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| - I've been coming to Park for 5 years. Montreal was never a great sushi city. Having lived in New York and LA, my standard was/is higher. Montreal's glut of spots featuring mayo-heavy 'specialty' rolls, then and less so now, never appealed. Until Park, that is. High quality fish, refined technique and pure in its presentation - a step change in Montreal sushi. Enough for a New Yorker to make the trek out to Westmount.
5 years is a long time, though, and eventually, all restaurants slip. Minus the institution that is L'Express, Montreal restaurants in general do not last this long. Eventually, service or the food goes down the drain. My last visit to Park was my worst ever. Not even close. A waste of money. When it rains, it pours.
Hints of bad service presented itself before. But, on the whole, the experiences previously were always pleasant enough that the minor nuisances were brushed aside. Not this time.
Right off the bat, the blonde hostess, not Rachel. Every time it's as if she's doing me a favor seating me. She forgets I'm the customer. Most nights the attitude is there, I just usually choose to ignore it. This time I'm seated at the bar. WORST SEAT EVER. Not the bar facing the sushi chefs, but the bar where they store all the chopsticks and other random prepware. For the price you're paying at a restaurant like Park, every single seat should be great. Unless you're giving me a discount, don't seat me in a crappy spot. That bar is an awful location to seat any customer. Waitstaff and customer are bumping into your back all the time. You need someone to push you in, once seated, so your elbows can actually rest on the bar. You stare at a wall, and a bartender making drinks. The whole entertainment factor of a sushi bar - gone. No view out the window. It just killed the whole mood right off the bat. And the hostess knew I'd rather sit at the sushi bar. 4 seats opened up in the main sushi bar about 15 minutes after I was seated. Tell me that. I would've waited.
My typical order is the full omakase for $150, plus a few more sashimi orders. This night I was limited in time and wasn't that hungry. The seating had already reduced my appetite. So I asked the bartender for the other omakase option. I ask only because Park NEVER clearly publishes that pricing in the menu. It only says a vague "from $85 per person." The blonde bartender says $150 for the full omakase with hot entrees, and $95 without hot entrees. OK, I'll go with the smaller $95 option, trusting her word, since, again, the menu doesn't outline the omakase pricing clearly. And I've come here enough, they shouldn't screw a regular, right? Bill comes due at the end of dinner (no bartender in sight), and the omakase is $115. I question the brunette waitress (more on her later) on this, and she looks at me like I'm crazy. Fine. Whatever. Less tip for you. In hindsight, I wish I gave $0 tip - so subpar was the service. Don't have your bartender provide service, quote an incorrect price, and then expect the guest to pay for that mistake!
Lastly the service. Brunette waitress touched my nigiri. Her hand touched the fish. I don't need to say anymore. Shame on me for not calling her out immediately and sending the course back. Ick! I also had to flag someone down 3 times for water. 3 times! Pay attention.
Hope this was just a one-time slip. And not a trend. For this kind of money, the entire experience has to be top-notch. This last meal unfortunately and disappointingly was a complete waste of money and time.
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