Raglan's Bistro (LOWER LONSDALE)

Raglan's in Lower Lonsdale is a Tiki bar that serves large bowls of intoxicating tropical beverages. Being here for lunch, I held myself back and opted for food instead. The "bistro" has a wicked surfer/reggae vibe, and is apparently named after a famous surfspot in New Zealand. I decided to go for something a bit more expensive than my usual lunch fare, and therefore a bit more unique.

The Hawaiian Tuna burger ($15)  is a seared slab of tuna with a Chipotle mayo and a slice of pineapple on it. At $15 (most expensive "burger" there), I was expecting to be blown away. Well, the Chipotle mayo was delicious (great with their yam fries) and added a nice element to the burger. The sweet fresh pineapple really made my tastebuds tingle and offset the burger beautifully. Sadly, the Tuna wasn't seared, it was definitely cooked through. It was either overcooked or freezer burnt, having that stringier texture but not chewy, so I'm betting on the former. The tuna still tasted good, just not full of as much flavour as everything else on the burger, being overpowered by the pineapple.

The French Fries were hand-cut and covered in salt. They were a little soft to my liking, but tasted fine and the size was decent. The couple bites of fresh coleslaw in the corner was better than the fries. Crisp and with a bit of tang, I wish there was a much larger portion and less fries.

I enjoy Raglans. The large tropical punch bowls are always a winner with friends and the food is normally quite good. The atmosphere is awesome here. They often show surf videos on the TV screens around the joint, the music is always relaxed and summery, and the bright colourful decor on the walls of mixed surfer paraphanelia and random traveller bits-n-bobs really adds to what makes this place a great place to be. I've had their incredibly large AND delicious pulled pork poutine before, and the burritos are also a great place to start. While the prices are higher than most bars, it's definitely a good place to check out at least once with friends.

Sherman has a great review of Raglans!

3.5/5