The Bungalow

The first decision at The Bungalow isn't where to sit — it's what goes on the burger. The build-your-own burger is the house's leading order, the thing that turns an Old North pub on Waterloo Street into a burger-first local rather than another all-purpose bar with a grill out back. The name points the same direction: a bungalow is a modest, neighbourly sort of building, and the place leans into being exactly that, a neighbourhood hub more than a night-out destination. Still, the burger isn't the kitchen's whole personality — it sits alongside named house burgers, pizza, handhelds, fish and chips, and a kids menu, range enough to let a divided table find its footing without anyone settling.

Start with the build-your-own and the choices stack up fast; default instead to the Bungalow Beef Burger or the J&W Smash Burger and the kitchen makes the call for you. The named burgers run past the standards — there's a Nicky-John Burger, a Beef and Swiss Melt — and the fryer turns out rosemary fries that local patio coverage singles out as the table's easy shared side. Beyond the burgers the menu keeps widening: beer-battered fish and chips, low-and-slow pulled pork, southern fried chicken, bacon-wrapped scallops. The pizzas are where the kitchen shows some nerve, a Dill Pickle Pizza and a Butter Chicken Pizza sharing the same stone-baked list as the expected pies.