Happy hour? Check. Plenty of seating? Check. Friendly staff? Check. No reservation required at 6-ish on a Friday night? Check.
Tried to go for an early dinner elsewhere last night and the original place (which wasn't fancy) couldn't accommodate us. So, we walked around the corner, spotted Universel and hit the jackpot.
The unexpected happy hour started us off just right! Two for one for beer, wine, sangria and martinis! Since we had already had a little adult beverage in our system, we only took advantage of a single round (of two!). But the drinks were delicious and just the right size.
We decided to order poutine to absorb some of the aforementioned alcohol...plus...how can we possibly be in Canada and NOT have poutine at least once? It was also just the right portion and made the way poutine should be...saucy and cheese curd-y.
To "balance" things out, we each had salads. I loved my garden salad with a perfectly undercooked (as ordered) piece of salmon. The dressing was a light and slightly sweet balsamic berry concoction that was not glopped on the mixed greens. Rave reviews on the Greek salad with grilled chicken....the only issue was that some of the chicken was a little dry.
Great staff...lots of smiles. The desserts looked excellent as well. It looks like you could stop in here and just have drinks and dessert....or just dessert and no drinks.... or have it all.