This will be Pulp’s first show in Toronto since 1998 If you wanna do whatever common people do, well now’s your chance, in the presence of the legendary Pulp when they play Toronto. Well-known in Toronto, DJ Lazarus (a fellow Brit) opened his own alternative nightclub, cocktail lounge and event space called Ground Control last October and it’s been doing great! Inspired by David Bowie, Ground Control has a large dance floor, two serving bars and is a fully accessible venue. Britannia is a regular video dance party featuring Britpop, Madchester and UKindie favourites. The last event had over 30 ..read more

Should be a food photographer It was Sunday night and that’s always a good time for a curry so decided to check out Durbar Indian Cuisine (2469 Bloor Street West = Bloor/South Kingsway) and see how they fared. Decided to try a dish for the first time EVER: Chicken Bhuna. Never had it before for some reason, but liked the description on the website of, “Well spiced chicken curry with a thick sauce,” so it had to be done. The sauce was indeed nice and thick and very tasty, but the only thing we didn’t like was the way the chicken was cubed. That sounds very picky but the cubes were large and a l ..read more

The pie is not a bad size but not massive Brits in Toronto’s favourite British shop A Bit of Home has a frozen section and recently they got some new pies in, so we decided to try the British Grocer Steak & Guinness Pie. The pie wasn’t a bad size but then again not massive. You’ll definitely need some mash and veggies to accompany it. Instructions say cook from frozen and it takes about 45-50 minutes, so factor that time in if you’re in a rush or starving. We really liked the crust — it browned nicely and didn’t fall apart or anything. There was a decent amount of meat in the pie, but we w ..read more

The portion was actually 30% bigger than this but we started to eat before we remembered to take a photo We did a search back in the Brits in Toronto archives and can’t believe there isn’t a review of Roti Palace of India (3321 Bloor Street West = Islington/Bloor) as it’s been a west end neighbourhood staple for years. So let’s rectify that. We’ve tried quite a few dishes from there previously, namely the Eggplant & Potato, Chicken Tikka Masala and Lamb Chettinad — all very good — but the one we love (and shown in the photo) is the ubiquitous Chicken Vindaloo … so got that again. This is d ..read more

The bowl was big so the portion looks small It’s kind of rare to find a curry-flavoured soup around Toronto so our hearts skipped a beat as we stumbled across a NEW offering on the Panera Bread (various locations) menu: Chicken Tikka Masala Soup. We had to have it. Just had to. First impressions were that it was a generous portion size for the price. Some soups on sandwich chains’ menus are often an afterthought and smallish, but this one makes a good lunch option. We dug in. It was nice and thick, almost like a curry sauce in itself, with quite a bit of rice too … although that seemed a littl ..read more

Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners Nigel Nelson from the Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners reached out to Brits in Toronto with his latest thoughts. He mentioned stepping back from fighting the “frozen British State Pension” issue and sent in the following article. Thanks and all the best, Nigel. Anne Puckridge is 98 years old, and served in all of the armed forces, in India during WWII. She receives a weekly pension of £72.50, far below the current basic state pension, which by April will reach £156.20 per week. Why? Because at the age of 76, Anne moved to Canada to be closer to he ..read more

The portion sizes were quite generous Decided to take a break from the usual favourite curry houses and try something different, so did a quick search and found Kesariya Indian Cuisine which opened in 2022. They’re located at Lockport Avenue and Shorncliffe Road. As is my wont — and how I test a new Indian restaurant discovery — I went for the Chicken Karahi and Mixed Raita. I didn’t request extra spicy because I wanted to see what the defualt level was. The spice level wasn’t overly nose-blowing hot, but had a nice kick to it. I could handle more. The portion size of both dishes were generous ..read more

How good does that look? Brits in Toronto got word of a family-run brew pub at the corner of Mount Pleasant and Eglinton that has been open since 1991. What’s so special abut that you may ask? Well, they have an open fermentation brew house with Ringwood yeast which is a 200-year-old yeast that came to them from the town of Ringwood in the New Forest, UK. They serve real ale as well as a number of English ales all brewed in-house. So, let’s all say hello to The Granite Brewery & Tied House to find out more about this British connection. Over to you, Brewmaster Mary Beth … What kind of brew ..read more

Excited yet?! Dan got in touch with Brits in Toronto about his brand “England House” to let us know that they’re setting up a supporters’ home at the Madison Avenue Pub in Toronto for the games this year and would love our support. We’re happy to help so here’s the details for the Toronto events with Canada-wide events here. MADISON AVENUE PUB [ TORONTO ] 8:00 a.m. | England v Iran | Monday, November 21 2:00 p.m. | England v USA | Friday, November 25 2:00 p.m. | England v Wales | Tuesday, November 29 Tickets. Here’s the accounts for Instagram and Facebook if you want to get in touch with Dan ..read more

Coronavirus or COVID-19 In these scary and uncertain times, we thought it would be useful to compile a list of coronavirus/COVID-19 resources to help Brits in Toronto keep updated on what may affect them and their loved ones in the local area. Newcomers to the city may find it handy too. This is definitely not an exhaustive list and we’ll add to and update it as we find relevant information. Please send suggestions via the contact form or tweet us, thanks. Stay healthy, everyone. Toronto Public Health City of Toronto COVID-19 updates Office of the Mayor John Tory List of hospitals in Toronto ..read more