Potbelly Sandwich Shop - Toronto

The restaurant offers a nice and simple menu with sandwiches that are not overly fancy or unusual. The staff was friendly and pleasant.

I am a big fan of Potbelly and have been enjoying their food for years in the USA. I was thrilled to hear that they have finally opened a few locations in Toronto recently.

Their promise is Fresh, Fast and Friendly. But, at 11:30 am , even before lunch, it was not fast. Confusing, Cluttered and Chaotic would be the 3 C's I'd use in addition to the two F's. The order process is confusing. All I wanted was a meatball sub combo meal. There are no combos, just a la carte. When I saw the small, mini loaf, I ordered the large. The process to get your meal through the slow conveyor oven seemed a lot of unnecessary steps. I kept walking from one area to the next to get what I wanted to complete my lunch. There was no explanation from the staff, although they're friendly enough. Behind the counter there's clutter everywhere and in the restaurant, many tables had not been cleared of breakfast items, so I sat at the counter out front, watching the world go by. Oh yes, my fresh sandwich was tasty although the sauce was a little bit thin. Well appointed décor with an inviting comfortable feel. Named after the potbelly stoves located in each restaurant and not for the "potbelly pig", I was told.The place also serves breakfast, does catering and at this location, you can get a beer.

Normally I'd have to rate a good place 4 out of 5 after only one visit because I only sampled a salad from all this "sandwich place" but the live acoustic music at lunch time flipped my evaluation to excellent 5 out of 5! My tuna salad was excellent and the Dijon vinaigrette was just right but the live music was what prompted me to write a review. It is such a nice break during a work day to listen to live music. I was there on a Friday; not sure if the appearance of a musician is a regular occurrence. Service was offered with a smile.This is a large venue. Lots of space to sit at nice wood tables or at the counter at the store front for excellent people watching on Yonge street. The food ordering is done at the back of the venue. Pleasant lunch break!

Review of Potbelly Sandwich Shop 83 Yonge StreetWalking into this restaurant, gives a nice homely feel, warm brick and tile floors, with warm wooden booths, greet you. Sadly, a barrage of music like you’re about to eat at a nightclub also greets you. There is plenty of seating, and I ended up eating after 3 pm, so the place was very empty. Lots of seating in the front, around the sandwich preparation area and behind it. The menu is limited. Sandwiches, soups, chili, milkshakes, cookies and chips. There is no combo option, it seems, so, you will be eating a la carte. Sandwiches are approximately $7 for what looked like a six inch sub, or maybe slightly bigger. Chili was $4 for the small, which is similar in size to Wendy’s. Non-alcoholic drinks were from $2.50 to over $5.00 Chips were about $1.50 for a small bag. Milkshakes started at $5. So, very quickly, your meal adds up, mine ended up being over $15, for 3 items, a sandwich, the chili and a bottle of pop. When you order on the far end of the counter, the first person triages your order, for instance, my chili needed to be prepared by the cashier, which was way down the line. He then proceeded to stuff the bread with meat and cheese. Then, he puts it on the conveyer to heat up the sandwich, and melt the cheese at the same time. It takes awhile for the sandwich to come out the other end, but a friendly person on the other end dresses your sandwich with veggies and dressing. She then wraps your sandwich, not once but twice, and then proceeds to shoot the sandwich down the line. Finally, you reach the cashier, but here is where the music becomes a hinderance, we couldn’t hear each other. It was very difficult to hear her repeat my order, and she didn’t hear me when I told her that the chili was mine. The counter was very cluttered and it was hard to see her or feel connected to her with some many obstacles in the way. The bill was higher than I would have wanted, my only hope was the food was phenomenal.Sadly, this doesn’t end your experience, she pointed around the corner, and I followed her finger to where I found out that I could have had a fountain drink, coffee or tea. This is also the area where you can get any utensils and napkins that you would need for your meal. Overall, if this restaurant was full, it would have been very difficult to get in and get out quickly. This is because the line loops back towards the entrance. In addition to this, because the conveyer is so slow, you will have a backlog at the person dressing your sandwich, as well as the area for drinks and utensils. I sat down to eat my sandwich and noted that everyone seemed to come back and forth from me to do various tasks, so, depite the music, it was hard to eat in peace. Kind of like eating at a busy McDonald’s even though this restaurant was mostly empty. The sandwich was tasty but small, I found myself wanting more. The chili was too tomato-y, it was like eating a pasta sauce with beans. Bathroom is mostly clean, they have restrooms near the front but they look like you need to go down some stairs. In the back, there is a unisex washroom.Service is good. Food is okay. Prices are high.