So we went to Peterborough yesterday to see old friends and we had lunch at St. Veronus, a cafe/bar with a subtitle: “Belgian beer temple”…truer 
words were never writ. We are now looking for jobs in the Peterborough area. Â Unaccustomed to great selection, great service, reasonable prices, care and attention to interesting beer and fantastic food selection am I in a Canadian beer spot that I kept mentally making US exchange rate calculations as I browsed the menu and the beer lists. Then I would shake my head and say…this place is actually in Ontario…and Ontario is in Canada.
I was overwhelmed at the outset when I realized what lay before me. I did not know what to order for a first drink so I just wandered around the two room cafe taking pictures. I mentioned the fact of this here website and, without shifting into a higher gear of service in any respect, the extremely helpful staff answered any number of my deer-in-headlight questions. They even allowed themselves to engage in a little beer porn for the camera as illustrated below. I settled on a Rochefort 6, a new beer to me. At 7.5% it was off their “new arrivals” short list. It was heaven. From recollection malty, a tad burlappy with even a little chocolate perhaps. Others had various lambics and Gueze as well as a very nice Barbar honey ale which I got to sip. Loverly. Just look at the bar fridge – now that’s real shock and awe.
Despite the excellent price and variety of the beer, however, it was the food that actually made the visit. St Veronus offers a selection of grilled thick sandwiches with thoughtful ingredients that match the beers very well. The best I thought was the cheddar, slow cooked onion goo and slow cooked apple goo sandwich – it has an other better name but whatever it is called it was scoffed down by a seven year old in mucho haste. For my second sip, I had a local micro, Church-key Northumberland Ale. I did not get a six of that when I visited the brewery last winter but I will next time I go. It was a full malt-fruit forward rich pale ale under what must be the best beer handling conditions I have met in Ontario. And only 4.50 CND for a 500 ml pint.
Definitely a first of many visits.
[Original comments…]
Joe Reed – September 19, 2005 1:13 AM
http://unabrewer.com
You should visit Monk’s Cafe in Philadelphia, then. In fact, Philly on the whole is a great beer city.
Baba – September 19, 2005 6:04 PM
http://www.beerrag.com
Wow that place looks awesome, I need to go to Ontario, shit I need to spend more time in Canada. Pictures show a city that looks very European. I would have been overwhlemed there, reminds me of a place called the Brickskeller in DC.
-Baba
Alan – September 19, 2005 6:37 PM
Its a block from the Quaker Oats factory, too.
Scott – September 20, 2005 7:47 AM
http://www.scooterchronicles.com
I agree with Joe Reed. Monk’s has a fine selection of Belgian brews, and the food is very good. The Steegaarden in Bethlehem, PA serves nothing but Belgians, too.
Nice to see a Belle-Vue Kriek glass. Been trying to find one of those to buy for myself.
Allen – December 5, 2005 10:03 PM
http://www.aksbestwebdesign.com
Wow! I used to live in Peterborough from 87-91. They never had great places like that before. I’ll have to go back this summer and see some old friends and drink some great beer.
Burl Crone – December 21, 2005 2:15 AM
http://individual.utoronto.ca/b_crone/
I can only confirm the positive responses to this place. I came cruising in from Toronto and could only wish they had something this great on College street. Way to go Roland. Nice venue, man. Those Belgian potatoes were awesome. So much beer. Such a nice place.
“It’s a good place”. “Yes, there’s lots of liquor”.
Michael VanDerHerberg – July 17, 2006 1:42 PM
St. Veronus is one of my favourites here in Peterborough. For a small town in central Ontario they have an incredible assortment of restaurants, cafes and pubs. Try Aas Maa Bik’s next time and tell Sean that Michael from the Silver Bean Cafe sent you.
Cheers,
Michael
Pat Vatta – December 17, 2006 11:50 PM
I’m a teacher and we had reserved space for 16 for our staff Christmas party and St. Veronus. But 24 of us decided we wanted to go. Tried to add on 8 reservations and they wouldn’t let us. They agreed they did have room. We agreed to a separate table. The answer was still no. I was told by the person handling our reservation that the restaurant wouldn’t let us add on because they preferred to take reservations from ‘others’. What could that mean? At any rate, we cancelled and went to Montana’s which was disappointing after wanting to make my first visit to St. Veronus.
David Horan – November 20, 2007 2:01 PM
This is one of the many places that makes me regret on a daily basis that I ever left Peterborough. If you’re ever back visiting your friend again Alan, you should try the Olde Stone. It’s a pretty wonderful brewpub, but it’s their seasonal brews that really sell you: I’ve still not found a better attempt at mixing ale and pumpkins!
d – March 20, 2008 8:07 PM
i live in peterborough, and st.veronus is indeed an amazing place, probably the best i’ve been to in my life
great beers, great food, great service. 5 min. from our student house here.
Michelle – October 16, 2012 6:50 AM
Saint Veronus is truly the gem of downtown Peterborough. I’m never disappointed with the selection of beer or food and the service is great. Accompany all of that with great atmosphere and it makes the perfect place for a civilized night out 🙂
James from Pickering – January 11, 2013 7:49 PM
My boss offered to take me to lunch during a visit to Peterborugh, and suggested this “belgian” place. My heart jumped with anticipation. The visit – the food, the beer (McChouffe on tap!!) And ambiance were amazing. Sitting under a poster of the legend Eddy Merxk for this beer dring cycling fanatic was the topper. Can’t wait to go back!!
Deb – February 24, 2013 8:38 PM
We are looking for a funky place to take our son for his 21st birthday and this sounds like it’s the place. Can anyone help me regarding gluten free items on the menu?…and, no I can’t drink the beer, but that will leave lots for the men-folk.