Borrel

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Toronto's only Dutch-inspired "brown cafe." Craft beer, genever, cocktails, traditional Dutch bar sn

11/01/2026

Hallo! Hope you had a wonderful Halloween. It was a lot of fun making fresh spookwafels and fries for trick-or-treaters last night. Thanks for stopping by!

Today's our annual post to mark the occasion that nine years ago today we opened up the building you see pictured here. Before that, there were also more than three years where we tested Borrel out at various bars around the city (thank you for having us!) in hopes that we might one day have a place of our own.
.. So it's been a long time! And obviously, free spookwafels and fries are not enough to express our thanks to you for keeping us going all this time (not to mention the fact they were subpar fries)!

While we normally like to try to set something up for an anniversary party of sorts, we thought we'd take this Sunday to get out of the building for a day out. Despite our limited hours, I'm always prepping 12 to 13 hours on days we're closed and with Alison working from home, it seems like we rarely get out of the building!

Thankfully, we really love what we do and you allow us to keep doing that! Thank you again, we hope to see you soon!

Love, Justin and Alison

10/31/2026

Boo! Happy Halloween! And thanks so much for the busy Friday night!

Just a reminder that we are not open for regular service tonight but will be serving these ghost-shaped stroopwafels (spookwafels!) for trick-or-treaters from 5-7:30 p.m.-ish. Also have free cones of fries for accompanying parents and passersby ahead of Borrel's ninth birthday tomorrow (warning: they are not premium fries!).

Thank you as always! Fijne Halloween!

10/30/2026

Hallo friends. Hope you are well. Open tonight at 6 p.m. and just a reminder that we've decided to close for regular service for Halloween tomorrow. ... And of course, not long after we decided that, we got some reservation requests in. After nine years (on Sunday), shows that we still haven't figured out Murphy's Law. Our apologies for disappointing anyone. We'll be serving up ghost-shaped stroopwafels for trick-or-treaters and cones of fries for accompanying parents and passersby from 5-7:30 p.m.-ish. And pretty sure we can have you in for a b**r or something if you want to come in. It'll just be Alison and me manning the shop, so be patient! Hope you can make it by! Tot ziens!

10/28/2026

Hallo! Sorry for the lack of posts, but a big thank you to everyone who came by last week for what was probably our busiest stretch since we've been back! Also, huge thanks to our friends at for the very special Metal Monday book launch (and special thanks to for the killer soundtrack!).

Speaking of thanks, Borrel is coming up on its ninth year of existence on Nov. 1. And of course, we have you to thank for that! We usually try to find some way to mark the occasion (last year we of course had the Jays to thank for a very exciting Game 7 in which ... OK, maybe still too soon to revisit that night!), but given that Halloween is the night before and it's falling on a Saturday this year, we imagine some of us might be recovering from Halloween festivities or coming down from a candy high.

So we'll actually be closed on Sunday and will celebrate with a rare day outside of our beloved building. So instead, for Saturday we thought we'd show our appreciation with some free ghost-shaped stroopwafels (spookwafels!) for trick-or-treaters and free cones of fries. We'll be closed for regular service (we hardly expect we'd see anybody on a Halloween Saturday night) but out on our front deck from 5-7:30 p.m.-ish. ... So maybe a strange way to mark our anniversary but NOT being open officially ... and also serving free fries that, full disclosure, are from that disappointing batch of potatoes ... wait, is this even a show of appreciation at all?! ... Well, we hope so because we're truly grateful for the continued support we've received through the many incarnations of Borrel over the years.
.. Oh, and one final notice, our Saturday plans might be all for naught as the City is planning on tearing up the sidewalk on our street (happy anniversary!). We don't know when, but hopefully they wait till post-weekend. We'll keep you posted. Otherwise, open tomorrow and Friday from 6 p.m. onward and hopefully doing our thing on Saturday!

10/23/2026

Happy Friday! ... But not-so-happy Fry Day, unfortunately. Turns out those mutant potatoes made for some burnt sad fries. Now you and our staff get to look forward to me crying and moaning about it in the coming weeks. Still have some golden fries left so get 'em while you can! ... I know the Metal Mondayers are OK with the garbage fries (I think even prefers them!).

Open today at 6 p.m.! Tomorrow at 4 p.m.! Sold-out rijsttafel on Sunday! Awesome Western and body horror Metal Monday book launch happening on Monday! Email us at [email protected] with any questions or to make a reservation! Fijne weekend!

10/22/2026

Working with some alarmingly large potatoes over here. Just hope they make for good fries!

Back at it today and tomorrow at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m. Our rijsttafel on Sunday is sold out (thank you!). And then on Monday, as advertised yesterday, is a special edition of Metal Monday as we celebrate the launch of two great publications: the graphic novel "The Spine of the Land" and the body horror anthology "Your Body Is a Fever Dream" with our friends from !

Looking forward to a full week here at Borrel! If you want to make a reservation or have any questions, email us at [email protected]. Bedankt!

10/15/2026

It's officially snert season! ... Well, until another freakishly unseasonably hot day comes along. But too late for that anyway as Dutch pea soup is back on our menu!

The ultimate in Dutch comfort food, snert (also known as erwtensoep ... but what fun is that when you can call it snert?!) is a soup consisting of split green peas, diced celery root, leeks and parsley mixed in with shredded smoked ham hock and slices of rookworst, aka Dutch smoked sausage (we also have a great vegan version with shredded king oyster mushroom and vegan Dutch smoked sausage courtesy of our friends at )! It's your best bet against the cold! ... Although if there is another day in the high-twenties ahead, we do once in a while get a few customers who are disappointed it's not available during the summer months. So I guess you can enjoy it regardless of the weather!

The Dutch will say that the sign of a true snert is that it's thick enough to keep a spoon standing up right. Looks like this one passes the test! (Although truth be told, we probably do serve it a little more soupy here. Do let us know if that's blasphemy when you order and we'll make sure to give you an upright-spoon-snert guarantee!)

Sorry for the lack of social media presence lately but we are still here! Open today and tomorrow at 6 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday. Email us at [email protected] if you want to make a reservation or have any questions. Bedankt en tot gauw!

10/07/2026

Hello friends! Hope you are well. Just a heads up that we will be closed this Saturday ahead of Thanksgiving. Apologies for any inconvenience. We'll be open tomorrow and Friday at 6 p.m. Hope you can join us then! Email us at [email protected] to make a reservation or if you have any questions. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

10/06/2026

Goeiedag! Hope you are doing well. We were going to make our announcement for the rijsttafel ahead of Thanksgiving as we worried interest might wane post-turkey dinner. ... So we're doing just that. Only, the announcement is that we're already sold out. Subscribers to our newsletter and those eagle eyes on our monthly calendar have already booked up all the seats. But don't worry, there's another one next month! And if you want an early heads up on the date, you can subscribe to our newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/e1f7b17186d1/borrel-newsletter. Dank je wel!

10/04/2026

Doing this again! Stroopwafel Sunday in effect from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. ... or until sold.out. Alison busy making a pre-order of 10 so get 'em while you can!

Speaking of sold out, busy day yesterday (thank you!) and we're out of a number of dishes from the regular menu. Apologies in advance but we gor some brunch specials happening! Fijne Zondag!

10/01/2026

Dag vrienden! Fijne October! We're back at it today ... and hoping for a bit of a healthier month than September! Wow, that wasn't the most fun first month back at all. But it is nice to have a first month behind us and feel like we're getting back into the swing of things!

Open today and tomorrow at 6 p.m., 4 p.m. on Saturday and on Sunday we'll be doing what is likely our last Stoopwafel Sunday with Dutch-inspired brunch service of the year. (I think we are going to try doing just stroopwafels outside in November and maybe even December. Weather permitting!)

Brief look ahead: we'll be serving up fries at the last .east.community Farmers' Market at East Lynn Park from 3-7 p.m. next Thursday; closed on Saturday, Oct. 11 for Thanksgiving; a very special edition of Metal Monday on Oct. 26 and serving up some spooky stroopwafels for trick-or-treaters on Halloween (again, weather permitting!).

Email us at [email protected] with any questions or if you'd like to make a reservation. Thanks as always and hope to see you soon!

09/29/2026

Goeiedag! While weather is still permitting, we'll be doing the October Stroopwafel Sunday this Sunday! ... Well, some forecasts are calling for rain but we have an umbrella. ... And they always seem to get it wrong anyway!

Serving up freshly made jumbo stroopwafels from our front deck and Dutch-inspired brunch specials and regular menu inside from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Hope to see you there!

09/28/2026

Hallo! Hope you had a great weekend. Our first rijsttafel in three months went great last, thanks to everyone who attended! Although I did mean to post something and just ran out of time. Forgot how much work it is to put together!

Also for the first time in about three months: Metal Monday is happening tonight! As usual, we're kicking off with a bring-your-own-vinyl night. Only this time we're asking you to bring your favourite Canadian metal albums in solidarity of our home and native land during these tariff-troubling times.

I'm not usually one to get overly patriotic but this does feel an appropriate time to celebrate homegrown heavy metal. I'd hoped to get out to buy an Anvil or Voivod album but work kept me trapped in our building all week. ... But then I realized I've got a great selection of local independent metal from acquisitions at previous Metal Merch Markets courtesy of , , and ! Excited to give these a spin tonight! And excited to hear whatever you're bringing with you!

Open at 6 p.m.! Matt () taking care of you behind the bar! I'll be grilling up burgers and other eats on the barbecue! $6.66 pints of ! Good times and good tunes from the True North strong and heavy! ... Sorry, had to give that a shot. Hope to see you tonight! 🇨🇦🤘

09/25/2026

Happy Fry Day! Made some emergency fries last week to ensure we'd have enough after doing the Arts Fair on Sunday. Turns out, this box had the best potatoes I've seen in quite some time! Hope this means we're into prime Russet season with nothing but golden crispy fries ahead!

Can ensure we'll at least have these fries for tonight and maybe still some left. Open in about 10 minutes (sorry for lack of timely posts these days)! Come on by to try some! Open tomorrow at 4 p.m. and sold-out rijsttafel happening on Sunday. ... And then it's back to Garbage Fries for Metal Monday! Haha. Fijne weekend!

Address

1333 Danforth
Toronto, ON
M4J1N1

Website

https://www.borrel.ca/

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Phở 90 Toronto
1980 St Clair Avenue West, Unit J107

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