Trailside Bar And Grill

Bar and grill is a phrase that usually promises a freezer and a fryer left to run itself. Trailside Bar And Grill treats it as a floor rather than an excuse. The haddock is fresh and dipped in a house-made beer batter, the eight-ounce burgers are formed in the kitchen, and the samosas are handmade for the bar by the Samosa Factory down the road in Fort Erie. The address is Ridge Road North in downtown Ridgeway, a few steps from the Friendship Trail, and the name is literal — this is where you land trailside, whether the plan is dinner, a game on the screen, or a late plate after the walk.

The menu reads like a familiar bar-and-grill list and then keeps going past it. Fish and chips is the clearest first order: fresh haddock under a golden beer batter, with coleslaw and a choice of fresh-cut or Cajun fries. The burger bar runs on house-formed eight-ounce patties — the Trailside Classic stays plain with aged cheddar, tomato, lettuce, onion, and pickles, while the Big Matt leans on a house Big Matt sauce. The samosas are the curveball: six spicy lentil parcels with a pineapple curry salsa, set beside the poutines and fried starters. From there it widens into fish tacos finished with chipotle mayo, an original poutine under cheese curds and gravy and a loaded version piled with smoky bacon and green onions, wings in more than twenty flavours, deep-fried pickles, and a chicken wing dip built to share. The list runs all the way to a warm brownie sundae and, for the brave, a deep-fried Mars bar.