Andy Z.
Yelp
A decent patio experience, but a little overrated for how much people rave about it.
I'll start by saying this, Pennies a great spot to come and spend with friends, grab some drinks, and eat some finger food. But, I do believe that people who call this the best patio in Toronto are stretching it.
Pennies has become a very popular patio option to the point there is almost always a line to be seated. We had waited approximately 30 minutes for a seat for two, but with how the patio is layer out, you'll have to share a table with other people or sit on high chair facing the street. I'm not too big a fan of the patio itself as the surrounding area isn't anything special. The ambience does get nice when the sunsets and the lights come on, but I think during sunset is when the vibe feels best.
The service her is decent, host/hostesses are friendly but sometimes struggle to take care of the line up. The servers are decently quick, but there was two instances of our order being brought incorrectly or needed us to re-ask the same request again.
As for the food, I think the best part is the tater tots. Especially the supreme tots, if I came here and wasn't in the mood for sliders, I would definitely order the tots by themselves with a drink, as for the sliders, I feel this is where people exaggerate how good they are. After having one or two, they all start to taste underwhelming/ tasting the same as others. The bacon cheeseburger slider was very boring and did not taste too good. I think the chicken options were the best we had.
Overall I cannot deny Pennies is a great experience, but I personally wouldn't do a date here again but instead come with 4+ friends because due to everybody else talking, it's hard to have 1-on-1 conversations.