The Hook & Ladder Bar and Grill

Great place, and thank you for the 1st Responder theme. Next time I'm in, I'll get you a Britt & Area Fire Depatment patch.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Small clean firehouse themed family type breakfast spot, not too many choices in Bala and I really like supporting small family businesses. But only one server on a Sunday morning, friendly but makes a point to tell everyone who enters how over worked she is. Pretty pricey for just regular order of eggs, toast, sausage, bacon and diced hash browns.

A couple of bones to pick:
1/ They serve breakfast til 1PM but charge an extra $1.50 after 11. Seems nickel and diming the customer but whatever.
2/ They don't tell you til the bill comes but rye toast is an extra $1.50 too.
Taken together, two things we an extra 12 or our party of 4 plus tax and tip. $16 extra seems excessive
3/ Considering your spending $17 a plate for a normal breakfast (plus the above) the portion of hash browns you get is remarkably tiny. I mean if nothing else, pile the 30 cents of potatoes up a bit.

Service was good, just doesn't seem like good value, our bill was $120 and we only had coffee.

Great little restaurant! An icon of Bala!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

great breakfast

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

So, I ordered the burger, (the bellowing burger), for take out, along with two pizzas, ( by all reports the pizzas are excellent), (the servers were great and the service was quick). I have a dairy allergy so I ordered bacon no cheese. When I got the order back to the cottage I found it was cheese and no bacon.... I know a real first world problem, but maddening in that I just paid $19 + for it and I can't eat the frigging thing.

Overpriced, small portions.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 5

Enjoyed the food, wide selection.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

Excellent service, friendly and helpful and most welcoming, food was aplenty and tasty.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Pizza L Size

Little corner restaurant. Excellent area

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

Food was an incredibly long wait for a pretty mellow rush. Prices were way overcharged for the quality and wait time. Perhaps they need to consider an overhaul in staffing.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 1

We arrived at 10:15 am, only moderately packed, waited 1 and a half hours to get our food. Simple breakfast dishes. They didn't inform us of the typical wait time of 45 minutes (they mentioned it to the guests after we were leaving). The staff kept joking about forgetting our orders and mixing up our dishes. When it finally arrived, the toast was either stale or over toasted, even with Butter/Jam and the eggs were over cooked.

The atmosphere was the saving grace and they did reduce our checks because everything was late but that will not improve my disappointment in this place.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 1

Food was good, ambience was cute. But the crusty attitude of the older waitress who works there ruined my experience. If you can’t help but be a miserable person, go work at a passport office or a prison.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 2

I recently dined at Hook and Ladder in Bala, Ontario, and unfortunately, my experience left much to be desired. While the restaurant has a cozy atmosphere that fits well with the charm of the town, the overall experience was disappointing.

First, the portion sizes were surprisingly small, especially considering the high prices. It's frustrating to pay a premium and leave feeling unsatisfied. Additionally, the food took an unusually long time to arrive, which only added to the disappointment. Given the wait, I expected the dishes to be more substantial or at least justify the delay with exceptional quality.

Sadly, the price did not match the experience. For what you get, the meals are way overpriced. Bala has many great dining options, but unfortunately, Hook and Ladder doesn't quite measure up to its competition in terms of value for money.

Overall, while the ambiance is pleasant, the small portions, long wait times, and high prices make it hard to recommend Hook and Ladder for a satisfying dining experience.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 1

My boyfriend and I love it here! Staff is friendly specially Kim M, super sweet and good at her job! Food is also amazing!
10/10 recommend!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Atmosphere is good there but overpriced. $3 for tea? Charged extra for breakfast after 11am? Extra for rye toast??? Never told this when ordering. Won't be going there again unfortunately.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 4