Maggie Oakes is a restaurant nestled in the new trendy hotel William Gray in the Old Port. The space is simply spectacular- bright colourful furniture mixed with marble and gold accents turned this former food court (sorry, Valentine's has left the building) into a modern yet cozy space. Fresh micro herbs adorn an entire wall close to the cold room and wine cellar. It's evident much care, thought and money have gone into creating Maggie Oakes.
We were excited to try the food, hoping it'd be as delicious as the restaurant was visually pleasant. For starters, we tried the sweet potato soup, house-made Terrine and apple cider vinaigrette salad. They tasted good but nothing special. For our mains, we shared the lamb ragout cavatelli and half-roasted chicken. The sauce in the pasta dish was deep in flavour and the meat so tender! The chef even added some okra which gave some needed texture to the plate. The chicken held its own and was well-seasoned.
We were pretty happy with the food at this point. But the desserts were the highlight. We tried the Paris Brest, Yuzu tart and chocolate fondant. The shortbread tart crust was perfectly buttery and crunchy. The thin layer of rich chocolate ganache provided a nice balance to the acidic lemon flavour. I'd come back post-dinner just for that tart. And maybe a glass of wine.
Beyond the food, the service was excellent and would have deserved 5 stars on its own.
My only tiny criticism would be that the cocktails were not as good as the rest of the meal. I had the Mai Tai Coco which tasted like a bland mix of ice and alcohol with a hint of coco. Next time I'll stick to wine.