I've lived in the area for years and passed by this place countless times on my way to and from other fine dining establishments in the city and always thinking that I should make my way in at some time. So when I was invited here by very good friends for Winterlicious I jumped at the opportunity to satisfy my curiosity and the craving for quality carnivorous fare.
Perhaps it was the overwhelming amount of patrons that were piling in for Winterlicious but nonetheless, the service was just terrible. When we walked in the host looked up at us and rolled his eyes. We met our friends and again were shocked that they crammed 6 chairs around a table that could comfortably seat two.
I was really looking forward to some meat, so I wasn't about to let a rude host, or uncomfortable seating arrangement put a damper in my evening!
Here's the breakdown of food ordered:
Appetizers:
* Soup of the Day - flavourful and hearty (7/10)
* Caeser Salad - great flavours, fresh and crisp -- perfect steakhouse caeser (9/10)
* Spinach Salad - fresh but left much to be desired in flavour (6/10)
Mains:
* Lamb Shank - cooked well and seasoned beautifully but arrived cold (7/10)
* Chicken - arrived dry and cold but flavour had great potential (7/10)
* Pasta - looked terrible (sauce had crusted over) and fellow diner commented that it was one of the worst he's had (4/10)
Desserts were rather good, all sampled were 8/10.
The service throughout the night only got worse. The staff there all seemed miserable and reluctant to serve the patrons. Sure it was Winterlicious and packed but that's no excuse. Missed are the days that establishments would be happy or even excited at the idea of having a packed house.
In a city that has great restaurants popping up all the time, this one won't be revisted by me or any guest in my party again.
**** UPDATE: 4 out of the 6 guests dining with me that evening got quite ill after eating here... ****