Borrel

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!

09/19/2026

Hallo! We are open today at 4 p.m. and then serving up fries on Sunday at the DECA () Arts Fair at East Lynn Park from around 11:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. We're closed up on Monday but the following Monday, Sept. 28 we'll be hosting our first edition of Metal Monday post-summer!

We usually make this first Metal Monday back a bring-your-own-vinyl night, but this year we thought we'd give it a theme. Given the current trying times for our country with all of the tariff tomfoolery, we thought it appropriate to celebrate the best of our homegrown heavy metal with a Canada Strong Metal Monday! (Thanks to Maury Richards for the great idea!)

Please bring your favourite Canadian metal albums and join us from 6 p.m. for great tunes, $6.66 pints of Avling, snacks (thinking of firing up the barbecue in the back) and good times, eh? 🤘🇨🇦

09/18/2026

Fijne vrijdag! Thanks so much to all you who paid us a visit last night! Open today at 6 p.m. and tomorrow at 4 p.m. And then on Sunday, we'll be serving up fries on Sunday at the DECA (). We'll be there from around 11:30 a.m. until 3 or so (or until we sell out!).

In other news, we haven't announced this month's rijsttafel on social media ... because it sold out pretty much right away when we sent out our monthly newsletter! last week. We're sorry for the folks we couldn't accommodate this month, but we'll be doing it again next month! Sign up for our newsletter to be sure you don't miss out on the next one: https://mailchi.mp/9f3548bdaf1d/subscribe-to-our-monthly-newsletter.

Email us at [email protected] if you have any questions or if you want to make a reservation. Have a great weekend!

09/17/2026

Goeiedag! Hope you are well. Sorry for the lack of posts but a big overdue thank you to all of you who paid us a visit for our delayed first week back! It was so nice to be open again after such a strange false start at the beginning of the month. But now getting back into the swing of things ... and remembering how much prep I need to get caught up on!

We have a couple of things coming up this month. First: the DECA Arts Fair this weekend! We'll be there serving up cones of fries on Sunday September 20 from about 11:30 until 3 or so (or until we sell out!) The fair runs on both Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and there are so many great local artists selling beautiful things. Definitely worth a visit this weekend!

We're open at 6 p.m. tonight and tomorrow, and 4 p.m. on Saturday. As always, send us an email if you'd like to make a reservation or if you have any questions. Hope to see you soon!

09/13/2026

Stroop's up! Alison making fresh jumbo stroopwafels out front from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. And open inside for (limited) regular menu and Dutch-inspired brunch specials!

09/11/2026

Hallo! Thanks so much to everyone who came by yesterday for our first day back at it! So nice to have the place full again after such a long and delayed absence.

As much fun as it was to be back open, yesterday was also bittersweet as it marked our friend Harley's last day with us. Harley () joined us last December and it was awesome to have him as part of our front of house team. Whether wowing us with his cocktail-making prowess, his amazing rapport with customers or cheering us up with his good humour and positivity, we'll miss him dearly.

Harley's been absolutely killing it behind the bar at the very happening Book Bar () these days and has some very exciting other projects and ventures ahead. All so well-deserved and we wish him all the best. Thank you for everything, Harley!

09/10/2026

Dag friends! It's been a long and weird two weeks and I'm still not feeling 100%. But we are more than excited to be finally reopening after such a long time. Thanks already to the many reservations requests we've had come in. We're really looking forward to seeing you again!

Apologies in advance if orders take a bit longer than usual coming out of the kitchen. I'm probably just trying to remember how everything works back there! But we hope to get back into the rhythm quickly and have a great fall back at Borrel!

Open today and tomorrow at 6 p.m., 4 p.m. on Saturday and open on Sunday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. for Stroopwafel Sunday! Tot gauw!

09/09/2026

Goeiedag! OK, finally reopening tomorrow at 6 p.m. and have a nice four-day week ahead with this month's edition of Stroopwafel Sunday! We'll be serving up freshly pressed jumbo stroopwafels just like they have at the markets in the Netherlands!

We make them out on our front patio and then we're open inside for regular service and Dutch-inspired brunch specials from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. We'll keep doing them as long as weather permits so hopefully we still have a couple more to go. We've missed doing them so hope you can join us Sunday or any other day this week! Email us at [email protected] if you have any questions or want to make a reservation. Tot gauw!

09/08/2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWdEmuwjaAE

Goeiedag! Hope you are doing well. As much of a bummer as the past couple weeks have been, this video has been putting a smile on my face and reminding me how excited I am to reopen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWdEmuwjaAE

Last May, we got a visit from Bart Lijdsman, creator and host of the YouTube channel Weet Je Dat Ook Weer (https://weetjedatookweer.nl). It’s a fantastic collection of in-depth videos that put a spotlight on all things Dutch, revealing the unique and sometimes unexpected stories behind facets of everyday life and culture in the Netherlands that might often get taken for granted.

While primarily based in the Netherlands, Bart found some stories with a Dutch hook that brought him over to North America – including us! We were honoured to take part and it was a lot of fun having him and his cameraman Dion Huiberts here. They couldn’t have been nicer … or more professional! I’m pretty camera shy but they made me feel totally at ease and I probably rambled on for longer than I should have (in Dutch, no less!).

And we couldn’t be more thrilled with the result Bart sent us just before our trip back home. They really did a beautiful job putting together this lovely document of our humble little attempt at a bruin cafe in Canada. Thank you again Bart and Dion, we’ll always treasure this!

You can watch the video (with handy English subtitles!) and more at https://www.youtube.com/ (we're the second listing in the Videos section, posted 11 days ago ... or just use the link I put at the top of this post!). And we encourage you to subscribe to the channel and check out the other fascinating stories about the Netherlands they have there!

Aan het randje van downtown Toronto vind je Borrel, een écht Nederl...