Borrel

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...

09/07/2026

Hallo! Hope you are having a great long weekend and your kids are enjoying their last day of the holidays ahead of heading back to school tomorrow!

We're finally getting ready to get back to work ourselves over here. It's been almost two weeks of this virus now and I'm STILL feeling its effects. Thankfully, I am functioning and slowly getting everything in order for opening on Thursday.

Hoping to be fully recovered soon as we have a bunch of things we're really looking forward to hosting this month. And we're really looking forward to seeing you here again soon! If you want to contact us for a reservation or have any inquiries, email us at [email protected].

OK, won't keep you from your last day of the summer holidays. Enjoy and hope to see you soon!

09/03/2026

Hello friends. Just a reminder that our planned grand reopening today is not so grand as I'm still not feeling well. We're going to remain closed for the long weekend and postpone reopening until next Thursday, Sept. 10. So sorry to disappoint anyone. We've had some reservation emails come in so if haven't seen the notices and you're not on social media, I sincerely apologize if you're making the trek to see us this weekend only to find us closed. To say I'm disappointed myself would be a big understatement. I'm really bummed out about this and itching to get back to work. Yesterday was encouraging only to find that today is more difficult again. It's been a two-steps-forward-one-step-back kind of week and I'm sick of it (no pun intended!). Hope to be posting some more positive news in the coming days. Hope you have a great long weekend!

09/01/2026

And ... we're not quite back. Unfortunately, the cold/fever/flu/whatever-I-picked-up-at-the-end-of-our-holiday has not let up but rather gotten worse since our return. So much so that we've made the regretful decision to remain closed for the long weekend and postpone our reopening to Thursday, Sept. 10.

I've certainly worked (perhaps ill-advisedly) through many a sick day during our years at Borrel so please believe when I say this bout has completely knocked me out. Since we've been back, I've tried to work a couple of days and even thought I might be on the mend only to be bedridden the entire next day. It's an annoying back-and-forth cycle. So given all that still needs to get done and not being able to predict how I'll be feeling by Thursday, it seems like this is the most sensible call to make.

It's obviously not the end of the world and I don't mean to be overdramatic but I'm super frustrated and disappointed. After being closed for a very nice month-long break, the last thing I need is more time off! ... But I guess I do. As they say, health is the most important thing. And we want to make sure we're fully ready to go for the fall when we reopen. So we hope by next week, we can do just that! I'm excited to get things going again in the kitchen and seeing you all in here again.

Apologies again for this and to anyone who planned to come visit us this weekend. We'll have the calendar and newsletter out in the coming days and some updates on what we have planned for our abbreviated September. Can't wait to feel better and open back up!

08/28/2026

Goeiedag! We are back! ... Well, we won't be opening until Thursday, Sept. 3 but we are officially back home! Glad to have the extra time to get everything set up as I came down with a brutal cold the last days of our vacation. The exact same thing happened last year so this is becoming somewhat of an unfortunate tradition or something (does anybody else get that?).

In any case, while it's making it a bit tougher to get back into the swing of things, it's great to be home and we're excited to reopen. Will hopefully get back to some regular posting on social media after the weekend to let you know what we're up to. Can't wait to see you all again! Fijn weekend!

08/26/2026

Heading back home! ... Heyo! Obviously not by canoe, but we're gearing up for our flight back to Toronto and then getting everything ready (and trying to remember how everything works!) at Borrel after our long break to reopen on Thursday, Sept. 3!

This idyllic scene is from our recent stay at the absolutely gorgeous and serene , a cottage on a little private island in Reeuwijk, just outside of Gouda ... that we could bike to! Cottage life Dutch-style!

We'll be writing about this and our other adventures this past month in future posts and our newsletters (which you can sign up for here if you like: https://mailchi.mp/e1f7b17186d1/borrel-newsletter). Sorry for the lack of posts this month. We decided to take a vacation from social media as well. But we can't wait to get back and hope to see you when we reopen Thursday, Sept. 3! Tot gauw!
.. And I did start helping Alison with paddling as soon as I finished the video!

07/22/2026

OK, let's try this again! Serving up deep-fried Dutch and Indonesian bites at tonight from 5 p.m. onward! Rain or shine! Apologies to anyone who came by hoping to see us last night. The weather wasn't quite as severe as what they forecasted but still enough of a downpour at 9 p.m. that would've made being outside with the propane deep fryer a little dicey! Hope to see you tonight!

07/19/2026

Hallo! Well, that's it for us for a while here in Toronto. But we're heading to Montreal for two popups this week!

On Tuesday, we'll be at w**e bar extraordinaire serving up deep-fried Dutch and Indonesian snacks. And then on Thursday, we'll be at the Mile End mecca with four Dutch and Indonesian-inspired specials, featuring shrimp krokets, beef rendang sliders, stoofvlees (a tangy beef stew staple from the southern Netherlands) and the kapsalon (perhaps a distant cousin to poutine?).

Please tell your friends and family in Montreal to come by to visit either date (or both)! ... Or get over to Montreal and join us! Merci!

07/17/2026

Opening today at 6 p.m. but this happening at Le Plongeoir in Montreal on Tuesday! Bon weekend!

07/16/2026

Hallo! Hope you are well. A somewhat ominous start to our last week ahead of summer break with this end-of-the-world-esque weather we're having! We thank you in advance if you're braving the bad air quality to visit us tonight!

Open today and tomorrow at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m. before we close up to do a couple popups in Montreal and then back to the Motherland in August. Hope you can join us this week ahead of the break! Bedankt!

07/13/2026

Hallo! Hope you had a great weekend. Thanks so much to everyone who joined us last week (and the surprisingly busy Friday!). Things really slow down for us during the summer months and that's why we always close up for a bit. ... And we'll be closing up soon! Sorry for the late notice, but this will be our last week so hope you can join us on Thursday, Friday and/or Saturday!

Well actually, Borrel will still be "open" two more days after that, just not here. We'll be in Montreal!

For the past eight months, our friend in Montreal Nick Amberg () has gone above and beyond to connect us with venues to see if they might have us serve up some of our Dutch eats in the summer. Excited to announce that we will be doing deep-fried Dutch snacks at the awesome w**e bar Le Plongeoir () on Tuesday, July 21 and then some Dutch comfort foods at Mile End institution Nouveau Palais () on Thursday, July 23!

We nearly had something set up for stroopwafels there but it fell through. … Maybe a blessing in disguise as we have been totally swamped prepping for these popups already! But big thanks to Chiggy () for getting us connected with potential venues (hopefully next time if all goes well!).

So if you have any friends or family in Montreal, please send them our way! Or if you happen to be in Montreal yourselves next week, please come by! Montreal is where I was lucky enough to attend university and I always miss it. And we’ve wanted to try what we do at Borrel in different places, so getting to spend a week in Montreal to do it is a bit of a dream come true. … Just hope it goes well!

More on this on our social media in the coming days. Super huge thanks to Nanna Koekoek () for finding time during her super busy schedule to make this awesome poster!

07/09/2026

Goeiedag! ... OK, as much as I like the rain, we understand if we're not going to be a destination for you if this weather holds. But we are open at 6 p.m. and -- long overdue notice -- we will be closing up Borrel for the summer after next week. So really, just six more days of service!

Sorry, we've been meaning to post the calendar for July and let you know earlier. We've just been very busy with an exciting Borrel project at the end of this month (more on that soon!). And then we're off to the Motherland for August. Open again Thursday, Sept. 3! But hope you can join us this week or next! Stay dry out there!

07/04/2026

Hallo! Thanks so much for a much busier-than-expected Friday night! Not that we broke any records but we're just flattered that you'd brave the insane heat to visit us! (Any new fans of the rain given how much it's helped cool things down a little bit today?)

Obviously, a very exciting game for Canada coming up. We hope you enjoy the match! Should you be looking for some Dutch comfort food and drinks (and air conditioning!) post-game, we're open at 4 p.m. We might close up a bit early depending on how busy things are. Even though it's a lot more bearable today, that humidity is still brutal!