Vancouver Island pub goes viral for Maple Leafs fan surcharge, themed poutine

Even here on the other side of the country, there's no greater polarizing hockey team than the Toronto Maple Leafs.

There are Leafs fans, and Leafs haters, and in one pub in Sooke, B.C., they get along famously. Despite the pub, 17 Mile House, being nestled in the heart of Canuck country, everybody here is a Leafs fan, or a Habs fan.

A Habs fan owns the place.

"I was born in Montreal," said Ken Whitaker, managing partner of 17 Mile House.

And while lots of Leafs fans drink here, they pay more than others.

There's a Leafs fan surcharge at 17 Mile House. It's an extra two per cent tax on the bill that's tongue-in-cheek, but also very real.

It's something that Leafs fans say is easy to swallow.

"I don't mind paying it," said one customer on Tuesday.

"I just take it out of the server's tip," said another.

One menu item is also aimed directly at Toronto fans, the Maple Leafs Poutine.

"A cold, overpriced dish served with underperforming gravy, ice cold fries, and a side of disappointment," said Whitaker, the pub owner.

And the poutine is priced at the historical total of $67 dollars, the same year that the Toronto Maple Leafs last won a Stanley Cup in 1967.

The poutine itself has gone viral after it was recently referenced in a social media post by hockey podcast, Spittin Chiclets.

With the post spreading like wildfire, the Sooke pub says it's been receiving both positive and negative feedback. But either way, staff take it all in stride.

"We get crazy messages. We get notes left, you get one star ratings on our google review from people from Toronto who have never been here," said Whitaker.

The only thing that will get the Maple Leafs Poutine taken off the menu is if they win a Stanley Cup.

"I'm really not too worried about it. They'll come close but let's be honest, they won't pull it off," said Whitaker.