| rev:text
| - We have been to Oceana a couple of times and have found the food there is really hit and miss.
For a fine dining experience I expect my food to be consistently top notch, and unfortunately that does not appear to be the case here.
Before my review of our dining experience I do have one thing to note;
On our most recent visit to Oceana we made a reservation through Open Table.
The next day I noticed I had several missed calls from what turned out to be the restaurant.
Thinking there was a problem with my reservation I called them back on my way home from work.
First I was asked how long we planned to stay because they had booked a reservation a short time after hours. (really?!)
Through the course of the conversation it became evident the Gentleman had phoned the wrong person and we WERE the later reservation.
At this point he asked if we'd be willing to come a little later to avoid a conflict with the earlier reservation. Okay, sure. I try not to be a difficult customer when I don't need to be. So we bumped our reservation a bit.
Then I was told they wouldn't keep my reservation without a credit card on file.
As I was driving (don't worry I was on hands free) I said I'd phone back.
The lady I spoke with later on explained that this was to debit my card $50 in the event we missed our reservation.
We dine out frequently at both casual and fine dining restaurants and I have never been asked for a credit card deposit to hold my reservation.
If this is something they require, then it should be listed on Open Table as opposed to spamming my cell phone all day long after the fact.
After expressing my concern over this practice she eventually offered to keep my reservation without a credit card. A nice gesture perhaps, but against a policy that shouldn't exist in the first place.
As far as our actual dining experience goes, we found the service to be outstanding. Our server was attentive, helpful, and friendly.
I also found this to be the case on our previous visit.
The serving staff really do a great job at Oceana.
There is also a decent wine list, though it is a little on the pricey side for what they offer.
Onto the food....
As mentioned before, the food here is hit and miss, and we got a bit of both on this latest visit.
While we waited to order our server brought out some bread and olive tapenade.
The tapenade was plentiful and delicious! If only we'd had more than about 3 or 4 tiny slices of bread to enjoy it with.
The loaf of bread was very small and very hard to cut (only half of it had been pre-sliced). Not much better than "day old" quality in my books, which is certainly not what I expect in a fine dining establishment.
For a starter I ordered the Kale Salad.
A very simple dish but quite tasty. I'd recommend it except it's a very small portion for the $9 they charge.
For our main course we ordered the Filet Minion and the 10oz New York steak.
The Filet Minion was "good". No complaints there.
The 10oz New York - though ordered medium well - came out medium rare at best. I ate it regardless as I didn't want the hassle of returning it.
The flavour was mediocre and it wasn't a very good cut of meat at all.
It was also the smallest "10oz" steak I've ever seen.
The vegetables etc. that came with our meals were very nicely done.
Overall, the mains would be put to shame by your local steakhouse, and just don't hold up to "fine dining" quality in any respect.
For desert we had the Tiramisu and the hand rolled Baklava.
The Tiramisu was quite tasty, so no major complaints there.
With that said, it was not quite up to the quality level of other restaurants of this calibre.
The hand rolled Baklava was excellent! Very nicely done.
The portion was the big disappointment in this case. Two tiny little pieces of, from what I could tell was the best thing on the menu.
Contrary to what some of the other reviewers have said, I don't mind the decor at all. It's classy and romantic.
The atmosphere isn't contemporary but I don't think it's supposed to be.
In any case I'm not sure if we will visit Oceana again.
The food just isn't on par with their prices or their competition, and the arrogance of attempting to charge me for a reservation is the final nail in the coffin.
With so many other fantastic options here in Calgary, these people really need to step up their game if they want to keep my business.
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