After working all day, on quite often very long days, I sometimes reward myself with a trip to Public with my sweety. I love that I'm greeted so warmly by whoever is working, but especially Cameron, the proprietor. It's nice to be remembered! I like the direction the kitchen has taken with their menu. I know kitchen space and equipment is limited (I've peeked), so I'm always amazed at what this tiny kitchen pumps out. I especially love the ribs! If you haven't experienced the hospitality of a independently-run lounge, do yourself a favour and sit on the deck and have a cool one!

I have gone to Public many times in the past couple of years. I really enjoy the ambiance and the patrons that frequent there. From time to time you will come across a place in which the "regulars" are friendly and invite you into their conversation. Albeit rare, this does happen and it happens at Public.
They have a good selection of beer and it is reasonably priced. The owner changes them up every few months which is great and refreshing. I do believe they have a good wine selection as well.
One thing I've learned to do is eat before going to the Public. The portions are small, and a few are completely unfair. We spent $25 on an antipasto plate once and got 7 or 8 thin slices of cold cuts, olives, cheese, and not enough bread. At the pub down the street 2 people could have gotten a complete meal and a curbed appetite. I do realize this is a Tapas place but that doesn't warrant small portions on everything.
The ambience is lounge-like with dim lighting, rotating artwork, and booth and table options. The service is fantastic and 9 times out of 10 is smooth sailing. There have been a few occasions when the bartender was busy on their cell phone text messaging but no big deal, doesn't happen too often.
Overall good place to hang out!

Was there last night with a friend who lives in the area. Had heard good word of mouth but also had seen bad reviews. Should have listened to the reviews! Arrive, place is pretty much empty. I order Chorizo pizza, friend orders the steak. Bland steak arrives about when you might expect. 10 mins later, still no pizza. Waiter ambles and says kitchen apologizes Pizza will be a while longer. When I ask why, he says, with a straight face, the kitchen got slammed.I look around and there are 5 other people in the place and only one other table eating!!!! Reminded me of that Mr Lube commercial where the clerk insists that the guy call the 1-800 line because they are 'swamped'. 20 mins after the steak a mediocre and small pizza arrives. Could have cooked it at home in 12 mins vs the 45 I waited. To top off the stellar service, we get a bill that is not itemized just a grand total. We were so tired of the place at that point we didn't bother even asking - the maount seemed close to what we owed. Complete amateur hour, avoid! Listen to the reviews.

We arrived around 7:00 on Thursday night. Water and drinks arrived quickly: Strongbow on tap for me and a Public martini (very blue!) for Mrs. C.

We ordered spinach salad, prawn lollipops, beef rolls, seared tuna, and the mange trois. The salad featured a nice maple viniagrette and candied pecans. The lollipops were lightly sprinkled with crisp garlic. The food was wonderful to this point.

The beef rolls were a bit problematic. Mrs. C was not a fan of the shoots that accompanied the beef in the rice paper. A better cut of meat could have been used. The seared tuna with lentils was wonderful. Nicely seared and the bacon in the lentils gave things a smoky flavour. The mange trois--three mini-burgers of lamb, turkey and tuna-- were disappointing. The turkey was overcooked; the tuna was not up to the seared tune that preceded it. The three dabs of sauce did not help a lot.

I was still hungry and ordered another order of the tuna. There was an astonishing delay in contrast to the timely arrival of our other dishes. IThe server referred to a back up of orders. There were not that many diners at that point. When the tuna arrived it was not up to the first order of tuna.

Dessert was a cheese plate and creme caramel. Mrs. C quite enjoyed the caramel. The cheeses were okay, but I think more fruit and nuts could have accompanied. I ordered a port (no dessert wines present--must go to Aurora for that) which arrived in a high-ball glass??

The plates ranged in price from $6 for the salad to $12 for the seared tuna. They were a reasonable size save for the mange trois which seemed a little skimpy at $10.

Our first server finished her shift at 8:00ish and the front of the restaurant on a Thursday night was left for one server? The artwork was a little disturbing (disturbed?)--creatures coming out of faces.

This was our second visit to Public. I would return for some of the dishes.

I've been to the Public several times now and love it. It's got a perfect, unpretentious atmosphere, the owner is incredibly sweet, they've got a lemon beer that always just hits the spot. It is the perfect setting for our regular girls night out. It's the kind of place that helps warm the soul a bit.
Last night, I had their pita pizza with pesto and it was quite to die for. The pesto was just delicious!
Reading some of the so-so reviews, I can't help but think that there are some very snobish folks out there who should really learn to just relax and have a good time.

We used to go to the Public all the time last year but last night we had a dining experience from hell. The only good thing was the vodka and even that wasn't enough to wash down the taste of the bad food or allow us to forget the shoddy service we received. The Public used to be a fun, friendly establishment with the nicest wait staff on the street but no more. I should have taken it as a sign when we discovered that they had run out of chicken wings and nachos by 9pm on a Friday as nothing else was edible on the menu. Out of five dishes ordered nothing garnished more that a "horrid" rating at the table with the beef sesame rice wrap being simply disgusting. Dine here at your own peril. We are still recovering....