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| - This is at best passable hotel dining room food, and would get 2 stars if they were not pretending to be something they're not and charging luxury prices without offering the quality.
The grilled calamari was promising, well-cooked, but the sauce fell short--too liquid, not able to cling to the seafood. Caperberries had miraculously turned into plain old capers--the first of a long substitution list for the night.
Then ordered the "Duo of Ontario Lamb" medium rare, supposedly a "grilled chop, roasted sirloin, crispy chickpea fritter, Moroccan spiced jus."
Nothing was right about this dish. The 1"x2" sirloin was presented well done, gray, and dry. The falafel (yes, you can assume the Newmarket crown knows what this is without dumbing it down) was extremely dry, The chop was, as described, a single, tiny chop. The "Moroccan jus was not spiced, unless you consider salt a spice. The green beans were near-raw. $30 flushed down the sewer.
The Braised Short Rib was surprisingly nondescript, also missing most of its announced accompaniment--baby carrots and Brussel leaves, instead having the same raw-ish beans as the lamb.
The service was adequate, in that Olive Garden/Moxie's way, with that "I'm just being pleasant because it's my job" feel, topped off with the overzealous smile when the bill is dropped off. The muzak was unbearable. The table behind us sent their mains back because they hadn't gotten their appetizers yet.
I suppose we missed the dead giveaway, which should have sent us running. Above the bar, there's a chalkboard with the drink "specials". When we tried to order the Mexican Smoothie, we were told they didn't have it. Specials. Chalk board. How difficult is it to erase what you don't have?
We declined dessert. Aurora could do better. Much better.
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