| rev:text
| - This actually deserves 3.5 stars. After reading Yelp reviews and the menu, I had hoped for more. I left disappointed, but not enough to dismiss the place altogether. I would return to give it another shot.
Firstly, I've only been here once and it was for Winterlicious 2014 - lunch. I believe my review may not be an entirely accurate reflection of the restaurant, but I'm also not sure of that.
Ambience: The place itself is huge and very well decorated. It was contemporary and quite romantic, but also modern and stylish. The decor really stood out for me. Note: We felt rather chilly during our dining experience.
Service: It was a bit slow at times, but they were quite busy. We didn't find that there were overly long wait periods, but the pace could have been a tad speedier. The waiter we had was friendly and unpretentious. No stand out service though.
Food: Nothing I had was too memorable, and in comparison to my other Winterlicious 2014 experience a week early at Canoe, this meal paled. Here is what we ordered
- Duck Salad
- Freshly Squeezed Juice (Mango-Orange)
- Some Fruity Cocktail
- Another Fruity Cocktail w/Prosecco
- Pan-Seared Rainbow Trout
- Cornish Hen
- Braised Beef Panino (I think)
- Sorbet
- Bread Pudding
- Molten Lava Cake w/Rum-Bananas
We all started with the smoked duck salad. I truly enjoyed this dish. It had an ample amount of nicely smoked duck, and a surprise of lentils under the leafy greens. It was quite tasty. My SO didn't particularly enjoy it, and my brother and 2 other friends liked it, but didn't love it.
Now, the drinks we ordered were fabulous. It helped that they were also $5 and under (I believe a special Winterlicious promotion, which was a very nice touch). The juice was amazing - thick and fresh and full of flavour. Two of our party ordered a cocktail that I don't remember the name of - they both enjoyed it. I ordered a cocktail with Prosecco, and it was absolutely delicious.
The main course disappointed me - at least mine did. But I was also disappointed in the inconsistency. Given that we did come for lunch, I expected the portions to be a little smaller, and that is fine - I'm usually not that hungry around lunch time. However, two of us (including me) ordered the pan-seared rainbow trout, and found it to be ridiculously small. What put us off more was when we noted the other dishes, which were slightly larger, one being so large my friend had to pack half to go. I found the vast inconsistency in size to be a little unpolished for a restaurant such as Rosewater.
That being said, the fish I had was flavourful and I especially loved the beet risotto - it was creamy and had a bit of cheesiness, but went so well with the fish. I was unsatisfied with the portion, and although I did enjoy the flavour of the dish altogether, it did not stand out for me.
My brother and SO had the Cornish hens. This dish was larger than my fish dish - medium sized, relatively. They both enjoyed their meals, but my SO complained that parts of his hen were slightly dry, while my brother applauded the juiciness of his. Again, inconsistency. Not impressive. My SO also found his meal unmemorable. I also noted that they served this dish with a rather sad and flavourless side of steamed veggies - why?
My friend ordered the braised beef panino I believe. Her dish was HUGE, compared to the rest of ours. She had leftover fries and half a sandwich after her SO helped her with some of her meal (he also ordered the fish, like me, and was not full, like me). She commended the meal and said it was quite good. I tried the fries and they were delicious, but I've also had better.
I'm a little fuzzy on what we had for dessert. I know my brother and I both ordered the trio of sorbet, and I believe my SO and my other 1 friend ordered the bread pudding, while another the molten lava cake. The sorbet was dismissible. I enjoyed the mango sorbet, the fresh fruits, but it was really nothing spectacular. Whatever my SO and friend got though, was very delicious. The problem with consistency lay here as well - my SO's dessert was considerably larger than mine.
Overall, the place wasn't BAD, but it didn't blow me away either. For that, I give it 3.5 stars. I doubt I would pay regular price to dine here, but I just may have to, to give them another shot. They didn't put me off altogether, but there is a lot of improvement to be made if my experience is any reflection of their regular dining experience. For a restaurant of their stature, they can do better for sure. I didn't appreciate the inconsistency, and found the food underwhelmingly small (I didn't leave satisfied/full), however, the flavours definitely had potential.
Note: My two friends who dined with us went again later that week for dinner and said they enjoyed themselves more. They commented on how the portion sizes were larger and there were more choices. This is another reason I would give the place another chance
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