never actually gotten meats here but we’ve enjoyed the daily lunch menu that they offer during the warmer season. There’s always someone out on the grill cooking up something delicious! Worth a try if you’re in the area!

Patrick Bowman

I can't imagine what could have happened to Peter D. I've lived in the neighbourhood for 20 years and have always had friendly and helpful service from Ken, his wife and kids. Ken does speak loudly, which might come off as intimidating if you didn't know him, but only for a few seconds until you realize he's tremendously friendly. Their meat is always high quality and very fresh. Prices are consistent with other high-end specialty butchers. (That is to say, higher than grocery stores but noticeably better).

Craig Omundsen

Superb selection of top of the range quality meat and meat-centric grocery items. My wife and I find the people working there to be very knowledgeable and friendly - just like the name. Huge thanks to the team.

A Kal

Best selection and quality of meat! Always great service whether you are picking up dinner or ordering for Thanksgiving or Christmas! I always come here to get steaks, ribs, porkchops and brisket. All of the staff is friendly and offering the best service. No question - I will always come back!

Shannon Bourne

Everyone is so friendly. So they live up to the name. The meat and the rest of the food is always fantastic. I highly recommend this place.

Spike The dancer

Family owned. This location has been established for 12 years. Owners are very friendly. The friendly butcher has all your bbq needs. Frozen foods, fresh entres ready to eat for take out. Daily lunch from 11am-3pm. Daily served. Take a look for yourself.

Liam Hoford

Too real ;)

Laura Ford

Bought hamburgers and spinach-feta sausages, both were delicious.

LYNN GROGAN

I love this place; I buy almost all of my meat/chicken here -- always fresh and delicious. The staff are very friendly; nothing is a problem for them. The sandwiches from the bbq are addictive. Their prepared foods are also great, especially the pulled pork, salmon and cabbage rolls. I am so glad to have this store in my neighbourhood

T L

Bought several NY steaks at $30+ /lb for a family BBQ. We have bought them here before and they were tender. This time they were more tough and chewy. Anyone else have this experience?

Brent Reed

Love this place. Outstanding service and high quality meats.

Ket B.

AVOID - STAFF NOT WEARING MASKS WHILE OMICRON SPREADS. On my last three visits to this butcher, all over the last 6 weeks, I have walked in and found staff unmasked. A gentleman who appears to be the owner is unmasked every time, including today. I've seen a couple of younger staff wearing masks on a prior visit, but the 'owner' shuns masks. Today two people were walking around unmasked, including the 'owner' again. I walked out each time. I will not shop at a place that is so reckless and, in my view, unsafe. The City bylaw requires masks. The Province requires masks under the Reopening Ontario Act—and there are steep penalties for breaking this law. Not wearing masks places customers and employees at risk. It's against the law.

Hadryan Orha

after buying better than restaurant quality steaks from here, believe me , i will never buy a steak from any grocery store again . top notch quality and indeed friendly service. See you this weekend :)

Anthony Bracey-gibbon

Amazing food. Friendly staff.

Dan Smith

Very expensive. Waited a few minutes. No one asked me what i wanted. I left the store. Never go back again.

Cheryl S

You can tell that they care about customer service, for that alone they have my business. On top of that they have a wide variety of prepared and fresh foods.

Mark

One of the best spots to get your locally farmed proteins in the city. It is night and day from the stuff you get at the super market and well worth the small increase you pay in price. Stop supporting factory farmed meat and get some real steaks on your plate! What's not to like? Nice people and good food!

Marg Cathers

I hosted a party on Friday, and I was impressed with all their service. JJ was great in organizing the catering and arranged for a Chef and a Server to come to my house. The food , Steaks and Chicken were outstanding (Thank you Marshall!) and the server (Lauren) was incredible, I think she could read my mind, she just knew what to do when. My guests were impressed with how tasty the meat was and also commented on the great service by Lauren. She topped up drinks, arranged the appetizer and drink table and helped me tremendously. Thank you Friendly Butcher! Marg

Matthew Chiarotto

The staff are so friendly and the meat is so good!

John Filipetto

We ordered food for a party of 20 from the Friendly Butcher this past weekend. I worked with Lauren and we put the menu together. She had great recommendations to make sure I had all I needed. The food was ready and nicely packed and labeled when I picked it up. She also gave us instructions on how best to prepare the items that needed to be heated . The food was excellent. Our guests could not stop eating it and they had plenty of praise. We definitely recommend the Friendly Butcher for any food occasion.

N M

We got the best steaks (Grass fed NY cut) I’ve ever eaten from here! They have a range of products including good quality fresh, ontario produce and meat. It’s expensive for us, but we consider it a treat to ourselves!

Victoria Marques

Amazing food and exceptional service! I always receive a warm welcome and the sandwiches there are fantastic!

Ramona Buliga

Some of the best sausages I've ever had .They also grind the cuts of meat you choose

Stephanie Marques

My family has been going to the friendly butcher over 10 years now, and there is no other place we get our turkeys from. The staff is very knowledgeable about all the products sold and it's a family owned business which I appreciate.

Danielle Lombardo

Always buy Turkey here. Great quality super nice staff.

Sarah Hartkorn

Really good place to get high quality meats. I love their on-site made sandwiches. I am also a big fan of their premade frozen meals - everyone needs to try the lamb Sheppard's pie and Moroccan Chicken!

Casey Vucko

I absolutely love going to The Friendly Butcher! The staff is amazing and the variety for local meats and others goods are spectacular!

Zoey L.

I go here for lunch sometimes if I want a nice bbq chicken sandwich and normally the owner makes the best sandwiches and burgers however the other day I had a young man make my chicken club and it was HORRIBLE. Chicken was pink and undercooked and thankfully I caught it before I really got into eating it. If you want to pick up lunch here ask for owner to make your sandwich or get your food cooked extra well done.

Shai Burstein

Truly a neighborhood friendly butcher. Great people

Alex Lee

Visited this butcher twice recently. Not so sure about the "friendly" part in the name. The steaks were acceptable with minimal marbling. And claimed 40days dry aged steaks were lack of the beefy/aged flavor, at least they were tender.

Guy Inguelph

the best butcher i know other than myself.

Sebastian Jablonski

I placed an order for something they didn't have at the store and was promised to get it within a week. When I followed up 1.5weeks later I was informed that they couldn't get it but nobody made an effort to call me and inform me about it.

Steven Pulver

Great food, great service, highly recommend

VeryPrivate VeryPersonal

They do not have diverse suppliers and do not buy from minorities.