| rev:text
| - 2-1/2 stars
I have been here a few times on very different occasions with mixed reviews.
Located in the heart of the financial district the place is like an urban oasis. It's the only stand-alone restaurant in the area with a great expansive patio. South of Temperance scored a long term lease so there's no need to worry that it will be torn down for a condo or office building anytime soon.
The upscale Hooters comments here on yelp is a good analogy, which is not a bad thing.
WEDDING:
I helped a friend with his wedding reception which was held here, and it proved to be a great venue, especially on a weekend where the area is more relaxed and is very quiet from the work crowd. Tom, which I think is the manager of the restaurant was very nice and accomodating in helping with the reception -- a pleasure to work with. The restaurant handled the food for the wedding flawlessly and the dinner was well prepared and tasted good -- I typically find wedding food to be rather mediocre, but not here. The little desserts that they offered was rather lack luster and seemed to be either from frozen or made off-site, no biggie as the star should be the wedding cake.
The wait staff, looking hot as always, were attentive, friendly and upbeat. They made sure that water and wine were often replenished.
LUNCH:
Forgo the patio on a windy day. With nearby construction, the downtown wind tunnel effect made for an unpleasant meal outside as dust, dirt and debris is thrown in all directions and the furniture gets a little dirty.
Food was good. The fish tacos are great and I really like the cobb sandwich -- hard boiled egg inside a grilled panini is a tasty combination.
Service was a tad slow with the hoardes of Bay Street lunch crowd -- best to go for an early or late lunch.
AFTER WORK:
My last visit was less than stellar. The doorman at the entrance of the patio almost refused to let me in because of their dress code. I was dressed very sharp in all black (not out of place with the other people there), but the doorman noticed my shoes. I wore a pair of custom designed black and red leather Jack Percells, which didn't look too casual or like running shoes and I always get compliments everywhere I go. Unfortunately the doorman didn't appreciate my progressive style eventhough I arrived with a group of friends who knew this doorman. He let me in with a warning.
Inside the restaurant and patio I did noticed a few people wearing canvas Chuck Taylors and one wearing flip flops amongst the sharp-, tired- and pretensious-looking suit crowd, so the dress code seems rather loose here. Ironically one of the waitresses complimented me on my shoes.
The place gets really busy after work and you could imagine the bar being packed with thirsty after work patrons. There is a bit of a wait at the bar, but the wait staff are trying their best to keep up with the crowd and applaud them for keeping a good attitude and being appreciative.
On the way out the doorman told me to wear better shoes next time. I didn't know if the doorman was playing with me or was being a pompous dick, but either way that kind of attitude is not acceptable to any of their customers. I knock off a star because of the ignorant doorman.
West end hipsters be warned: best to enter through the main entrance rather than the patio entrance to avoid the doorman nonsense.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)